Asian Power School of English, Inc.

EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK & MANUAL

2020 Edition

Table of Contents
Message from the Administrator 2
Introduction 3
Vision 3, Mission 3, Goals 3, School Insignia 3
Recruitment and Selection Process 4
Compensation and Development 5
Payroll 5, Performance Management 5, Employee Training and
Development 5
Benefits and Perks 7
Employee Health 7, Worker’s Compensation 7, Employee Expenses 8,
Company Issued Equipment 8
Salary Grade Data 9
Qualification Standard Table 10
Workplace Policies 12
Confidentiality & Data Protection 13, Harassment & Violence 14,
Workplace Harassment 14, Sexual Harassment 14, Workplace Violence
15, Workplace Safety & Health 16, Preventive Action 16, Emergency
Management 17, Smoking 17, Drug free Workplace 18
Staff Rules, Regulations and Sanctions 19
Working Hours 19, Time Records 20, Leaves & Absences 20, Behavior
21, Personal Integrity 21, Confidential Matters 22, Work Performance
22, Responsibility for Funds or Property 23, Security and Safety
Measures 24, Health &Sanitation 24, Various Employee Activities 25
Leaving our Company 25
Progressive Discipline 26, Resignation 27, Forced Resignation 27,
Termination 27, References 28
Index I

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Message from the Administrator
Dear Employees of Asian Power School of English, Inc.,

You are now officially part of the family—the APSE Family. You are
thus, expected to live by and act according to the rules, regulations,
principles and values of our Institution.

As an Asianistan Employee, you are the lifeline of this institution.

You are responsible for inculcating in the young minds of our pupils and
students the set values, morals and principles of our school. Part of this is
that we aim to create a safe, nurturing yet challenging environment that is
built on positive relationships; developing the whole student – emotionally,
socially and academically. We care for and appreciate each of our students
as the unique individuals that they are, each with distinct talents, interests
and needs, and each with differing learning styles. As such, you must
comply with the set Rules and Regulations and willingly submit to the
disciplinary measure corresponding to any violation thereof.

Your being an Asianistan Employee indicates your trust and faith in

what the school can do for you.

This Handbook & Manual will serve to guide you further. It is

expected that you practice and abide them thoroughly as only the best
intentions for your wellbeing were in mind when they were constructed.
The guidelines aids you in becoming a truly effective and active facilitators
of learning of Asian Power School of English, Inc.

On behalf of the President and the Board of Trustees, We warmly

welcome you to this family!

LORIE ANN NUCUM-ENRIQUEZ

School Administrator

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Introduction
Vision

The school is envisioned as a center of fluency in English Language,

providing an affordable and unparalleled learning experience in a
supporting and caring environment that leads the students to become
globally competitive and God-fearing individuals.

Mission

To prepare students to become responsible, inculcating in their mind

that faith in God and unity among themselves will be their light towards
their total development through the acquisition of awareness, skills and
understanding to participate and work productively in a diverse,
multicultural, globally oriented environment and to carry the torch of
knowledge forever.

Goals

1. Committed to uphold love for God, country and fellowmen.

2. Committed to continue their maturity to widen their horizon and to
prepare them for the challenges of time.
3. Improve students’ academic skills, especially for those who are
performing below standard level, by providing a comprehensive
free tutorial program.
4. Appreciate and respect the Filipino Cultural Heritage.

School Insignia

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 Asian Power School of English’s School Insignia consists of the 8-ray sun,
three stars, shield with torch and an open book, fleur de-lis and laurels.

The 8-ray sun and the 3 stars signify the Philippines and its great valor.
The laurels symbolize honor and unity among different nationalities that
will engage in quality education of APSE.
The torch and open book presented in the shield signify light and
education.
The fleur de-lis symbolizes faith in God as it represents the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit in one. This is the symbol on how the school educates
the students by bringing them closer to God.
The school insignia includes its motto: LUX, FIDES, and UNITAS. These
are Latin rendering of the English: Light, Faith, and Unity.

Recruitment and Selection Process

Our hiring steps might vary across roles, but we always aim for a
recruitment and selection process that is fair and effective in hiring
great people. Below is the hiring process:

1. Curriculum Vitae Submission

2. Candidatorial Assessment of CV
3. Inform the candidate for a Teaching Demo Schedule
4. Teaching Demo
5. Examination & Psychological Testing
6. Assessment
7. Interview
8. Requirements Completion

Steps may overlap, so skip steps when appropriate. Each member of a

hiring team might have different responsibilities (e.g. recruiters’ source
and hiring managers’ interview candidates.)

