SPECIAL REPORT
What to Include in an Employee Handbook
Includes a FREE List of 120 Policies You Should Include!
The first step in creating your employee handbook is to gather all of your existing personnel policies. These items may include descriptions of your current insurance policies, any previously written internal policy memos and all of your existing unwritten rules.
Make sure to include the following overall chapters in your handbook.
* Company overview. Introduce your company with a few paragraphs about its history, growth, mission statement and goals, ethics and management philosophy. This should be signed by the Chief Executive Officer.
* Equal opportunity and At-Will statement. State that an employee's religion, age, sex or race will have nothing to do with hiring, promotion, pay or benefits. In addition, make sure to define your policy of employment ‘at-will’. This means that the company's relationship with employees is not a guarantee of employment, and can be terminated at any time with or without cause or notice.
* Standards of Performance. What are your expectations for attendance, dress code, work hours? Include what will happen during a new employee’s introductory period, when performance appraisals will be conducted and by whom. Detail desired behavior (such as dress and timeliness) as well as your policies on sexual harassment, racial and sexual discrimination, use of alcohol, drugs and tobacco in the workplace (including pre-employment screening and post-accident testing), and disciplinary procedures.
* Benefits. Outline employee benefits, including insurance coverage, pension or profit-sharing plans, workers compensation and other coverage, if any.
* Compensation. Include statements about when frequency of pay; how promotions and wage increases are handled, classification of employees (part-time, full-time, on-call) and policies on pay advances, leaves without pay, overtime and other pay irregularities are sufficient.
* Paid Time Off. Explain policies on vacation and all types of leave, including sick, military, funeral, personal, family, medical and jury duty. List paid holidays.
* Termination. List the just causes for which you will fire an employee, including criminal activity, poor performance, dishonesty, security breaches, insubordination, absenteeism, company policy violations, health and safety threats and dress code infractions. Make sure to state the list is not inclusive; there could be many additional things an employee could be terminated for.
* Grievance Procedure. For everything from a sexual harassment complaint to a suggestion, detail the process with which an employee should go through the chain of command.
* Acknowledgment of receipt. This section is critical and should contain important disclaimers including: a section acknowledging that the handbook doesn't represent an employment contract, and that employees recognizes that they are in an at-will relationship; a section acknowledging the company's right to revise or terminate any of the policies in the handbook at any time, for any reason.
You may also consider including these items: organizational chart, phone lists, a statement regarding the confidential nature of your business, and policies addressing gifts, use of company cars, traffic tickets and personal telephone calls.
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You Don’t Have To Go It Alone
At RSJ/Swenson our mission is to support businesses like yours with training, products and services designed to reduce your liability and simplify your life. We work with you to put together your employee handbook; to ensure you’re compliant with state and federal labor laws and practices and provide non-harassment training. Give us a call at 818.461.1874 or visit our web site at www.rsjswenson.com and see how our solutions can benefit your business.
This Special Report, like all materials, training, and services offered by RSJ/Swenson LLC are offered and sold with the understanding that it is not engaged in rendering legal counseling or other professional service. If legal counseling or other professional assistance is required, the services of a competent practitioner in the relevant area should be sought.
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