Employment of Relatives Policy​

Effective Date:

November 2025

Focus Group:

All Home Office Employees

Purpose:

To ensure fairness, avoid conflicts of interest, and maintain a professional and healthy work environment while allowing Global Outreach International to employ qualified individuals who may be related to current employees.

Guidelines:

​1. General Hiring of Relatives
Relatives may be hired by Global Outreach International under the following conditions:

1. They do not work in a direct supervisory relationship with one another; and
2. Their employment does not create concerns related to supervision, security, safety, conflicts of interest, or workplace morale.

For the purposes of this policy, “relatives” include:

• Spouses
• Children
• Siblings
• Parents
• Grandparents

Integrated Safeguard:

• HR will review all staffing assignments involving relatives to ensure impartiality, avoid perceptions of favoritism, and maintain consistent application across departments.

 
2. Employees Who Marry While Employed
If two employees marry while working at GOI, they may continue employment as long as they do not work in a direct supervisory relationship or create conflicts related to morale, oversight, or workplace dynamics.
If the married employees do work in a direct supervisory relationship, GOI will:

1. Attempt to reassign one of the employees to another available position for which they are qualified;
2. If no such position exists, the employees may decide which one will voluntarily resign from the organization.

Integrated Safeguard:

• HR must document the review and decision-making process to ensure transparency, fairness, and legal defensibility.

 
3. Missionary Care Exemption
The role of Director of Missionary Care has a unique exemption from the supervisory restriction due to the essential value of spousal involvement in missionary care ministry.
Under this exemption:

• A spouse of the Director of Missionary Care may serve as a support-raising member of the Missionary Care Team.
• The spouse will report directly to the Director of Missionary Care, as this structure supports GOI’s holistic care model for missionaries.

Integrated Safeguards for This Exemption:

• The Vice-President of Operations and Human Resources will intervene immediately if:
  • Workplace issues arise,
  • Team dynamics are affected, or
  • Missionaries raise concerns connected to the reporting relationship.
• This ensures healthy boundaries, objective oversight, and prevention of morale, favoritism, or conflict-of-interest concerns.

 
4. Expectations for Professional Conduct
Employees who work in proximity to relatives must:

• Maintain professional boundaries
• Avoid using their relationship to influence workplace decisions
• Ensure personal matters do not interfere with work responsibilities

Integrated Safeguard:

• Violations—including favoritism, blurred reporting relationships, or breaches of confidentiality—may result in reassignment or other corrective action.

 
Faith-Based Commitment
GOI is committed to promoting unity, fairness, and integrity in all work relationships. Our approach to employing relatives balances organizational stewardship with the value we place on family, partnership, and ministry teamwork.