Throughout this process, we aim to keep candidates informed,

communicate well with each other and give everyone an equal
opportunity to work with us. Ask our recruiters for help whenever you
need to enhance candidate experience or write an inclusive job
description.

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Compensation and Development

Overtime
Occasionally, we may need you to work more than your regular
working hours. Other than Saturday being part of your pay, we will pay
for other overtime work according to local and national laws. Examples
of Additional Overtime pay are the ff.:

 Additional hours after 4:30PM

 Sunday schedules
 Preceding hours before 7:15AM

Payroll
We pay your salary or wage every 15th and end of month by cash. If
you are an hourly employee, you should be diligent in clocking in and
out/using our timesheet so we can accurately calculate your pay.

Performance Management
We have built our performance management practices to:

 Ensure you understand your job responsibilities and have specific

goals to meet.
 Provide you with actionable and timely feedback on your work.
 Invest in development opportunities that help you grow
professionally.
 Recognize and reward your work in financial or non-financial
ways (e.g. employee awards.)

To meet these objectives, we have:

Established bi-annual performance reviews. During these reviews, your

manager/principal will fill out your performance evaluation report and
arrange a meeting with you to discuss it. Through these discussions,
managers aim to recognize employees who are good at their jobs,
identify areas of improvement and talk about career moves. Pay
increases or bonuses are not guaranteed. But, we encourage
managers/principal/admin to recommend rewards for their team
members when they deserve them. There won’t be any forced ranking

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 or other comparison between employees, as our goal is to help all
employees improve and develop their careers.

Instructed all managers/supervisors/admin to meet with their team

members at least once per week to provide feedback and talk about their
work and motivations. This way, you can receive feedback in a timely
manner and avoid surprises during your bi-annual performance review.

How we expect managers/principal to lead employees

If you manage a team, you are responsible for your team members’
performance. To conduct effective regular meetings and performance
evaluations, we expect you to:

 Set clear objectives. Your team members should know what you expect
of them. When you first hire someone to your team, ensure they
understand their job duties. Set specific goals for each team member (and
team-wide if applicable.) Revisit those goals during bi-annual
performance reviews.
 Provide useful feedback. During scheduled meetings with your team
members, give them both guidance and praise, as appropriate. Be fair and
specific to help them understand and implement your feedback.
 Keep your team members involved. There should be two-way
communication between you and your team. Make your expectations
clear, but always take your team members’ motivations and aspirations
into account. Discuss training and development opportunities that may
interest your team members.
 Keep logs with important incidents about each one of your team
members. These logs help you evaluate your team, but may also prove
useful when rewarding, promoting or terminating your team members.

Employee Training and Development

We owe our success to our employees. To show our gratitude, we will
invest in our employees’ professional development. We want employees
to feel confident about improving their efficiency and productivity. We
also want to help our employees achieve personal growth and success.

Therefore, we encourage all our employees to avail the school’s

scholarship program wherein the school will pay their tuition 50%, 75%,

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 or 100% in exchange for serving the school 2 years, 3 years and 5 years
respectively after they graduate master’s course.

Apart from offering scholarship for master courses, we offer these

training opportunities:

 Formal training sessions (individual or corporate.)

 Employee coaching and mentoring.
 Seats at industry conferences.
 On-the-job training.
 Job shadowing.
 Annual Spiritual Retreat
 Annual company outing

Development is a collective process. Team members and managers

should regularly discuss learning needs and opportunities. And it’s
HR’s responsibility to facilitate any development activities and
processes.

Benefits and Perks

Employee health
Employee health is important to us. We don’t discriminate against
people with disabilities or health conditions, but we want to do
everything possible to help employees stay healthy. At a minimum, we
provide group accident insurance to all eligible employees. For more
information about our insurance package, contact Admin/HR.

We have also established non-smoking and substance abuse policies to

protect employee health. We will create a workplace with minimal
noise and good lighting and offer wellness programs.

Workers’ compensation
We strive to keep our workplace safe, but accidents may happen
occasionally. Employees who are injured at work (by accident or
disease) can receive wage replacement, medical care and rehabilitation
benefits according to workers’ compensation laws, when appropriate.

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Please inform us of your injury as soon as possible. Ask Admin/HR for
forms that you need to file a claim.

Our company has a workers’ compensation policy according to

guidelines of the Labor Law we operate in.

