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Free Human Resource Information
| Employee
Handbook Outline Rules |
by Geoffrey Glaser
Why do many companies have employee
handbooks when there isn't a law that requires one?
Because of their usefulness, even for small
companies. They simultaneously and very effectively serve many purposes.
Their major role is the communication of
information to supervisors and, most of all, employees. A very important
secondary function of the handbook is its assistance to the company in its
defense against charges of impropriety.
Historically, business owners had all the
rights of landowners, and thus were fully protected under Common Law to do
as they pleased with respect to the company, company property and company
employees. In recent years, employer's rights in many areas have been eroded
through federal and state laws, such as Equal Employment Opportunity,
Occupational Safety and Health and the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Some of these employment laws require
companies to post notices so that all employees are aware of their rights.
(In Illinois today, employers must have a
minimum of four federal and three state employment posters. Additional
posters may be required, depending on the industry and number of employees.)
Furthermore, laws passed in the last few
years, such as the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Family and
Medical Leave Act, and very recent court cases, particularly regarding
employment-at-will and sexual harassment, require employers to notify
employees of certain rights and obligations before they are exercised.
The laws do not specify how employers must
relate this information to their employees, but they do specifically decree
that if an employee. handbook is maintained, these provisions must be
included. Failure to comply can result in fines and, worse yet, an almost
presumption of guilt if sued.
Accordingly, through such documents,
employers are notifying employees about the legal rights and obligations
they both have. This keeps the company in compliance with the laws, while
raising the awareness of the employees.
Employers also have learned from case law
that it is advantageous to put other important information in writing.
For example, when unemployment compensation
is contested, the hearing officer will ask the employer if the employee's
conduct was against any written company policy or rule and, also if the
discharged employee was warned by the company that his/her conduct could
lead to discharge. Therefore, items such as rules of conduct, safety rules
and disciplinary procedures are included in hand books.
The handbook provision of
employment-at-will and the progressive discipline procedure are valuable
tools for the company in its defense against many charges, particularly
wrongful discharge claims. Without such evidence, the burden of proof is
dramatically harder for the employer to meet.
Consequently, employers have learned to include provisions in handbooks in order to
better manage some of the crisis associated with the employer/ employee
relationship.
While every risk of litigation cannot be
anticipated, an employee handbook represents a proactive way to deal with
potential problems, rather than being simply reactive.
Many other important items are also placed
in this document, such as benefit summaries, vacations, pay practices, and
other conditions including rights and privileges of employment. Thus, a handbook
becomes a very useful communications device.
Employee surveys continuously reveal that
employees want to feel included in, and informed about things that affect
them at work.
With all the downswing layoffs, smaller
wage increases, increased benefit costs, less money spent on training, etc.,
employees can at least look to this form of communication to help them
"connect" with their company. New concepts, including employee
participation, empower, meet, teams and consensus management, all rely on a
base of increased communications among employees. Employee handbooks are a
tremendous help in this regard.
Also, when rules and roles are put in
writing, it leads to a more consistent administration. Everyone knows the
expectations and requirements. This prevents disagreements, claims of
favoritism or discrimination and lack of enforcement of programs.
On the other hand, some employers say they
do not like this idea. They argue they want to retain their flexibility,
rely on their open door policy or foster an informal, family-like
atmosphere. They think handbooks are for only big companies.
This thinking is certainly not the way of
doing business. Furthermore, I believe they would be shocked to
learn how their employees actually feel about these arguments.
There are clear advantages to written and
consistently followed policies. I advise my clients to have an employee
handbook to include all of the legal
requirements that have occurred in recent years.
Do-it-yourself or cookie cutter handbooks
can be purchased for a couple hundred dollars. Often, they do not have the
legal technicalities required to be in compliance with the many complicated
employment laws and ambiguous court decisions. This truly requires the input
of an expert.
A few of the advantages of employee
handbooks are clarification of expectations, and fair and consistent
administration of policies. Carefully written policies can actually improve
morale, prevent costly disagreements and keep an employer out of court.
"Making it up as you go along" on
human resource issues can be very risky business today.
Geoffrey Glaser is an HR attorney and
generalist with 25 years of experience and is a Human Resource Store
associate. You can access him through our legal hotline, which is included
in our package of Outsourced Human Resource Services, by calling us at
708-645-2530 24 hours daily.
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