Expenses

You’ll probably need to buy some things in the course of your job. We have a fairly simple process below to handle expenses. We make an effort to hire trustworthy, responsible people, so to a large extent you’re expected to use good judgment on what is a business expense and what isn’t. But there are some guidelines here to keep in mind, just in case.

Process

• Depending on your role, you may be issued a credit card. If you are issued a credit card, please use it only for business expenses.
• Receipts: You must turn in itemised receipts for all purchases within 24 hours of the purchase. If you do not get a receipt, or if you get a non-itemised receipt, you must turn in a written record of all of the pertinent details of the transaction within 24 hours.
• Client expenses must be approved by the appropriate contact at the client site (email approval is the most appropriate form of approval). Please note that some clients may have a written expense policy to follow. Please check with the client or the relationship manager for these policies PRIOR to spending any money.
• All internal expenses must be approved by a manager.
• InterWorks will provide TurboScan for ease in forwarding receipts, the Turbo Scan app may be expensed to the company. In the UK receipts should be sent to receipts@interworks.co.uk in pdf format.
• A detailed guide to this process is available from Operations or HR
• Failure to follow proper approval or documentation for expenses will result in suspension of purchasing privileges.

Government Required Coverages

Accident Insurance

All employees are covered by the company’s Employers Liability insurance. This is subject to all relevant health and safety rules being followed.

Notice Periods

Employment may be terminated by the employee, or the Company, giving notice (Please note: The Company will only give notice strictly within the rules of current employment legislation). Your notice period will be detailed in your offer letter or contract update.

Notice: After six months (or the successful completion of your probationary period, whichever is the later), you are required to give the following notice in writing to terminate your employment with the Company. You are entitled to receive the same from the Company:

Length of Service	Notice Period
Less than six months (probationary period)	Two weeks
More than six months but less than one year’s continuous service	One month
One year or more continuous service	One month plus one week per additional completed year of service up to a maximum of 12 weeks

Misconduct: The Company may exclude these notice provisions in the event of dismissal for gross misconduct. The Company reserves the right to make a payment in lieu of notice, equivalent to your basic salary, for all or any part of your notice period upon the termination of your employment, regardless of whether notice to terminate the contract is given by you or the Company.

Garden Leave: The Company reserves the right, at its sole discretion, not to offer you any work during the whole, or any part, of the notice period, and to require you not to attend work during this time. In these circumstances, you will continue to receive your normal pay and benefits to which you are entitled during the notice period. Apart from the duty to attend work, you will remain bound by all the obligations and restrictions set out in your contract of employment. You must, within reason, remain available to be contacted by the Company. You are not permitted to undertake any other form of employment, whether paid or unpaid, during your period of garden leave, without the company’s prior written permission.

Harassment Policy

Objective

InterWorks strives to create and maintain a work environment in which people are treated with dignity, decency and respect. The environment of the Company should be characterised by mutual trust and the absence of intimidation, oppression and exploitation. Employees should be able to work and learn in a safe, yet stimulating, atmosphere. The accomplishment of this goal is essential to the mission of the Company. For that reason, InterWorks will not tolerate unlawful discrimination or harassment of any kind. Through enforcement of this policy and by education of employees, the Company will seek to prevent, correct and discipline behaviour that violates this policy.

All employees, regardless of their positions, are covered by and expected to comply with this policy and take appropriate measures to ensure that prohibited conduct does not occur. Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against any employee who violates this policy. Based on the seriousness of the offence, disciplinary action may include verbal or written reprimand, suspension or termination of employment.

Prohibited Conduct Under This Policy

InterWorks, in compliance with all applicable anti-discrimination and harassment laws and regulations, enforces this policy in accordance with the following definitions and guidelines:

Discrimination

It is a violation of InterWorks’ policy to discriminate in the provision of employment opportunities, benefits or privileges; to create discriminatory work conditions; or to use discriminatory evaluative standards in employment if the basis of that discriminatory treatment is, in whole or in part, the person’s race, colour, national origin, age, religion, disability status, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or marital status.

Discrimination of this kind may also be strictly prohibited by the Equality Act 2010. This policy is intended to comply with the prohibitions stated in these anti-discrimination laws.

Discrimination in violation of this policy will be subject to disciplinary measures up to and including termination.

Harassment

Bullying and Harassment

Bullying is offensive or intimidating behaviour or an abuse or misuse of power that undermines or humiliates an employee.

Harassment occurs where, on the grounds of an employee’s race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, national origin, religion or religious or philosophical belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, age, martial or civil partnership status or disability, a person engages in unwanted conduct that:

• has the purpose of violating the employee’s dignity at work, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive work environment for the employee; or
• is reasonably considered by the employee to have the effect of violating his or her dignity at work, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive work environment for the employee, even if this effect was not intended by the person responsible for the conduct.

Harassment also occurs where, related to either the employee’s sex or that of another individual, a person engages in unwanted conduct that:

• has the purpose of violating the employee’s dignity at work, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive work environment for the employee; or
• is reasonably considered by the employee to have the effect of violating their dignity at work, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive work environment for the employee, even if this effect was not intended by the person responsible for the conduct.

In this scenario, the employee does not need to be the subject of the unwanted conduct for harassment to have occurred – for example, the conduct could be directed at nobody in particular or at someone other than the employee, including someone of the opposite sex.

Sexual harassment (as opposed to harassment related to gender) occurs where a person engages in any form of unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that:

• has the purpose of violating the employee’s dignity at work, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive work environment for the employee; or
• is reasonably considered by the employee to have the effect of violating his or her dignity at work, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive work environment for the employee, even if this effect was not intended by the person responsible for the conduct.

