Do workplace ethics codes bind employees outside working hours?
Latvia's State Labour Inspectorate explains that employees in unregulated professions must also follow employer-set ethics rules, but employers cannot unrestrictedly control workers' private lives outside work.
Beyond regulated professions such as public administration or medicine, employees in other workplaces can also be bound by ethics and conduct principles set by their employer, even without a direct legal requirement. Latvia's State Labour Inspectorate (VDI) explained the rules to the news portal LV portāls.
According to Laura Akmentiņa, leading legal counsel at the VDI's Client Support Department, the Labour Law allows behavioral requirements to be set not only in internal work regulations but also in employment contracts, job descriptions, collective agreements, or other internal documents, including an employer's code of ethics. Such documents must be adopted in consultation with employee representatives, and employers are required to familiarize all staff with them.
Limits on employer authority
At the same time, the VDI stresses that employers do not have unlimited rights to regulate an employee's private life or conduct during rest time. The Supreme Court's Senate has ruled in several judgments that an employee's subordination under labour relations applies only to agreed working hours, and outside that time employees are not obligated to follow the employer's internal order. Exceptions exist, for instance, regarding restrictions on secondary employment and non-competition limits after employment ends.
Consequences of violations
Violating a code of ethics is treated as a breach of internal work regulations, which can lead to disciplinary action — a warning or reprimand — or dismissal. Applying disciplinary measures must follow procedures set out in the Labour Law, including deadlines and the requirement to inform the employee in writing about the violation. If a violation occurs outside the performance of work duties but is incompatible with continuing the employment relationship, the employer may seek termination of the employment relationship through court, citing an important reason, the existence of which is assessed by the court.