Employee expenses
There are some expenses that we will pay directly on your behalf (e.g.
hotel rooms for work-related travel.) But, we ask you to keep track and
report on those reimbursable expenses that you pay yourself.
We reimburse employee expenses that are related to:

 Business travel
 Education and training
 Upon approval, outings with business partners or colleagues

Not all travel expenses are reimbursable. For example, we will pay for
your transportation to an airport for work-related travel, but not to a
museum for a personal visit. Before traveling for business, contact
Admin/HR to clarify which expenses are reimbursable within your
particular trip.

Please keep receipts for all reimbursable expenses. You can submit
them to your manager through our expense software within the time
period of the payroll after the date of each expense. If your manager
approves your expenses, you will receive your reimbursement within
two pay periods by cash.

Company-issued equipment
As an employee, you may receive company cell phone, laptop or other
device, furniture. Unless otherwise mentioned in your contract, any
equipment we offer belongs to our company and you may not sell it or
give it away. You are also responsible for keeping our equipment safe
and in as good condition as possible. If your equipment breaks or
malfunctions, let us know so we can arrange to get it repaired.

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 If you are part of our corporate cell phone plan, please use your phone
within our plan’s restraints. You may have to pay any extra charges
yourself.

Theft and damage of company equipment

We ask you to inform us within 24 hours if your equipment is stolen or
damaged. We might be able to trace stolen laptops and cell phones.
Please also file a theft statement (affidavit) with the police and submit a
copy to us.

Security of company issued devices

We advise you to keep your company-issued computer, tablet and cell
phone secure. You can do this if you:

 Keep all devices password-protected.

 Ensure you do not leave your devices unattended.
 Install security updates for browsers and other systems as soon as
updates are available.
 Log into company accounts and systems through secure and private
networks only.
 Follow all instructions for disk encryption, anti-malware protection
and password management that you received along with your
equipment.

Salary Grade Data as of May 8, 2019

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3
1 5,000 5300 5500
2 5700 5850 6000
3 6200 6400 6600
4 6850 7000 7300
5 7500 7800 8000
6 8200 8450 8750
7 9000 9250 9500
8 9750 10000 10250
9 10500 10750 11000
10 11250 11500 11750
11 12000 12250 12500
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 12 12750 13000 13250
13 13500 13750 14000
14 14250 14500 14750
15 15000 15250 15500
16 15750 16000 16250
17 16500 16750 17000
18 17250 17500 17750
19 18000 18250 18500
20 18750 19000 19250
21 19500 19750 20000
22 20150 20300 20450
23 20600 20750 20900
24 21050 21200 21350
25 21500 21650 21800
26 21950 22100 22250
27 22400 22550 22700
28 22850 23000 23200
29 23400 23600 23800
30 24000 24200 24400

Qualification Standard Table

Position Salary Qualification Standard

Grade
Teacher 1-step 1 Education Units
Trainee/Intern
Teacher I 3-step 2 Bachelor’s Degree major in Any Subject
Minimum Education Units of 6
Teacher II 4-step 1 Bachelor of Education Graduate
No minimum experience
Teacher III 4-step 2 Bachelor of Education Graduate
No minimum experience
w/ or w/o LET License
Teacher IV 5-step 1 Bachelor of Education Graduate minimum
1 year experience
LET License

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Teacher V 7-step 1 Bachelor of Education Graduate minimum
2 years relevant experience
LET License
Teacher VI 12-step 3 Bachelor of Education Graduate minimum
4 years relevant experience
LET License
Teacher VII 13-step 2 Bachelor of Education Graduate minimum
5 years relevant experience
LET License
Teacher VIII 14-step 2 Bachelor of Education Graduate minimum
6 years relevant experience
LET License
Teacher IX 15-step 3 Bachelor of Education Graduate minimum
8 years relevant experience
LET License
Teacher X 17-step 3 Bachelor of Education Graduate minimum
10 years relevant experience
LET License
School 8-step 2 Bachelor of Education Graduate or any
Registrar related course
minimum 2 years relevant experience in the
field
computer literate
Accounting 12-step 2 B.A. Accountancy or any related courses
Officer Minimum 2 years relevant experience
Computer literate
Administrator 21-step 3 Bachelor of Education Graduate
Minimum 5 years relevant experience
Computer literate
LET License
Minimum 27 units in Master’s Degree
Principal 9-step 2 Bachelor of Education Graduate
Minimum 5 years relevant experience
Computer literate
LET License
Minimum 18 units in Master’s Degree
Coordinator I 8-step 1 Bachelor of Education Graduate or any
related courses with education units
minimum of 18
Minimum 2 years relevant experience
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 Computer literate
Coordinator II 8-step 3 Bachelor of Education Graduate or any
related courses with education units
minimum of 18
Minimum 2 years relevant experience
Computer literate
Minimum 6 units in Master’s Degree
Coordinator 10-step 3 Bachelor of Education Graduate or any
III related courses with education units
minimum of 18
Minimum 4 years relevant experience
Computer literate
Minimum 6 units in Master’s Degree
Crew I 1-step 1 High School Graduate
Able to speak English
No minimum experience
Crew II 1-step 3 High School Graduate
Able to speak English
Minimum 1 year experience
Crew III 2-step 3 High School Graduate
Able to speak English
Minimum 1 year experience
Crew IV 3-step 2 High School Graduate
Able to speak English
Minimum 2 years experience
Crew V 4-step 3 High School Graduate
Able to speak English
Minimum 3 years experience
Crew VI 6-step 3 High School Graduate
Able to speak English
Minimum 5 years experience

