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People Policies

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This is a Controlled Document

Inline with GitLab's regulatory obligations, changes to controlled documents must be approved or merged by a code owner. All contributions are welcome and encouraged.

Purpose

All of the policies listed below are important for GitLab team members to read and understand as they deal with people benefits, procedures, and requirements of the company. If you have any questions around the internal policies, please reach out to People Operations at people-connect@gitlab.com.

Scope

These policies apply to all GitLab team members, contractors, advisors, and contracted parties interacting with GitLab computing resources and accessing company or customer data.

Roles & Responsibilities

Role Responsibility
GitLab Team Members Responsible for following the requirements in these policies
PeopleOps Responsible for implementing and executing these policies
Legal & PeopleOps Management (Code Owners) Responsible for approving significant changes and exceptions to these policies

Procedure

Open Door Policy

We encourage maximum communication between team members at all levels of the organization. This is an important part of our culture. Whenever problems or concerns arise, it is expected that they will be addressed as quickly as possible. Your immediate manager is the person on the management team who is closest to you and your work. When you need help or have questions, complaints, problems or suggestions, please contact your manager first. It is your manager's responsibility to assist you - so please ask, and be willing to work the issue out with your manager. They are interested in your success, the success of every team member in their department, and the overall success of GitLab.

If your manager cannot help you or answer your questions, your questions will be referred to someone who can. If you feel your particular question, concern or suggestion cannot be discussed with your manager, you are encouraged to contact your manager's manager, your assigned People Business Partner, Team Member Relations, the Chief People Officer or the CEO. It is important to remember that a team member who takes these steps will not be reproached. You can expect to be treated fairly and with respect.

Personal Hygiene

When attending Contribute or any conference, public meeting, customer meeting or meet-up, kindly keep in mind you are representing GitLab. Personal hygiene and hygiene in general helps to maintain good health and prevent the spread of diseases and various other illnesses. We motivate everyone to maintain cleanliness. For more information about our GitLab Events Code of Conduct, read more here.

Social Responsibility

We pride ourselves on being a company that operates with integrity, makes good choices, and does the right thing in every aspect of our business. We will continually challenge ourselves to define what being a responsible company means to us, and work to translate our definition into behavior and improvements at GitLab. We seek to align our social and environmental efforts with our business goals and continue to develop both qualitative and quantitative metrics to assess our progress.

Substance Abuse

GitLab strives to maintain a workplace that is free from illegal use, possession, sale, or distribution of alcohol or controlled substances. Legal or illegal substances shall not be used in a manner that impairs a person’s performance of assigned tasks. This will help to maintain the efficient and effective operation of the business, and to ensure customers receive the proper service. GitLab team members must also adhere to the local laws of where they reside and where they travel to, including the GitLab Contribute.

Mental Health Awareness

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as:

The WHO defines mental health as:

Defining the terms from the sentence above:

  1. Why is awareness of Mental Health important at GitLab?

    • It can affect any and all of us. The statistics from the WHO are that 1 in 4 of us will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in our life. That said, we are all subject to periods where we or those around us find the "the normal stresses of life" harder than usual to deal with.
    • The more we are aware of mental health, the more inclusive we are. That will help encourage any colleagues currently experiencing mental health issues to talk about it.
    • Our business at its core is a group of people working together towards a common goal. With awareness of what might affect our colleagues, we are better equipped to help them if they do discuss it with us and therefore help our business.
    • Mental health has so much emotional baggage as a topic that it can initially seem scary to talk about. Promoting mental health awareness helps to remove the stigma and taboos associated with it.
    • GitLab can offer "productive and fruitful" work for all of our employees. That should not be underestimated.
    • In the cold-light of business metrics, the healthier we are, the more productive we are.

  2. At GitLab we strive to create a stigma-free workplace. In accordance with the National Mental Health Association and the National Council for Behavioral Health we would like to:

    • Educate employees about the signs and symptoms of mental health disorders.
    • Encourage employees to talk about stress, workload, family commitments, and other issues.
    • Communicate that mental illnesses are real, common, and treatable.
    • Discourage stigmatizing language, including hurtful labels such as “crazy,” “loony” or “nuts.”
    • Help employees transition back to work after they take leave.
    • Encourage consultation with our employee assistance programs.

