Dear PMSL:
What are duties of “Care”, “Co-operation” and “Fidelity”?

PMSL's Response:
All employed persons whether they have a written letter of employment, document or contract or not, nonetheless, under law, once they are employed have a Contract of Employment. The Industrial Relations Act refers to such contracts as being “expressed or implied, oral or in writing”, as do most other laws governing the employment relationship in Trinidad & Tobago.

The duties of co-operation, care and fidelity are implied conditions of employment embedded in every employment contract, although usually expressed only in part, if at all.

These ‘embedded’ aspects of the employment contract apply to both parties. It is also worthy of mention that the duties apply to management employees as well as to those on the shop floor, and to all categories in between.

The Duty of Co-operation, in formal terms, implies a positive obligation on the part of both employer and employee to take all steps that are necessary to achieve the purposes of the employment relationship. This means that an employer is supposed to be pro-active in making sure that employees are provided with the tools, equipment and materials to get their jobs done. A common example is the breakdown of infrastructure, where phones do not work, the Internet is not available and international transactions cannot be completed in the required form.

On the other hand, the Duty of Co-operation also implies that an employee will make every pro-active effort to make sure they make a fair effort to overcome obstacles to get the necessary work done. In the case cited above, this perhaps could mean using some other means of completing the transaction, or informing the other party to the transaction by phone or fax that delays are being experienced in transmission. A ‘fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay’ comes from this duty. It also encompasses an employee’s obligation to obey reasonable orders, and if he/she does not agree with the order, except where it may cause injury to himself/herself or his/her fellow employees’ lives, health or professional reputation, to carry out the order first, and raise a grievance through the established channels afterwards.  “Comply and Complain”, as the saying goes.

There will be another Newsbite addressing “Duties of Care and Fidelity”