Workplace policies: safety, health and confidentiality

This section describes workplace policies that apply to everyone at our
company: employees, contractors, volunteers, vendors and stakeholders
alike. These policies help us build a productive, lawful and pleasant
workplace.

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Confidentiality and data protection
We want to ensure that private information about clients, employees,
partners and our company is well-protected. Examples of confidential
information are:

 Employee records
 Unpublished financial information
 Data of customers/partners/vendors
 Customer lists (existing and prospective)
 Unpublished goals, forecasts and initiatives marked as confidential

As part of our hiring process, we may ask you to sign a non-compete and
non-disclosure agreements (NDAs.) We are also committed to:

 Restrict and monitor access to sensitive data.

 Develop transparent data collection procedures.
 Train employees in online privacy and security measures.
 Build secure networks to protect online data from cyber-attacks.
 Establish data protection practices (e.g. secure locks, data
encryption, frequent backups, and access authorization.)

We also expect you to act responsibly when handling confidential

information.

You must:

 Lock or secure confidential information at all times.

 Shred confidential documents when they’re no longer needed.
 Make sure you view confidential information on secure devices
only.
 Only disclose information to other employees when it’s necessary
and authorized.
 Keep confidential documents inside our company’s premises
unless it’s absolutely necessary to move them.

You must not:

 Use confidential information for your personal benefit or profit.

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  Disclose confidential information to anyone outside of our
company.
 Replicate confidential documents and files and store them on
insecure devices.

This policy is important for our company’s legality and reputation. We

will terminate any employee who breaches our confidentiality
guidelines for personal profit.

We may also discipline any unintentional breach of this policy depending

on its frequency and seriousness. We will terminate employees who
repeatedly disregard this policy, even when they do so unintentionally.

Harassment and violence

To build a happy and productive workplace, we need everyone to treat
others well and help them feel safe. Each of us should do our part to
prevent harassment and workplace violence.

Workplace harassment
Harassment is a broad term and may include seemingly harmless actions,
like gossip. We can’t create an exhaustive list, but here are some
instances that we consider harassment:

 Sabotaging someone’s work on purpose.

 Engaging in frequent or unwanted advances of any nature.
 Commenting derogatorily on a person’s ethnic heritage or religious
beliefs.
 Starting or spreading rumors about a person’s personal life.
 Ridiculing someone in front of others or singling them out to perform
tasks unrelated to their job (e.g. bringing coffee) against their will.

Sexual harassment is illegal and we will seriously investigate relevant

reports. If an employee is found guilty of sexual harassment, they will
be terminated and if applicable, the school shall also seek legal action
against anyone who sexual harass.

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 If you’re being harassed, whether by a colleague, customer or vendor,
you can choose to talk to any of these people:

 Offenders. If you suspect that an offender doesn’t realize they are

guilty of harassment, you could talk to them directly in an effort to
resolve the harassment. This tactic is appropriate for cases of minor
harassment (e.g. inappropriate jokes between colleagues.) Avoid
using this approach with customers or stakeholders.
 Your manager/supervisor/principal. If customers, stakeholders or
team members are involved in your claim, you may reach out to your
manager. Your manager will assess your situation and may contact
the administration if appropriate.
 Administration. Feel free to reach out to the Admin/HR in any case
of harassment no matter how minor it may seem. For your safety,
contact the Admin/HR as soon as possible in cases of serious
harassment (e.g. sexual advances) or if your manager is involved in
your claim. Anything you disclose will remain confidential.

