Southern Ontario Library Service

Policy Requirements under the Municipal Act, 2001

Considerations When Drafting Policies Required by the Municipal Act
Part 2: Hiring of Employees  

Appendix A  / Appendix B /  Part 1 - Procurement /  Part 2 - Hiring of Employees

In this section you will find: 

• Purpose

• Is a Resolution required for this policy?

• What are the major issues that should be considered with respect to the hiring of relatives of current employees or board members?

• A Word About Resources

• Are there sample policies available?

• Resources

The purpose of this document is to assist library boards to meet the requirements of the Municipal Act, 2001. Section 270 of the Act states that before January 1, 2005, library boards are required to adopt policies with respect to the hiring of employees, including policies with respect to,

(a) the hiring of relatives of a member of council or local board, as the case may be;

(b) the hiring of relatives of existing employees of the municipality or local board, as the case may be; and

(c) any other prescribed matter. 2001, c. 25, s. 270 (1).

Is a Resolution required for this policy?

A local board must pass a resolution to bring the new hiring policy into effect. The segments of the policy related to the hiring of relatives of employees and board members must be included in the resolution. Remember that any previous hiring policy and/or resolution will be replaced by this new policy and should be noted as replaced in the resolution.

What are the major issues that should be considered with respect to the hiring of relatives of current employees or board members?

Developing policies that will guide the board members and staff in avoiding both nepotism (favouritism shown to relatives by giving employment or other privileges) and the appearance of nepotism must be carefully crafted. These policies should consider several issues.

• Policies should be clearly stated so that they can be understood by board members, employees, job applicants and the public.
• Library board members are bound by the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act to disclose any pecuniary interest and avoid discussion, influence or voting on issues where they have a pecuniary interest.
• Human rights legislation must be respected in the crafting of the policy.

Ontario Human Rights Code – 5 (1). "Every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to employment without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, record of offences, marital status, family status or disability."

• Exceptions to the policy should be clearly stated.
• Policies should include a definition of "relatives."

• Policies should be appropriate for the community.

A Word about Resources

The three resources listed below are all useful in the development of personnel policies.

Strategic Hiring: A Guide to Staff Recruitment was developed by SOLS in order to assist libraries with hiring practices. A copy of this resource was sent to SOLS’ libraries in 2003. Similarly, the Trillium Public Library Policy Manual, was developed to assist small libraries in drafting library policy and covers Personnel policies. Libraries in Ontario received print copies of this Sourcebook in 1996. Conduct Handbook for Municipal Employees and Officials deals with many issues relating to municipal employees and officers and offers an excellent discussion of Nepotism in Chapter 6, pages 99-115.

Are there sample policies available?

There is a sample policy on the hiring of relatives included in the discussion of nepotism in Conduct Handbook for Municipal Employees and Officials, on p.115. 

There is also a sample policy in a publication entitled, Sourcebook for Small Public Libraries: Administration 10:Trillium Public Library Policy Manual. In this publication, a number of sample policies have been provided, including personnel policies. Within the personnel policies section, "Per-5 - Eligibility for Employment" provides a sample on hiring. In the print version of this publication, this sample is found on page 24. An electronic version of the Trillium Public Library Policy Manual - Personnel Policies (.pdf) has been included here. 

Resources

• Strategic Hiring: A Guide to Staff Recruitment. Library Development Guide #1, Southern Ontario Library Service, Toronto, 2003.

• Trillium Public Library Policy Manual, Sourcebook for Small Public Libraries: Administration 10. Southern Ontario Library Service, Ottawa, 1996.
  

  Related Links

• O’Connor, M. Rick, Sidebottom, Peter-John and White, David G., Conduct Handbook for Municipal Employees and Officials, Butterworth’s, Toronto, 1999. (Link leads to the bibliographic and ordering information for this resource)