Essentials of Employee Handbooks

Does your company need an employee handbook? If you
have more than five or six employees, the answer is
probably yes. As your business grows, an employee
handbook can become increasingly useful, serving as a
reference tool for anything about the business, from
the mission statement to the dress code.

by Jeffrey Moses NFIB.org

Following are
the main parts to include in your employee handbook:

* Company Goals and Mission Statement

Oftentimes employees are left out of a company’s big
picture, making it harder for them to share in a
company-wide morale. By providing information like the
company’s mission and goals, employees can be reminded
each time they open the handbook of how their roles fit
into those goals.

* General Policies and Procedures

This section of the handbook should include information
about everything from pay periods and holidays to the
dress code and telephone use. When policies and
procedures are written down, it leaves less room for
confusion, which can be helpful as early as an
employee’s first day on the job. Instead of asking
questions about the dress code and the hours of
operation, employees can focus on learning about the
job itself. The first week or first month can be a
stressful time for new employees, characterized by a
low understanding of company norms. An employee
handbook that outlines all general information,
however, can help create a smoother transition for new
employees into the workplace.

* Leave Policies

For most small businesses, the most common types of
leave are: sick leave, maternity leave, jury duty,
military leave, funeral leave and personal leave. This
section of the handbook should provide employees with
information about the company’s leave policies and
allowances on each type of absence.

* Employee Benefits

This section of the handbook should include information
about benefits available to employees, such as health,
disability and life insurance, and work-life benefits
such as gym memberships and discounts for
wellness-related activities.

* Disciplinary Policies

It is important to have accessible written
documentation of the company’s tolerance and action
policies of various employee behaviors. This includes
everything from how to report and solve employee
conflicts to the consequences of betraying the company.
When designing this part of the handbook, make sure
that you have either covered all possible employee
infractions, or have been vague enough with the
language to let employees know that incidents will be
dealt with as they happen in the manner you see fit.

Because employees could misinterpret parts of the
handbook and some courts have viewed employee handbooks
as legally binding contracts, employment attorneys
advise employers to rid the handbook of declarations
that the company will achieve specific financial goals
or promises to provide jobs for employees as long as
they follow all company rules and regulations. Before
distributing the handbook to employees, have your
lawyer review it for statements that could be
misconstrued.

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