The 3 C's of Employe Handbooks

Hi, it's Bev again. How many of you have looked at your handbook in the last six months to make sure it is current and says what you want it to say? The Employee Handbook – every word counts. Now is a good time to review it in light of recent legislative and regulatory changes.

Three C’s Handbooks should have:

- Not be a Contract
- Communicate your policies to your workforce
- Comply with federal, state and local laws

We advise you to make sure your handbook does not create binding contractual obligations. State laws control whether an employee handbook can be viewed as a contract.

A handbook may create an implied contract of employment if it sets forth progressive discipline plans or corrective action procedures or distinguishes between “probationary” and “permanent” employees and provides for the discharge of “permanent” employees only after specific preconditions are met. If your handbook uses that type of wording I suggest you change it.

The best way to get around having a court call your handbook a contract is to use a disclaimer. The disclaimer should be prominently displayed in the handbook and should advise the employees that the policies and procedures are not intended to create a contract. HR should make sure to obtain a signed receipt on distribution of the handbook.

However, a disclaimer does not solve every problem. It is not a “get out of jail free” card. Even with a disclaimer, it is important for an employer to be uniform in its application of the handbook policies.

As to the second “C”-Communication- the handbook should plainly state the employer’s rules, regulations and procedures. It is critical with your handbook to say what you do and do what you say. If you don’t follow the policies and procedures it will come back to bite you. You will want to include rules regarding such diverse topics as access to personnel records, anti-nepotism rules, travel policies, attendance policies, performance evaluations, payment of wages including overtime, searches on employer property and in-house investigations.

You should make sure to describe your policies designed to assist employees. “You want to brag,” this includes your policies regarding all leaves of absence, employees assistance programs, holidays and flextime. Make sure to communicate your commitment to equal opportunity and harassment With your harassment policy, not only do you need to make a firm statement that harassment will not be tolerated but you need to spell out the steps to take if it occurs. Having this type of policy is not only the right thing to do, but it will save you money.

Set guidelines for the termination of employment, and make sure to develop “cutting edge” policies to take into account such issues as the use of social networking sites, blogging, telephone call monitoring and telecommuting.

And the third “C”-Compliance-means you must make sure that, in addition to addressing federal employment laws, you incorporate state and local legal requirements into your handbooks. Such things as workplace smoking policies, voting policies, jury duty policies, protected off-duty legal activity and breastfeeding accommodations are regulated by state laws.

Your handbook doesn’t have to be fancy, but it does need to be accurate and kept up-to-date. If you need help developing your policies or your handbook, give us a call. We have lots of experience, and can get you headed in the right direction.


Please visit our website at http://www.yourownhrpro.com/