The role of the HR compliance officer is a very important one for organizations of all sizes. HR compliance officers are responsible for ensuring that the organization follows all compliance laws and that employees are well educated about any compliance issues the company may be facing. While an HR compliance officer is responsible for ensuring that all external laws and regulations are met, they’re also responsible for ensuring that all internal regulations are met as well. Since the job of the compliance officer is important, let’s go over the job description of both a compliance officer and a compliance manager.
Are you aware of the roles and responsibilities of your HR compliance officer?
HR compliance officer job description: The role of a compliance officer is to stay up to date on all general labor law compliance and issues. The HR compliance officer is responsible for ensuring that employees and teams are in place to address compliance issues. They are also responsible for thoroughly understanding compliance laws, as well as providing adequate communication to managers and employees about such laws.
HR compliance manager job description: The role of a compliance manager is to ensure that the company adheres to legal standards and in-house policies. They are also responsible for enforcing regulations in all aspects, at all levels, as well as responsible for providing guidance on all compliance matters.
Roles and Responsibilities of the HR Compliance Officer
Now that we’ve covered the difference between an HR compliance officer and an HR compliance manager, let’s take a look at the rules and responsibilities of the HR compliance officer at your organization.
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Create an Employee Handbook
A great way to ensure that all employees are on the same page as your HR compliance officer is to create an employee handbook and update it regularly. This document is very important because it is a communications tool that will clearly outline your organization’s policies and procedures, as well as how business should be conducted. This document should be reviewed by your legal counsel before it is distributed through, as it outlines exactly what an employee should do in any given situation.
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Educate and Train
Another major responsibility of your HR compliance officer is to educate employees about all regulatory and legal requirements that can affect your organization. Since HR compliance laws are constantly changing and updating, it’s essential that your HR compliance officer stay well versed in employment law and any updates to compliance regulations.
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Hire the Right Talent
For your HR compliance officer to be able to properly perform their job and ensure that all employees are educated about compliance regulations, it’s essential that you hire the right people to fill your HR department. HR responsibilities like compensation, employee benefits, legal requirements, and talent management all require an HR professional who is dedicated to the success of your organization and your employees. For your HR compliance officer and HR department, in general, to be successful, your HR team members must have the knowledge, skills, and experience to properly run all HR functions.
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Organizing Routine HR Compliance Training
A lot of HR functions tend to be overworked and/or understaffed. Non-compliance, as you should know, can result in reputational and financial consequences for your company. Organizing routine HR compliance programs should be adopted as a key aspect of a company’s overall strategy in order to prevent any legal or financial liabilities. Routine HR compliance audits will help to secure employee retention and increase the overall productivity of employees, leading to great economic benefits for such organization.
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Communicate and continue to communicate
The function of the HR is an essential part of a company. Whether or not there are compliance issues, it is essential for the HR and compliance manager (VP of HR, CHRO, and so forth) to make sure other admin leaders are aware of potential HR compliance issues as well as the recommended remediation. Communication is a very vital function of HR compliance officers. They are responsible for ensuring that there is a smooth and effective system of communication between every member of the organization workforce across all departments and levels of management.
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Investigation of work-related accidents
It is also part of the HR compliance manager roles and responsibilities to assist the management in investigating any form of work-related illnesses, injuries, and accidents so as to unravel the root causes and patterns. The HR compliance officer is also expected to provide recommendations on corrective policy and actions, as well as procedural changes that will prevent any reoccurrence.
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Conducting background checks on prospective employees
It is also the responsibility of the human resources compliance officer to conduct a background check (including the process of checking criminal history and motor vehicle records) in line with the provisions of the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) before an employee is hired. This will help to ensure that only the most qualified and most “responsible” candidates are hired into the company’s workforce.
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Assessment of healthcare information
The HR compliance officer must also use the information sent by healthcare providers to conduct an assessment on all employees. This will be used to determine their departmental ability and provide appropriate accommodations to comply with the necessary performance restrictions. The knowledge of any mental or physical requirements for executing crucial job roles will be used to determine the applicable legal considerations before the HR compliance officer approves return to work after an employee takes a leave of absence as a result of medical issues.
Below are some other HR compliance responsibilities, roles, and duties of the HR compliance officer:
- Collaborating with the legal department to communicate the associated requirements with every applicable HR-based regulatory and legal and compliance training programs.
- Getting updates on every employee-based regulatory and legislative changes and/or modifications and ensuring that developments in rules and policies are restructured with HR practices, articles, policies, and systems.
- Researching changes in rules and regulations, analyzing their effect on the company, and communicating findings report to board of directors.
- It is also the role of HR in compliance to draft procedures, processes, and policies to facilitate a better compliance stance in the company.
- Responsible for the preparation and delivery of compliance-based communications and training to employees.
- Conduct employee-related investigations as directed by the stakeholders.
- Handling sensitive employee data or reports in a discreet manner.
Final Thoughts
There are many roles and responsibilities of the HR compliance officer at your organization but without the proper tools and staff members, your compliance officer will have a difficult time ensuring that your organization is up to date on, and meeting, all compliance laws.
