Employers dust off your employee handbook and boost morale. #TampaInsurance

As my family and I slowly come out of our candy extravaganza from Easter, the kids are finally told that a piece of candy is not mandatory for the ride to school. I look around take a deep breath and realize spring has arrived.

Nothing says spring like a good cleaning. Spring cleaning for a human resources department might mean it’s time to dust off the old employee handbook.

Updating policies, adding official documents, getting required signatures can all be part of a well designed and maintained handbook.

But what are employee handbooks?

Let’s take a look..

Employee handbooks explain the relationship and responsibilities of employee and employer and provide clear communication on a variety of employment topics. A well-written employee handbook establishes guides for the workplace and protects the employer from liability.

Employers should get the most out of their employee handbook by using it as a tool to build workplace morale and answer questions from employees. Employers should also be cautious when drafting their employee handbook and be aware of potential pitfalls and unintended liabilities that may arise. These potential pitfalls, along with ever-changing laws, make the creation and upkeep of an employee handbook difficult.

A Guide

Handbooks specify expectations, rules and compensation. A comprehensive employee handbook will include information regarding compensation, benefits, dress code, human resources issues, time off, workers’ compensation, performance reviews, discipline and rewards, drug and alcohol policies, anti-discrimination policies, social media usage, safety guidelines and various other behavioral and procedural expectations.

Legal

When drafting your employee handbook, it is essential to be aware of and adherent to all federal, state and local laws that might apply. The employee handbook should clearly define the applicable legal obligations and rights of both the employer and employee.

The employee handbook is vital from a legal standpoint—in many employment lawsuits, the handbook will be a key piece of evidence that can either protect your company or provide ammunition for an employee (or former employee) who is suing you.

You can drastically reduce your liability by clearly laying out all employee expectations and prohibited behavior.

Readable

Thorough, up-to-date, legally compliant, understandable and readily available—these are the essential characteristics of an effective employee handbook.

Aside from keeping a current copy easily accessible to employees, it is also wise to have employees sign a form stating that they received and reviewed the employee handbook. This signature will ensure that an employee cannot later claim that he or she was unaware of a particular policy

WHAT TO INCLUDE IN THE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK

• A welcome message explaining the handbook's purpose

• The company’s history, mission, values and goals

• Use of company property, such as email, Internet (social media), phone (including texting) and voicemail

• Compensation information, including employment classifications, work hours, overtime and pay procedures

• Standards of conduct

• Descriptions of company benefits, such as health insurance, paid time off, leave of absence and retirement plans

• Safety and emergency procedures

• Training and professional development opportunities

• Information on hiring, screening, promotion, transfer, separation and rehire

• A handbook acknowledgement form

• An employment at-will disclaimer; and

• FAQs (as policies and laws change, an updated FAQ will save managers time in answering repeat questions).

What to Avoid or eliminate from the employee handbook

To ensure that managers have flexibility in interpreting and applying policies, an employee handbook should avoid statements that bind an employer to particular courses of action. In place of limiting language, employers should use general language (such as “typically,” “usually,” “may,” etc.).

Leave as much flexibility as possible; do not describe procedures in detail and never use specific wording to outline exactly what the company will do in any certain event.

An employee handbook should make clear that the employer reserves the right to deal with situations as they arise and to use discretion when choosing the appropriate remedy for each situation.

Make sure to note that managerial discretion will be taken into account when policies are applied.

Time

HR departments are often short on time and inundated with numerous important tasks. With increasing pressure and a time crunch for all the responsibilities in HR, finding time to write an employee handbook, much less keep it properly updated, can be difficult.

Accurate Insurance Solutions Florida’s health insurance agents offer a full suite of services for human resources, employee benefits, and payroll.

Our integrated services help streamline administration and compliance with new technology backed by a team of experts.

The foundation of a company’s relationship with its employees begins with a solid, thorough employee handbook.

Has your broker helped you develop or improve your employee handbook and workplace policies? Do you feel that you could use some assistance in updating your employee handbook?

We can provide a comprehensive employee handbook, with dozens of essential workplace policies—all you need to do is customize it.

Download our employee handbook checklist it will allow you to compare your current handbook and make any necessary adjustments.

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