  3. What are we doing to get there?

    • People Learning and Development team will be developing training for managers on this topic.
    • Talk about mental health issues and ideas in the #mental_health_aware Slack channel. Examples of what we discuss and share in there:
    • GitLab would also like to encourage GitLab team members to take time off to properly take care of themselves. We encourage the team to go to yoga, take a long lunch, or anything else in their day to day life that assists in their mental and emotional well-being.
    • In addition to our current EAP programs available for employees, we encourage GitLab team members to take a look at Working Through It for insight into reclaiming well-being at work, off work, and return to work.
    • We believe that our values and culture lends itself to being able to discuss mental health open and honestly without being stigmatized, but let's work together to make it even more inclusive. For example, Finding the right words:
      • "How can we help you do your job?"
      • "You’re not your usual self."
      • "Do you want to talk about it?"
      • "It's always OK to ask for help."
      • "It’s hard for me to understand exactly what you’re going through, but I can see that it’s distressing for you."

Any questions or concerns? Please feel free to speak with anyone in People Ops.

Employee Information Privacy

GitLab respects the confidentiality of the personal information of employees and contractors. This includes employee and contractor medical and personnel records. All team member records are kept in BambooHR. Team members have self service access to their profile. Where available, documents and information are shared with the team member within the platform. Access to personal information is only authorized when there is a legitimate and lawful reason, and access is only granted to appropriate personnel. Requests for confidential employee or contractor information from anyone outside our company under any circumstances must be approved in accordance with applicable laws. It is important to remember, however, that employees and contractors should have no expectation of privacy with regard to normal workplace communication on any personal property used for GitLab business.

If a GitLab Inc or GitLab Federal LLC team member would like to view their personnel records, please review the US Access to Personnel Records section.

If there is no requirement within someone's job description to be public-facing, then team members can opt-out of any public exposure. Team members can opt-out of being added to the team page or what content about them is shown on the team page and can use either only their initials or an alias if desired. Since GitLab publishes much of our content, including video calls and meetings, the only way to ensure no unwanted exposure from these videos is to have video turned off and initials or an alias added to the Zoom profile name whenever a call is being recorded. Zoom shows whether a call is being recorded at the top right of the video screen, and team members are always encouraged to ask if a video will be shared or not. For any GitLab livestreams through YouTube, a team member can watch and comment through YouTube instead of through the internal video call. Any questions can be sent directly to our People Business Partners or CPO.

Confidentiality

As stated in the Confidentiality and Corporate Assets and Corporate Opportunities section of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, team members are, on occasion, entrusted with GitLab confidential information and with the confidential information of GitLab suppliers, customers or other business partners. This information may include:

This information, if disclosed, might be of use to competitors, or harmful to GitLab's suppliers, customers or other business partners. This information is the property of GitLab, or the property of its suppliers, customers or business partners, and in many cases was developed at great expense. All team members, upon commencement of employment with GitLab, shall sign offer letters or contractor agreements that contain confidentiality provisions (the “Confidentiality Agreement”) provided by GitLab. Strict adherence to the Confidentiality Agreement is required of each team member.

Team members shall not take for themselves, or for family members or any other entities with which they are affiliated, any opportunity of which they become aware through the use of GitLab property or information, or through their position with GitLab, and shall not use GitLab property or information, or their position with GitLab, for personal gain other than actions taken for the overall advancement of the interests of GitLab.

Team members also have obligations to protect the personal and sensitive information of our fellow team members. Therefore, you may not access and/or disseminate any team member's personal information (i.e. address, personal phone number, salary, etc.) that the team member has not made publicly available, unless the team member has provided written permission to share this information. An exception to this restriction would be when access is a necessary function of your job duties. A violation of this obligation is considered severe and could result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

Exceptions

Exceptions to this procedure will be tracked as per the Information Security Policy Exception Management Process. For reference see the Parent Policy: Information Security Policy.

Workers' Compensation

If you have been injured at work, at a co-working site, or traveling to a customer location please contact the Absence Management team (leaves@gitlab.com). The Absence Management team may provide you with paperwork to file your claim and explain your benefits.