Workplace violence
Violence in our workplace is a serious form of harassment. It includes
physical and sexual assault, destruction of property, threats to harm a
person or property and verbal and psychological abuse. We want to
avoid those incidents altogether, but we also want to be ready to
respond if needed.

For this reason, we ask you to:

 Report to Admin/HR if you suspect or know that someone is being

violent. Your report will be confidential and we will investigate the
situation with discretion.
 Call our building’s security if you witness incidents of severe
physical violence (e.g. ones that involve a lethal weapon.) For your
safety, avoid getting involved.

We will treat employees who verbally threaten others as high risk and
they will receive an appropriate penalty. If Admin/HR finds that an
employee commits an act of violence, we will terminate that employee
and possibly press criminal charges. Employees who damage property
deliberately will be solely responsible for paying for it.
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 Supporting victims
To support victims of workplace violence, we may:

 Cover relevant medical bills.

 Pay for mental health treatment if needed.
 Provide victims with our lawyer’s services to help them file
lawsuits.

Get help early on

Seek help from others early on to mitigate conflicts. For example:

 If you experience conflicts with a colleague, ask your manager for

advice before tensions escalate. If these conflicts persist, ask
Admin/HR whether you could attend conflict resolution seminars
with your colleague.
 If you are experiencing personal or work troubles, ask for help
from a mental health professional. Ask Admin/HR for information.
Your discussions will remain confidential.

Our workplace is founded on mutual respect and we won’t allow anyone to

compromise this foundation.

Workplace safety and health

Our company is committed to creating a hazard-free workplace. To this
end, we will ensure workplace safety through preventative action and
emergency management.

Preventative action
Preventative actions are any actions we take to avoid injuries or
illnesses related to the workplace. We will periodically conduct risk
assessments and job hazard analyses to uncover health risks to
employees. And we will establish preventative measures to address
risks accordingly.

At a minimum, we will:

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  Hold employee training sessions on safety standards and procedures.
 Make sure employees who work in dangerous locations are safe.

We also expect you to take safety seriously. Always use protective

equipment and follow standards whenever necessary. If you deliberately
disregard our guidelines, we may terminate you for your own and
others’ safety.

Emergency management
Emergency management refers to our plan to deal with sudden
catastrophes like fire, floods, earthquakes or explosions. Our emergency
management provisions include:

 Functional smoke alarms and sprinklers that are regularly inspected.

 Technicians (external or internal) available to repair leakages,
damages and blackouts as soon as possible.
 Fire extinguishers and other fire protection equipment that are easily
accessible.]
 An evacuation plan posted on each floor and online.
 Fire escapes and safety exits that are clearly indicated.

Smoking
Asian Power School of English, Inc. is a smoke-free workplace. You can
smoke in [designated smoking areas outside the school campus. Any
other area in our workplace like restrooms, lobby, offices, staircases,
quadrangle and 5 meters around the vicinity of the school is strictly
smoke-free to protect its students.

We also advise you to:

 Extinguish your cigarettes and discard them in [outdoor ashtrays,

cigarette urns.]
 Avoid smoking when you have scheduled meetings with clients or
vendors especially all our stakeholders.
 Avoid smoking near flammable objects and areas.

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Setting off fire alarms and causing fires by smoking are serious offenses. If
you are found responsible, you may face disciplinary action up to and
including termination.

Drug-free workplace
Asian Power School of English, Inc. is a drug-free workplace. Whether
you are an employee, contractor or visitor, you must not bring, use, give
away or sell any drugs on company premises. If you are caught with
illegal drugs, or show that you are under the influence of any
substances, you will face disciplinary action up to and including
termination.

A list of prohibited drugs and substances includes, but isn’t limited to:

 heroin/cocaine/methamphetamine in any form

 marijuana

Alcohol
We prohibit employees from consuming alcohol during working hours,
but they may consume alcoholic drinks in moderation at company
events and after working hours.

Prescription drugs
If you feel that a prescription drug (e.g. an anxiety mediation)
unexpectedly affects your senses, thinking or movement, ask for the rest
of your day off. If your supervisor suspects substance abuse, you may
face disciplinary action.

You must not use medical marijuana in our workplace. We have the
right to terminate you if your off-duty use of medical marijuana makes
you unable to complete your job duties correctly.

We expect employees who hold safety-sensitive jobs to be fully alert

and capable of performing their duties at all times. We may terminate
you if we conclude your prescription drug use creates severe safety
risks. If you need to use prescription drugs for a limited time and you
think they may impair your abilities, use your PTO or sick leave.
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 If your job includes secondary tasks that are safety-sensitive and your
prescribed drugs affect your ability to perform these tasks, we can make
reasonable accommodations to ensure you and your colleagues’ safety.

