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With the New Year approaching and upcoming changes to laws regarding the Family Medical Leave Act, Military Leave Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), it's timely to review your handbook to make certain that it's current. Why an employee handbook? Handbooks can be valuable communication and employee relations tools. They help maintain consistency among supervisors to avoid misunderstandings about workplace policies. Handbooks help orient new employees and let them know what is expected of them. Written statement of policies can help reduce the need for employees to seek out union representation in the workplace. Clear work rules can help support your disciplinary procedures and avoid discrimination charges. Do's Handbooks should be written in a clear, organized, and non-technical style to avoid excessive questions and errors in interpretation. Every employee should receive a copy of the company's handbook. When introducing a new handbook or major revisions, the company should have a representative go over the material personally with every employee. Have the employee sign an acknowledgment of receipt of the handbook which includes the statements that the handbook does not constitute an employment contract, is not all inclusive and is only set of guidelines, and that changes can be made to the handbook at any time. Keep your handbook up to date and notify employees in writing of any changes in policies and procedures. Don't Use terminology that could imply that the handbook is an employment contract, such as "permanent" employees -- use the term "regular". Make statements such as "You will have a job as long as you perform your duties". This implies a long-term or indefinite commitment. Use "cause" or "just cause" as it relates to termination. You may have to prove that termination is not overly severe and the violation merits termination. Use excessive "legalese" which may upset or confuse employees. The handbook should be
written in a positive manner. The above recommendations are not all-inclusive of what needs to be considered in preparing your employee handbook. Some employers have lost discrimination case because of poorly written handbooks. On the other hand, if you have been trying to avoid having a written handbook and are relying on unwritten policies, you might have a problem proving what your policies are in the case of a discrimination case.
Cathy Baniewicz has over 30 years experience in human resources. Her career began at Beatrice Foods Co., where she progressed to Assistant Director of Affirmative Action and Corporate Personnel Manager. Prior to joining EffortlessHR, Cathy was Assistant Director of Human Resources at Golden Eagle Distributors, Inc. (Budweiser). Cathy has her B.A. degree from DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois, and MBA from George Williams College, Aurora, Illinois. Cathy obtained her Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification in December of 2004. EffortlessHR is an online Human Resources Program for small businesses. This program will guide you through the maze of human resource laws and issues. You will have access to your employee information anytime, anyplace. Federal and State laws, personnel forms, "How To" guides, posters and reports are at your fingertips. EffortlessHR is affordable at only $24.95 per month. Sign up today for a no-risk free trial. Go to http://www.effortlesshr.com, or call us at (520) 546-3947. Our blog is located at http://www.effortlesshr.com/blog/
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==== ==== READER'S CHOICE - Employee Watch, LLC - An Exceptional 14 Year Old Employee Communications Tool That Gets Used. http://employeewatch.wordpress.com/ ==== ====