Hiring Significant Others or Family Members

GitLab is committed to a policy of employment and advancement based on qualifications and merit and does not discriminate in favor of or in opposition to the employment of significant others or family members. Due to the potential for perceived or actual conflicts, such as favoritism or personal conflicts from outside the work environment, which can be carried into the daily working relationship, GitLab will hire or consider other employment actions concerning significant others and/or family members of persons currently employed or contracted only if all points below are true:

This policy applies to all current employees and candidates for employment. In the spirit of our Transparency value, we ask the team member and the candidate to disclose the family relationship to the recruiter at the beginning of the hiring process. For purposes of this policy, a significant other or family member is any person who has a relation by blood, marriage, adoption, or domestic partnership within the third degree of our team member. If the candidate progresses through the process as a final candidate, and prior to any offer, the recruiter should notify the hiring manager and the People Business Partner of the family relationship to ensure there is not a conflict of interest. In addition, the GitLab team member should not be part of their family member's interview process. If there is a concern that either the team member or the candidate may progress to a position that would trigger one of the conditions above a waiver will be signed by both parties acknowledging that future work assignments, promotions, etc may be impacted by enforcement of this policy.

Active Team Member Relationships (Significant Other or Family Members)

Please report any relationship with a significant other or family member to your People Business Partner, if you find yourself in a reporting relationship with the significant other or family member. Furthermore, if two team members who are in a reporting relationship become significant others or family members in the course of their employment, they should also report the relationship to the People Business Partner. Transfers, promotions, and future work assignments will be made in accordance with all applicable anti-discrimination laws and policies.

Employee Safety

Preventing Unsafe Situations

While GitLab is 100% remote, there may be times when employees travel for work related functions or co-working events. GitLab is committed to the value of a safe, violence-free work environment and ensuring and exhibiting equal commitment to the safety and health of employees.

In general, please consider the following recommendations to ensure safety when traveling or coworking:

  1. Do the research. Have some familiarity with the destination before you arrive. Check with your country's government department that provides advice for traveling overseas:
  2. Try not to draw attention. People who appear to be from out of town are more vulnerable to crimes. Try to respect the culture you are visiting by blending in. Consider protective clothing to avoid pickpockets or other theft. Do not flash money or credit cards unnecessarily.
  3. Make copies of important documents. Consider carrying hard copies of important documents (passport, driver's license) in a separate location in the event your documents are misplaced or stolen.
  4. Keep friends and family updated. No matter whether you’re going on an overnight jaunt or a week-long international journey, it’s always a good idea to let friends or family know your plans. Before you leave, send a copy of your itinerary to a few trusted people who can keep tabs on your whereabouts. Check in regularly with your contacts so they know you’re where you’re supposed to be.
  5. Be wary of public Wi-Fi. Be aware that hackers can steal sensitive information in the public forum. Use a VPN or other secure access if you plan to access sensitive data. More information on VPN usage in GitLab
  6. Safeguard your hotel. Lock and deadbolt the door while you are in the room. Ensure the door is locked when you leave. Keep the windows closed. Try to give the impression that you’re in your room even when you’re away, such as placing the Do Not Disturb sign on the outside of your door and keeping the blinds or windows closed. Don’t let any strangers into your room, even if they say they work for the hotel. You can always call the front desk to check whether someone was ordered by hotel staff to come to your room.
  7. Be aware of your surroundings. Always keep an eye on your personal belongings and use good judgment when talking to strangers. A big part of the joy of traveling is the opportunities it affords to meet new people and learn about their cultures. But if someone near you is acting suspiciously, or if you feel uncomfortable, leave the area immediately. Trust your instincts.
  8. Adhere to any recommended safety recommendations made by the GitLab group. For all large self-hosted events we (jointly completed by our internal security team and our contracted security agency) will do a full risk assessment before we converge. It will be up to employees to read said risk assessment and adhere to recommendations outlined.
  9. If you are sick please do not come or participate in person workplace activities. This is for your safety and for others. We recommend that GitLab team members not travel while sick.

Measures GitLab Takes to Aid Employee Health and Safety

  1. Hand sanitizers placed around venue of live events or attendees given hand sanitizer.
  2. Employees can expense masks for travelling if suggested in risk assessment outlined above.
  3. Sick employees should expense mask if flying.
  4. If health risk is considered high, all food to be served by food health professionals rather than team.
  5. Fist bumps over handshakes.
  6. Sick/ Contagious employees may not participate in team food preparation activities.