Dealing with addiction

Being sober is a prerequisite to thriving at our company and we want to
help you as much as possible. If you face a relevant problem, please
reach out to any of our officers(i.e. principal, first aider, administrators)

We won’t tolerate substance addiction that results in violent, offensive

or inappropriate behavior.

Staff Rules, Regulations and Sanctions

The School places a few restraints and restrictions on your personal

conduct as possible. However, for the protection of its property and
interests and those of all employees, the School establishes reasonable
norms of conduct which you are asked to observe. It reserves the right
to change these rules and regulations and to issue new ones at any time
at its discretion.

Working Hours
Observe your working hours faithfully. Arrive punctually at your work
area, ready to begin the day’s work, and do not leave before dismissal
time.
During working hours, be at your work area, except when you have to
transact School business off-campus or in offices or departments other
than your own. Everyone is also asked to stay at the faculty during their
respective vacant time.

You may not

 be habitually late for work*;
 leave early, except for good reason and with your
supervisor’s permission;
 leave your work area during working hours without authorization
from the Principal and/or Administrator and for no valid reasons**;
 sleep or loiter during working hours;
 abuse rest periods or lunch breaks.

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Time Records
Keep daily time records, and make only true and correct entries in your
time records.

You may not

 falsify entries in your time records***;
 intentionally fill in the time record of another employee*;
 have your time record filled in by another person*;
 make unauthorized alterations on any time record**

Leaves and Absences

All leaves, whether with or without pay, are subject to prior
authorization. If, for any reason, you cannot report for work, send word
to your supervisor as soon possible, either by telephone or by personal
messenger, informing him/her of the reason for your absence, your
workload schedule and plan and indicating, if possible, how soon you
can report back to work. Such notification does not mean automatic
approval of the leave. Secure formal approval for your leave not later
than the day you return to work.

You may not

 absent yourself without your supervisor’s permission, particularly

on workdays immediately before or after a weekend or a paid
holiday*;
 fail to notify your supervisor immediately in case of absence due to
sickness or emergency*;
 fail to secure prior formal authorization for leave, before going on
leave*;
 take a leave despite failure to secure valid authorization for the
leave*;
 feign illness**.

Unauthorized leaves are considered unexcused absences. Any of

the following instances is considered sufficient ground for
dismissal:

 unexcused absences on five (5) workdays within any twelve-

month period***;

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  failure to report for work without any justifiable reason, or without
authorized leave, for at least ten (10) consecutive workdays
(tantamount to abandonment of work)***

Behavior
In the performance of your duties, and in your working relations with
others, observe
the basic rules of courtesy and good behavior. Give due regard to the
well-being of
others regardless of position and rank.

You may not engage in any form of disorderly conduct such as the
following:
 discourtesy, or rudeness in language or behaviour**;
 use of profane or obscene language**;
 engaging in horseplay or any other form of unruly behaviour**;
 gambling in any form within the School premises***;
 taking alcoholic drinks within School premises during working
hours***;
 reporting to work under the influence of alcohol***;
 possessing, using, distributing, or peddling restricted or banned
items such as narcotics and other dangerous drugs***;
 possessing, distributing, showing or lending to others obscene or
pornographic materials***.

Any of the following instances is considered sufficient ground for

dismissal:

 provoking or instigating a fight, fighting (except in self-defense),

threatening or intimidating a fellow employee or anyone else on
campus***;
 unjustifiably inflicting physical harm on another person within
School premises***.
Personal Integrity

Observe high ethical standards and act in good faith in your dealings
with the School and with others.

You may not

 falsify reports, official records or documents of the School***;

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  give false testimony, or give false information on personnel or other
official records***;
 offer or accept gifts or anything of significant value in connection
with your work**;
 lend money at usurious rates of interest to fellow employees**;
 evade paying your just debts**;
 use your position, or access to School records and other data, to
further personal interests***;
 use School time, materials or equipment to do unauthorized work**;
 get involved in immoral or illicit relationships or activities which
violate common decency or morality inside school premises;
 betray the School’s trust and confidence***;
 conduct yourself on and off duty in a manner that will embarrass or
discredit the School***

Any of the following instances is considered sufficient ground for

dismissal:

 commission, or being a party to the commission, of a criminal

offense against the person or property of a fellow employee or any
member of the School community***;
 conviction in a court of law for a criminal offense against person or
property***.

