Employee Handbook Must-Haves: Part-1
We have all seen employee handbooks. Most often they make up the bulk of the giant stack of documents every new hire receives and nobody besides HR and Legal understands their importance. Given that employee handbooks are an often neglected, but crucial legal document for a company’s workforce, we have developed a multi-part blog series titled, “Employee Handbook Must Haves.” This blog series will explore the important components of employee handbooks and illustrate their various benefits.
No specific law requires employers to provide an employee handbook. While federal and state laws require some employment policies to be posted in prominent places within the employer’s workspace (such as a breakroom), there is no legal obligation to have an employee handbook. So why should employers maintain an employee handbook?
From a legal point of view, an employee handbook is an important document that describes the terms of the employer-employee relationship. A handbook goes a long way in defending against claims of breach of contract, discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, and is a useful tool for ensuring compliance with employment and labor laws. From a practical perspective, an employee handbook is a useful tool for maintaining a positive relationship with your workforce. An employee handbook allows you to outline the core values of your organization and set expectations for conduct in the workplace. Part 1 of this blog series covers the must-have introductory policies and statements for your employee handbook.
1) Introductory Policies
At-Will Employment. Virtually every employee handbook should contain an at-will employment statement. This statement advises employees that their employment with the company is at will rather than for a specific term (for example, three years), and that either the employee or the company may terminate the relationship at any time, with or without notice. An at-will employment provision should also state that the handbook does not create an express or implied contract for employment with the company. Including this language significantly supports the presumption that the employment relationship is at-will.
Future modifications. Because the passage of time brings new workforce changes and presents the company with an overall change in circumstances, it is wise to adopt a policy of flexibility in the handbook. This policy will explain that while the company anticipates future change, any future additions or modifications to the handbook must be in writing and issued by authorized management personnel. In addition, this policy should reserve the company’s right to revise any policy within the handbook at a future date, with or without notice.
Probationary Periods and Introductory Periods. Whether a company needs a probationary or introductory period policy in its employee handbook should be answered on a case-by-case basis. Probationary periods allow a company to evaluate an employee over time in order to see if they have the skills for the job. On the other hand, an introductory period allows a company to treat an employee differently for a specified time when it comes to offering paid time off or benefits. The best tactic would be to talk this provision over with your attorney so that they can counsel you on whether this provision makes sense to include in your company’s employee handbook.
Handbook Acknowledgment. Every employee handbook needs to have an acknowledgment provision. As you have likely seen with other circumstances in your life, there are certain transactions or contracts that require you to sign and acknowledge that have read and understood the terms within the document, and that you agree to comply with these terms. A handbook acknowledgment does exactly this and it is important because it reaffirms the employee’s commitment to the company’s policies.
Summing it Up
These are a number of important policies to consider when drafting an employee handbook. In the next part, we will dive into additional issues that should be carefully considered. Please keep in mind that it is very important for a business to retain an attorney to draft or review their employee handbook to make sure it fits the business’s unique circumstances and needs.
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