Conduct may be harassment whether or not the person intended to offend. Something intended as a “joke” or as “office banter” may offend another person. This is because different employees find different levels of behaviour acceptable and everyone has the right to decide for themselves what behaviour they find acceptable to them.

Behaviour which a reasonable person would realise would be likely to offend an employee will always constitute harassment without the need for the employee having to make it clear that such behaviour is unacceptable, for example, touching someone in a sexual way. With other forms of behaviour, it may not always be clear in advance that it will offend a particular employee, for example, office banter and jokes. In these cases, the behaviour will constitute harassment if the conduct continues after the employee has made it clear, by words or conduct, that such behaviour is unacceptable to him or her. A single incident can amount to harassment if it is sufficiently serious.

Harassment also occurs where, on the grounds of the employee’s rejection of or submission to unwanted conduct of the kind specified above, a person treats the employee less favourably than he or she would treat him or her had he or she not rejected, or submitted to, the unwanted conduct.

Examples

Bullying and harassment may be verbal, non-verbal, written or physical. Examples of unacceptable behaviour include, but are not limited to, the following:

• unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, other conduct of a sexual nature
• subjection to obscene or other sexually suggestive or racist comments or gestures
• the offer of rewards for going along with sexual advances or threats for rejecting sexual advances
• jokes or pictures of a sexual or racist nature
• demeaning comments about an employee’s appearance
• questions about a person’s sex life
• the use of nicknames related to an employee’s sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, race, religion, age, or disability
• picking on or ridiculing an employee
• isolating an employee or excluding him or her from social activities or relevant work-related matters

Reporting complaints

All allegations of discrimination or harassment will be dealt with seriously, confidentially, and speedily.

The company will not ignore or treat lightly grievances or complaints of discrimination or harassment from members of a particular race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, national origin, religion or religious or philosophical belief, sex, sexual orientation or age, or from employees who have undergone gender reassignment, are married, have entered into a civil partnership or have a disability.

With cases of harassment, while the Company encourages employees who believe they are being harassed to notify the offender (by words or by conduct) that his or her behaviour is unwelcome, the Company also recognises that actual or perceived power and status disparities may make such confrontation impractical.

If you wish to make a complaint of discrimination or harassment, whether against the Company, a fellow employee or a third party, you should take the following steps:

1. First of all, report the incident of discrimination or harassment to your line manager. If you do not wish to speak to your line manager, you can instead speak to an alternative manager or to a member of the Human Resources Department.

2. Such reports should be made promptly so that investigation may proceed and any action taken expeditiously.

3. All allegations of discrimination or harassment will be taken seriously. The allegation will be promptly investigated and, as part of the investigatory process, you will be interviewed and asked to provide a written witness statement setting out the details of your complaint. Confidentiality will be maintained during the investigatory process to the extent that this is practical and appropriate in the circumstances. However, in order to effectively investigate an allegation, the Company must be able to determine the scope of the investigation and the individuals who should be informed of, or interviewed about, the allegation. For example, the identity of the complainant and the nature of the allegations must be revealed to the alleged harasser or discriminator so that he or she is able to fairly respond to the allegations. The Company reserves the right to arrange for another manager to conduct the investigation other than the manager with whom you raised the matter.

4. Once the investigation has been completed, you will be informed in writing of the outcome and the Company’s conclusions and decision as soon as possible. The Company is committed to taking appropriate action with respect to all complaints of discrimination or harassment which are upheld.

5. You will not be penalised for raising a complaint, even if it is not upheld, unless your complaint was both untrue and made in bad faith.

6. If your complaint is upheld and the harasser or discriminator remains in the Company’s employment, the Company will take all reasonable steps to ensure that you do not have to continue working alongside him or her if you do not wish to do so. The Company will discuss the options with you.

7. If your complaint is not upheld, arrangements will be made for you and the alleged harasser or discriminator to continue or resume working and to repair working relationships.

Alternatively , you may, if you wish, use the Company’s grievance procedure to make a complaint.

Any employee who is found to have discriminated against or harassed another employee in violation of this policy will be subject to disciplinary action under the Company’s disciplinary procedure. Such behaviour may be treated as gross misconduct and could render the employee liable to summary dismissal. In addition, line managers who had knowledge that such discrimination or harassment had occurred in their departments but who had taken no action to eliminate it will also be subject to disciplinary action under the Company’s disciplinary procedure.

Alternative legal remedies

Nothing in this policy may prevent the complainant or the respondent from pursuing formal legal remedies or resolution through the courts.

Complaint Process

InterWorks Europe Limited will courteously treat any person who invokes the complaint procedure, and the Company will handle all complaints swiftly and confidentially to the extent possible in light of the need to take appropriate corrective action. Lodging a complaint will in no way be used against the employee or have an adverse impact on the individual’s employment status. because of the damaging nature of harassment to the victims and to the entire workforce, aggrieved employees are strongly urged to use this procedure. However, filing groundless or malicious complaints is an abuse of this policy and will be treated as a violation.

Confidentiality

During the complaint process, the confidentiality of the information received, the privacy of the individuals involved and the wishes of the complaining person will be protected to as great a degree as possible. The expressed wishes of the complaining person for confidentiality will be considered in the context of the Company’s legal obligation to act on the charge and the right of the charged party to obtain information. In most cases, however, confidentiality will be strictly maintained by the Company and those involved in the investigation. In addition, any notes or documents written by or received by the person(s) conducting the investigation will be kept confidential to the extent possible and according to the law.