By: Richard E. Korb[1]
Understanding and using employee handbooks is essential for both the employees of a company as well as the employer. These documents do not only set forth the company’s policies, procedures, and expectations, but when they are understood and used properly, they can protect the company from a lawsuit. Well-written employee handbooks help companies to fulfill certain federal and state regulations, guarantee just treatment of the employees and decrease confusion. They also help to familiarize new employees, instruct supervisors, and most importantly, they can protect your company.
On the other hand, if employee handbooks are not understood and used properly, they can be the cause of your company’s destruction, which is why your company should possess a well-written one that will be sure to not get the company into any sort of trouble, but rather aide in getting the company out of any trouble that could potentially arise. If you are an employer, continue reading to find key information as to what your employee handbook should contain and what you should avoid in order to ensure protection for your company.
To begin, an employee handbook is a document that outlines the terms and conditions of employment. They should contain all of the following: 1) All general policies and procedures such as what the dress code is, when the pay periods are, what to do with the time sheets, rules regarding phone use, policies on hiring, training and promotion to name a few. 2) Attendance such as scheduling, holidays and leave policies. Here you should make sure that you clearly define the workweek as the seven-day period in which you calculate overtime. You will want to include policies on all of the different types of leave (e.g. vacations, sick days) that you allow for your employees. Include which employees are entitled to which types of leave. For example, maybe only full-time employees are allowed 6 sick days per year, while part-time employees are allowed only. In this area you will also want to make sure you state what constitutes excessive absences or time-off that could lead to an employee being fired or an alteration in their benefits. You will also want to state that employees need to get vacation time approved in advance.
3) Appropriate employee definitions is a section of the handbook where you need to distinguish what constitutes a part-time employee, what constitutes a full-time employee, and what constitutes an independent contract worker. Definitely do not use the word permanent as this could get you into legal trouble. If you describe any of your employees’ employment within your company as permanent, it implies that these employees cannot be fired, which contradicts the at-will policy. 4) The Disciplinary policies area is a vital component of an employee handbook. Here you must clearly define what consists of employee misconduct and what consequences will occur when such misbehavior takes place. It is important that this area of your handbook is carefully written so that you as the employer are not restrained to a specific strategy on dealing with employee misconduct. 5) The description of employee benefits area is key as it emphasizes the bonuses of being an employee within your company. The rest of the handbook mostly consists of rules and regulations that can be boring and stressful to read through, so this area can provide the employee with some enthusiasm and motivation for working for you. 6) Discussion of job duties is where you will want to clearly lay out your expectations of all your employees. You may have different kinds of employees, so job duties will differ among the different positions and these should be clear. 7) Employer policy statements on specific employment law such as anti-discrimination policies like the Americans with Disabilities Act or Family Medical Leave Act. If your company possesses an employee handbook, these items must be included. This is one of the many reasons that consulting with an attorney can be beneficial for you. 8) A statement that employment is at-will should be included so that you may legally fire an employee whenever you please without a cause. 9) The disclaimer is one of the most important aspects of your employee handbook. It should very clearly state the purpose of the handbook and that it is not an employment contract. This could keep you from getting sued by an unhappy fired employee for breaking a contract.
All of the above will certainly help you to create a beneficial employee handbook, but here are a few helpful tips you should use to exercise your handbook’s full potential:
1. A very important aspect of using employee handbooks is making sure you get receipts. An employer should definitely receive a signed and dated receipt that proves all of their employees obtained a handbook. It is best to have an employee sign the receipt on their first day of employment. It should state that they obtained, read, and fully understand all of the content within the handbook.
2. Keeping your handbook short will be beneficial to your company, as employees will not feel overwhelmed by an overwhelmingly large amount of information. At the same time, do not leave anything important out.
3. Use clear and concise language so that your employees can fully understand all aspects of the book. Also, Organize it with a table of contents and page numbers so that it will be easy for employees to locate specific information.
4. Revise it as needed. The world is constantly changing and so are companies and laws. Your employee handbook that was relevant on day one may not be applicable to your business in its 10th year. It is recommended that you have an attorney review your handbook at least every two years to be certain that it still complies with federal and state law.
5. Be sure that every employee has a copy of the handbook and you may even want to keep a few copies of the handbook in different languages for employees that may not speak English. There is a large Spanish-speaking workforce present in California, so you might find it particularly helpful to create some of your handbooks in Spanish.
6. Having a lawyer review (or draft) your handbook is probably the most beneficial step in producing an efficient employee handbook. A lawyer can spot areas of your handbook that could potentially cause legal problems for you. You might accidentally violate or misstate laws in your handbook without knowing it, so having a lawyer look over it for you is crucial.
Employee handbooks may be created by the employer him/herself, or you may decide to hire an attorney to create it. Regardless of the method that you choose, it is highly recommended that you consult an attorney before your handbook is finalized. At attorney can be extremely helpful in making sure that the content conveys the employer’s objective as well as making sure that it will not get the employer into trouble with any kind of employment laws.
If you have any questions or concerns about your employee handbook or you would like an experienced employment attorney to help you draft one, please contact Richard Korb (the head of Korb Law Group) at (510) 524-0903 for more information.
[1]RICHARD E. KORB is a seasoned attorney with 30 years of experience in employment, business and real estate law. Over his legal career, Richard has successfully litigated and resolved over 300 court cases. Richard leverages his experience to assist individuals and small-to mid-sized companies with a broad spectrum of legal matters. In addition to his legal practice, Richard is also court-approved mediator and serves on the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) panel for both the Alameda and Contra Costs County Superior Courts. ©2011 Richard Korb
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