Confidential Matters

If you are in custody of confidential records, safeguard any information

in such records as well as those conveyed to you in
confidence. Examples of records classified as confidential
are: personnel records, salary records, examination papers, student
grades, psychological test reports.

You may not

 divulge, or provide access to confidential information to unauthorized

persons***;
 obtain unauthorized access to confidential information***.

Work Performance

Know the duties of your position, make productive use of time and

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 equipment, give a good day’s work, and maintain services at an
acceptable level of competence. Apply yourself to the official business
of the School, deferring personal business outside of working hours.

You should avoid

 unsatisfactory work performance for no valid reason, in any particular

day or assignment;
 repeated mistakes due to carelessness, negligence or inattentiveness
to the assigned work;
 unexplained failure to perform regular duties or special assignments
within the time such duties or assignments should have been normally
accomplished**;
 restricting output, slowing down, or encouraging others to do so*;
 failure or refusal to report for overtime work without valid reason
when needed or after being scheduled to work according to the School
policy on overtime*;
 attending to personal business during working hours*.

Any of the following instances is considered sufficient ground for

dismissal:

 deliberate insubordination, or intentional failure or refusal to carry

out reasonable orders, instructions or directives of superiors*;
 gross or habitual negligence of duties**.

Responsibility for Funds or Property

Exercise care and diligence in handling School funds and property

entrusted to your custody by virtue of your position or by direct
authorization or assignment. Likewise, respect each other’s personal
property.

You may not

 misuse, or be careless with tools and equipment resulting in damage

to School property;
 fail to observe security precautions, resulting in loss of School funds
or property;
 fail to report, as soon as possible, any significant loss of, or damage
to, School property;

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  use School property to which you have not been assigned, or use
School property for personal purposes, unless with prior formal
approval;
 take out School property form the School premises unless with prior
written authorization;
 withhold from the School any fund or property belonging or entrusted
to the School***

Any of the following instances is considered sufficient ground for

dismissal:

 misappropriation of School funds for one’s own use or benefit***;

 stealing School property or the personal property of another***;
 deliberately causing damage to School property***

Security and Safety Measures

Take reasonable security and safety precautions. Report any security or

safety hazards promptly to your supervisor. Report any accident or
injury immediately.

You may not

 disregard or violate security and safety rules, including fire, theft

and campus traffic regulations*;
 refuse to submit to security requirements*.

Any of the following instances is considered sufficient ground for

dismissal:

 unauthorized possession of a deadly weapon, including bladed

weapons, firearms and explosives, on School premises***;
 unnecessary and dangerous display of firearms, licensed or
unlicensed, or of any other deadly weapon, on School premises***

Health and Sanitation

Safeguard your health, and show consideration for the well-being of

your fellow employees. Practice good health habits and help in keeping
your workplace clean.

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 You may not

 engage in unsanitary acts or habits within the School premises*;

 harbor an illness which, because of its infectious nature, endangers
the health of others;
 ignore recommendations of your attending physician regarding
health matters;
 submit someone else’s chest x-ray as your own for purposes of
medical clearance.

Various Employee Activities

Exercise discretion should you engage in individual or group employee

activities in the School.

You may not

 engage, during working hours, in membership drives, meetings, or

other activities unrelated to the official business of the School**;
 use School facilities at any time for such activities without previous
permission from the School administration*;
 post, write, or remove material on the School bulletin boards without
proper authorization;
 engage in unauthorized solicitation of contributions from fellow
employees and/or clienteles using the name of the school***;
 use School time for vending activities*.

Legend:

*** AUTOMATIC DISMISSAL

** UP TO TWO (2) WARNINGS
* UP TO THREE (3) WARNINGS
(NO ASTERISK) UP TO 5TH WARNING DEPENDING ON THE
SEVERITY OF THE ACT

Leaving our Company

In this section, we describe our procedures regarding resignation

and termination of our employees. We also refer to our progressive
discipline process that may sometimes result in termination.

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Progressive discipline
Here we outline steps we will take to address employee misconduct. We
want to give employees a chance to correct their behavior when
possible and assist them in doing so. We also want to ensure that we
thoroughly investigate and handle serious offenses.

Our progressive discipline process has six steps of increasing severity.

