Employee handbooks spell our policy and procedure and are often looked upon by employees with negativity. The manual must be clear, well-written, and specific to the business. They should not be negative. Listing only what not to do even though employers look at these manuals in terms of how to cover themselves in the event of any possible lawsuits is not a good idea.
Employee manuals can be written in such a way that both protect them from litigation and put staff members at ease. The handbook should convey in positive terms the company's policies.
Take time to identify what is important to the business. You want to make sure to keep employees informed and happy, with a thorough understanding of the goals of the company.
Employees should know what is expected of them and what they can expect from the company including how pay decisions are made, how performance is measured, sick leave policies and work-life issues etc. Spelling everything out will free an employee to do their best work.
A successful employee manual should be written in an understandable way and exhibit the culture of the company. The law requires a number of policies be included in the handbook so take the time to learn about local, state and federal requirements.
The policies that may need to be a part of an employee manual by law include:
- Family medical leave policies for the birth or care of a child, to care for an immediate family member with a serious health condition, or if the employee has a serious health condition.
- Equal employment and non-discrimination policies.
- Worker's compensation policies.
- Accommodation of disabilities.
- Policies on military leave.
- Policies on breast-feeding accommodation, and crime victims leave policy.
Additional sections:
- Point out that the manual does not make any promises about continued employment.
- Be sure the manual is clear that it is the last word on policies.
- New issues come up which may require revisions. State that the manual is subject to change.
- Have an employee acknowledgement page stating that the employee agrees to abide by these laws and policies and have the employee sign and return.
Before you write your employee manual, you also should take the time to determine
what is important to you as a business such as:
- Appearance when they are at work.
- Do you want them to refrain from text messaging while on the job?
- Do you care if they blog about the company?
- Employee's ability to use cell phones at work.
- Dealing with the appropriate way that employees discuss the employer in chat rooms or on blogs after hours.
- The ways the employees use their computers, e-mail, and voice mail.
Your handbook should reflect the way you do business. Be ready to enforce the policy. The manual must be a true reflection of your business.
Many handbooks are written with a negative perspective. Try to write the manual from a positive perspective. The manual does not need to focus in on the punishment for excessive absences rather the employees just need to know what kinds of behavior is problematic.
You may want to include:
Company History. A brief section describing the company's history and its mission can help set the tone for an employee handbook. Include the company mission statement, the founder, its reason for existence, who are its customers, the leadership team so that people feel as though they know who they're ultimately working for.
Paid Time-Off. Spell out the vacation policy. How vacation time is earned, and how to schedule time off. Which holidays does the company observe including which holidays the company close for. Medical leave and military leave should also be addressed.
Employee Behavior. Under this heading, you can discuss the attendance policy, meal breaks and rest periods, and general expectations of employee conduct.
Pay and Promotions. Methods of payment. Let employees know whether they will be paid every week or every two weeks or whatever the case may be. Overtime policy, define work hours, and discuss your pay grade structure so that people know where they fit in the pyramid.
Benefits. In this section, provide employees with a general overview of the benefits you offer in terms of health care, dental, vision, life insurance, etc., but don't discuss specific policies with specific companies as benefits will change frequently.
An attorney specializing in labor and employment law should be involved in preparing the manual. The goal should be to avoid future lawsuits involving employee behavior that is or is not outlined in the employee manual.
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