The Importance of Creating an Effective Employee Handbook
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What an Effective Employee Handbook can do for your Business:
As Organizations grow it becomes increasingly important to have a known, structured set of rules and guidelines to address everyday issues. Successful employee handbooks clearly explain your employment policies as well as the consequences for violating these policies. The benefits of having an employee handbook are many. Every employee receives the same information about the rules of the workplace; your employees will know what you expect from them (and what they can expect from you) and you may get legal protection if an employee later files an employment claim against you.
HRSentry provides the content necessary to help protect your Organization from lawsuits, reduce training costs, and lower employee turnover.
Employee Handbook
Key features employee handbooks should include
- Introduction: Give the employee an idea of what your organization is all about, your culture, and what the history is.
- Pay and Salaries: How raises are calculated.
- Performance Reviews: What can employees expect for reviews of their job performance.
- Benefits: Describe what benefits you offer
- Drug and Alcohol Abuse: State your organizations policy regarding drugs and alcohol in and out of the workplace. It is important to consult state laws regarding mandatory treatment for employees with drug abuse problems.
- Sexual Harassment
- Discipline: How, when, and why consequences are handed out to employees breaking policies.
- Employee Safety: Assure employees their safety is a priority
- Complaints: How complaints against employees and the company as a whole are handled.
What Should NOT be Included
Things that can get your business in trouble!
Some courts -- and employees -- interpret the language in employee handbooks to create binding obligations on employers. You should avoid any unconditional promises in your employee handbook unless you are willing to face lawsuits by former employees trying to enforce those promises later. Common trouble spots include promises of continued employment and progressive discipline. How to Deal with issues not Covered by the Employee Handbook
Things that you forgot!
While it is important to cover as many situations and issues as possible in the employee handbook, you can't cover everything. There will always be issues coming up that were not thought of during the handbook creation. As a result, it is necessary to not trap yourself within the constraints of the handbook. To do this you should always make it clear by saying so in the handbook. Otherwise, your employees may argue that any action you take outside of what's explicitly set forth in the handbook is unfair. Another large piece that should be included is a statement reserving the right to change policies as needed. Regional Guidelines and Regulations
Issues pertaining specifically to your state or company
Although the topics above discuss the basic outlines all handbooks should contain, there may be organizational, local, or state guidelines that could affect the legality of your handbook. HRSentry.com gives businesses the tools needed to research their state specific regulations and stay up to date on legal issues pertaining to the human resources.For a complete listing of employee handbook guidelines Visit HRSentry
Dangers of Creating an Employee Handbook
If you don't plan on following it, don't include it!!
Handbooks can be a valuable tool to promote consistency in the administration of an organization's HR-related policies
and procedures. Conversely, they can be a loaded gun if documented policies
and procedures are not adhered to. Courts view the contents of an employee
handbook in the same manner they view state and federal regulations, they
are required to be followed. If an organization establishes a policy and
does not adhere to it the courts consider it as though the organization
violated an established regulation. In short, if you have it documented,
follow it. Can't always or don't want to always follow it, then don't make it
a formal policy.
and procedures. Conversely, they can be a loaded gun if documented policies
and procedures are not adhered to. Courts view the contents of an employee
handbook in the same manner they view state and federal regulations, they
are required to be followed. If an organization establishes a policy and
does not adhere to it the courts consider it as though the organization
violated an established regulation. In short, if you have it documented,
follow it. Can't always or don't want to always follow it, then don't make it
a formal policy.
Need More Information?
Check it all out on HRSentry!
HRSentry is HR Made Simple; it contains everything you need to make sure you are in compliance with any Human Resource related state or federal law. HRSentry has comprehensive, up-to-date libraries which guide you in the administration of your HR functions. Search for multiple laws or get direct access to many federal sites and forums.Visit HRSentry
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kazem89 wrote...
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Posted May 25, 2008
by HRtopher
I am a Marketing and Sales Coordinator at HRSentry, an online human resources compliance service, located in Colchester, VT. Following the rules...
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