Responding to Unsafe Situations:

The following are GitLab’s procedures in the event an employee feels threatened or unsafe:

  1. If at any point, an employee feels that they are in danger of physical harm, please contact the local authorities immediately. Local law enforcement can act quickly to protect the individual and neutralize any threats.
  2. If at any point an employee feels like they or another employee may require immediate medical assistance, please contact the local authorities.
  3. Once the immediate threat is controlled, employees should report any safety concerns to People Ops.
  4. If you believe that a certain location, event or area presents greater risk or exposure to individuals, please notify People Ops. People Ops can proactively communicate the concerns to other potentially affected employees.
  5. If at any point you believe you, personally, may commit an unsafe act, People Ops can assist in providing information about available Employee Assistance Options.

Background Screenings

GitLab uses appropriate controls to ensure that its assets and its customer relationships and information are protected. To reduce these risks, GitLab will obtain and review background information of covered prospective, and, as applicable, current team members, as allowed by local law.

GitLab currently contracts with Sterling Talent Solutions to provide background screenings. For all candidates being considered for a position at GitLab, an employment history for the last 5 years and/or the three most recent employers will be verified in accordance with applicable local law (if applicable local law limits the review of employment history to fewer years and/or employers, then GitLab follows local law). In jurisdictions where criminal records may be reviewed, criminal records will be requested. Additional screenings may include, where applicable and in accordance with local law, a search of the Office of Foreign Assets Control Sanctions List or Extended Global Sanctions, and/or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General's List of Excluded Individuals/Entities. For certain positions where the candidate's financial history is relevant to the position, GitLab may also run a screening for any financial related offenses. GitLab may use the returned background information to make decisions regarding employment, where allowed by local law. No background screening will be run until a conditional offer has been made, unless local law explicitly requires otherwise.

In the event the background screening is not available on the scheduled hire date due to delays in processing, GitLab will run the background screening as soon as possible. The same adjudication guidelines will apply to current employees as they do with prospective employees.

The Candidate Experience Specialists will initiate all employment verifications and background screenings for candidates. The People Compliance Partner will initiate any applicable retroactive background screenings or requested enhanced background screenings for current team members.

Disclosure and Authorization

Candidates (and, as applicable, current team members) will receive an email to fill out the background screening application. The application will ask for personal and professional information. The application process includes signing a disclosure and a consent form which explains the rights of an individual undergoing a background screening. The application process is designed to take less than fifteen minutes to complete.

To prepare for the employment verification for those candidates being considered for Director level positions or higher, candidates should gather each previous employer's name and address, position title held, employment start and end dates, manager’s name and title, their phone number, and email address. Details for a Human Resources contact can be entered instead of a manager's contact details. Occasionally, and where permitted by law, Sterling will reach out to the candidate to retrieve additional information, such as backup documentation to act as proof of previous employment or picture IDs. Proof of employment can typically be provided in various ways, such as tax returns (e.g. W2s), pay stubs, LLC documentation, official company registrations, etc.

Background screenings will act as an additional mechanism of transparency and will help to build trust with our clients.

Review Criteria for Candidates and Team Members

Reviews of the background screening are conducted in accordance with the applicable law of the candidate’s jurisdiction. Candidate Experience Specialists should first review the report for omissions, inaccuracies, or discrepancies with employment, including, but not limited to, dates of employment, employer names, or positions held. If the report includes discrepancies related to employment, the Candidate Experience Specialist will reach out to Team Member Relations to review the report. Team Member Relations may escalate the report, as necessary, to Legal - Employment. Employment decisions based on the employment verification portion of the background screening report shall be finalized before any review of the criminal records information takes place.

If criminal record information has been provided, then it will be adjudicated in accordance with applicable local law. Generally, and subject to local law, criminal records are reviewed to determine if criminal convictions have a direct connection with an applicant’s ability to fulfill the job duty with competence and integrity, and decisions are made that are job related and consistent with business necessity. Arrest records are not considered during the adjudication process, nor is any criminal conviction information that is prohibited from being reviewed by applicable local law.

Job Abandonment

When a team member is absent from work for three consecutive workdays, there is no entry on the availability calendar for time off, and fails to contact his or her supervisor, they may be terminated for job abandonment unless otherwise required by law.

If a manager is unable to reach a team member via email or slack within a 24 hour period they should contact their People Business Partner. The People Business partner will access the team member's information to obtain additional contact methods and numbers. The manager and People Business Partner will create an action plan to make all attempts to contact the team member.

Exceptions

GitLab understands there are extenuating circumstances that can occur. In the instance that a team member is absent from work for three consecutive workdays due to an emergency outside of the team members' control (I.E. internet outage in their country of residence), the recommendation is:

Other People Policies

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