dental, vision, FMLA, etc.) as well as who is eligible to receive them and when the employee will be eligible to receive the benefits. A robust benefits package can help you retain the best and brightest employees, so be sure to clearly communicate your full suite of offerings and requirements in the handbook. Remember, there are several benefits that are very cost effective and some that are no-cost to the employer but may be very attractive to your employees.
5. Ensures compliance with federal and state laws
Regardless of the state your company conducts business in, or the number of people you employee, as an entity, you are subject to state and federal employment laws. Your handbook is not only useful in communicating employee expectation, guidelines, and entitlements, it also displays your company’ s commitment in remain compliant with these regulations( i. e. military service leave, FMLA, state disability leave, and other government mandates).
6. Helps defend and reduce risk of employee claims
Regrettably, employers are being faced with when an employee claim will be filed against them, not if they will face a lawsuit or a claim from a current or former employee. When this occurs, one of the most useful documents you can provide to a third-party investigator or attorney is your employee handbook along with the acknowledgement page signed by the employee upon hire. A thorough, updated, and compliant employee handbook will help demonstrate to others that you did your due diligence and exercised“ reasonable care” regarding its employees by providing clear expectations via your employee handbook prior to the employee’ s first day on the job. The employee’ s signed acknowledgement page demonstrates that the employee had an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the organization’ s policies, a chance to ask related questions, knew whom they could turn to for help within the organization, and agreed to follow the terms and conditions of employment set forth by the organization.
7. Informs employees of where to turn for help
It is imperative for employees to feel comfortable turning to a trusted member of Management for assistance when they need to report workplace violations, obtain workplace-related assistance and get answers to any other questions they may have. They also need to know where to go if they feel that they have not received the assistance that they needed to resolve their issue. Employees should know where to turn outside of the company to resolve any issues, like EEOC or DOL, which could trigger a costly and time-consuming investigation. Having a handbook that identifies more than one individual in Management to resolve employee issues may result in a reduction of the likelihood for employees to turn to third-parties, which could be a great outcome for employers.
So, I challenge you to review you employee handbook and your policies and update them as you deem appropriate. If you do not have an employee handbook, consider the contents of this article, and ask yourself if you are doing your due diligence to safeguard your company from employee related risks.
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