Top 6 Reasons Why You Need an Employee Handbook (and 1 Good Reason Why You Need an Update)
Employee handbooks are not a legal requirement. There are no rules or regulations from any state which require employers to have them. The choice for an employer to have a handbook (or not) is completely up to the employer. However, there are good reasons why every employer should have an employee handbook.
Handbooks reinforce that employees are at-will employees. If your employees are “at-will” employees, then there is likely no written document that specifically states this fact. By including this statement in an employee handbook, all employees will be on notice that their employment status is “at-will.”
Handbooks set ground rules for employee conduct. Including codes of conduct and employee discipline policies helps set the expectation for employees. If employees are given clear instruction in the handbook regarding what is expected of them, misunderstandings should be reduced and compliant behaviors should result.
Handbooks assist with training new employees. New employees can sometimes suffer from information overload during their initial period of employment. Providing new employees with an employee handbook can be a helpful way to inform them about issues that are important to your workplace and to let them know what is expected from them as an employee.
Handbooks educate supervisors. Having clear, written policies can help supervisors managing employees know what is expected of their employees. Employee handbooks can provide guidance to supervisors so that they can know that they are consistently enforcing the “rules” across all areas in the workplace.
Handbooks provide fairness and consistency. Having an employee handbook in place can be helpful should disagreements arise about employee conduct. A handbook can provide a definitive, clear standard of conduct so that different employees are not being treated differently. Having an employment policy on a subject that is consistently applied can be a helpful defense to an employer who has an employee that claims unfair treatment.
Handbooks can demonstrate compliance. If an employer is subject to a claim that it is engaged in unlawful employment conduct, one piece of information that an employer can point to in order to demonstrate compliance is a policy in the employer’s handbook which lawfully addresses the claimed conduct.
Handbooks should be reviewed periodically. If an employer already has an employee handbook in place, it is imperative that the employer not simply put the handbook on the shelf and never take a look at it. Handbooks should be re-visited annually. Laws change and employee handbooks need to be reviewed both to ascertain that the policies contained in the handbook are still compliant with current laws and also to determine that no new legal requirements would require an addition to the handbook. Further, employers need to assure themselves that the policies and procedures contained in the handbook reflect the actual practice in the workplace. Failure to follow your own policies and procedures contained in your company handbook can hurt you in a litigation proceeding.
While employee handbooks are not mandatory, they can be a helpful tool both for management of a business and for legal protection in the event of an employment dispute. However, since handbooks themselves are not required, neither is there a requirement for what a handbook should contain. Careful consideration should be given to making sure that the policies contained in an employee handbook are reflective of current practices and in compliance with current law.