These steps are:

1. Verbal warning
2. Informal meeting with supervisor
3. Formal reprimand
4. Formal disciplinary meeting
5. Penalties
6. Termination

Different offenses correspond to different steps in our disciplinary

process. For example, minor, one-time offenses (e.g. breach of our dress
code policy) will trigger Step 1. More severe violations (e.g. sexual
harassment, drug abuse, etc.) will trigger step 5.

If you manage employees, inform them when you launch a progressive

discipline process. Pointing out a performance issue is not necessarily a
verbal warning and may be part of your regular feedback. If you judge
that progressive discipline is appropriate, let your team member know
and ask Admin/HR to help you explain our full procedure.

Managers may skip or repeat steps at their discretion. Our company

may treat circumstances differently from that described in this policy.
But, we are always obliged to act fairly and lawfully and document
every stage of our progressive discipline process.

Keep in mind that our company isn’t obliged to follow the steps of our
progressive discipline process. As you are employed, we may terminate
you directly without launching a progressive discipline process
depending on the severity of misconduct. For serious offenses (e.g.

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sexual harassment, drug abuse, etc.), we may terminate you without
warning.

Resignation
You resign when you voluntarily inform Admin/HR that you will stop
working for our company. We also consider you resigned if you don’t
come to work for 5(five) consecutive days without notice.

You are required to give us AT LEAST 1(one) month advance notice

before resigning.

We do not accept verbal resignations, you need to submit a written and

signed notice of resignation for our Admin/HR records. We will reply
with an acceptance of resignation letter within 3(three) working days
minimum. Admin/HR will inform your manager/supervisor and
colleagues that you are resigning if you haven’t already done so.

Tuition or relocation reimbursement

If you have relocated or studied at our company’s expense, you are
bound by your contract to remain with us as mentioned in the Perks and
Benefits Section. If you resign before that period, you may have to
reimburse us for part or all of these expenses.

Forced resignation
You can resign anytime at your own free will and nobody should force
you into resignation. Forcing someone into resigning (directly or
indirectly) is constructive dismissal and we won’t tolerate it.
Specifically, we prohibit employees from:

 Creating a hostile or unpleasant environment.

 Demanding or persuading an employee to resign.
 Victimizing, harassing or retaliating against an employee.

Termination
Terminating an employee is always unpleasant but sometimes
necessary. If that happens, we want to ensure we act lawfully and
respectfully.
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We may terminate an employee either for cause or without cause.

 For cause termination is justified when an employee breaches their

contract, engages in illegal activities (e.g. embezzlement), disrupts
our workplace (e.g. harasses colleagues), performs below acceptable
standards or causes damage or financial loss to our company.
 Without cause termination refers to redundancies or layoffs that
may be necessary if we cease some of our operations or re-assign job
duties within teams. We will follow applicable laws regarding notice.

We will offer severance pay to eligible employees. We will help

employees who were terminated without cause to find work elsewhere,
if possible.

If you manage team members, avoid wrongful dismissal. When you

terminate an employee for cause, we expect you to be certain you made
the right choice and keep accurate performance and/or disciplinary
records to support your decision.

References
When we terminate employees, we may provide references for those
who leave in good standing. This means that employees shouldn’t have
been terminated for cause. If you are laid off, you may receive
references. Please ask your manager.

If you resign, you may ask for references and your

manager/supervisor/principal/Admin has a right to oblige or refuse.

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 INDEX

I. Teachers’ Binding Agreement

ATTN: TCPEIA Schools Division
DepEd Tarlac City Schools Division Office
DepEd Division of Tarlac Province

To Whom It May Concern;

This document certifies that the undersigned individuals have conscientiously signed
a Multiple Year Contract.

This further certifies that these individuals have attended the Orientation for
Employees and has gained all information concerning school rules and regulations
dated on __________________ at Asian Power School of English School Grounds.

Given the statement above, the signatories have been fully informed that the contract
they signed is binding.

That if they decide to resign and terminate their contract before it formally ends,
DEPED and TCPEIA will acknowledge the binding contract of Asian Power School
of English and the individuals signed below that;

i. DEPED and all schools under TCPEIA will not hire them three (3) years
prior to their termination of contract whatever their reason for contract
termination.

ii. Employees who terminate their contract without prior notice shall pay the
amount of Php 150,000.00.

iii. Asian Power School of English shall not be liable of any benefits and
financial responsibilities from the last working day.

__________________________________
Note: All Employees are assigned to and given their own Employee Handbook and Manual with
its respective serial number. Once Terminated or Resigned, this Employee Handbook and Manual
should be returned to Asian Power School of English, Inc. in good condition before request for
reference and/or certificate of employment and conduct will be given.

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