Employment Basics
Employment contract types
Full-time employees work 1 fte = 40 hours per week on average.
Part-time employees are those who work less than 1 fte per week.
Full-time and part-time employees can have either temporary or indefinite duration contracts.
Both full-time and part-time employees are eligible for our benefits package.
punctum books does not employ unpaid interns.
Equal opportunity employment
punctum books is a queer opportunity employer. Beyond the fact that we don’t tolerate discrimination against protected characteristics (gender, age, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, disability, veteran status), we intend to foster a workplace that is queer-friendly, embracing of emotional and neuro-diversity, and accommodating to a wide variety of relationship styles.
Discriminatory, offensive, or inappropriate behavior of any kind will not be tolerated. At the same time, we do not reinscribe the disciplinary structures of the state into our company's organization. All complaints will be discussed at a dedicated staff meeting, if necessary facilitated by an external impartial mediator. Issues between two or more employees are issues of the entire company.
- [Hire and promote people based on skills, experience or potential and try to reduce bias in every process (e.g. through structured interviews.)]
- [Make accommodations to help people with disabilities move about safely on our premises and use our products, services and equipment.]
- [Use inclusive, diversity-sensitive language in all official documents, signs and job ads.]
- [Conduct diversity and communication training.]
Recruitment and selection process
Considering the small size of the our company, recruitment and hiring is managed by the Directors. In general, potential new hires will be slowly introduced to the company on a freelance basis with the prospect of a fixed contract.
New employees are vetted on their capabilities of operating independently within a small organization, their ability to take initiative, contribute to the scholarly and queer profile of the press, and have an excellent taste in music.
We do not run any background checks.
Onboarding
New employees are given logins and access to punctum's various production platforms, as required by their function. They will be issued logins and passwords. See further Confidentiality and Data Protection.
Terms of Address, Accounts, and Identification
An employee has the right to be addressed by the name, pronouns, and title they request at all times, this includes non-binary/neo-pronouns and titles. This will be reflected in logins, email addresses, email signatures, and directories with the employee's correct name and title. For legal purposes, some systems (such as the payroll and health care) may require the employee's legal name. These should be considered an exception.
The intentional or persistent refusal to respect an employee’s gender identity (for example, intentionally referring to the employee by a name or pronoun that does not correspond to the employee’s wishes) can constitute harassment.
Attendance
Employees are autonomous in the organization of their working hours, as long as they are able to attend the weekly staff meeting and any other meetings with other employees and Directors that may be necessary for the satisfactory fulfillment of their task.
Weekly Staff Meeting and Other Meetings
punctum books does not have a central office space. As a result, the weekly online staff meeting, attended by the Directors and all employees has a core function in regulating the workflows within our company. The staff meeting starts with a check-in with everyone present, providing an overview of current tasks, ongoing production, and current or potential problems. Staff meetings will also present an opportunity for anyone to bring in new ideas, air grievances, or make proposals.
Other meetings between Directors and employees may be organized on a regular or ad-hoc basis, according to the exigencies of the production pipeline.
Terms of Address, Accounts, and Identification
An employee has the right to be addressed by the name, pronouns, and title they request at all times, this includes non-binary/neo-pronouns and titles. This will be reflected in logins, email addresses, email signatures, and directories with the employee's correct name and title. For legal purposes, some systems (such as the payroll and health care) may require the employee's legal name. These should be considered an exception.
The intentional or persistent refusal to respect an employee’s gender identity (for example, intentionally referring to the employee by a name or pronoun that does not correspond to the employee’s wishes) can constitute harassment.