Employee handbook

Last updated

An employee handbook, sometimes also known as an employee manual, staff handbook, or company policy manual, is a book given to employees by an employer.

Contents

The employee handbook can be used to bring together employment and job-related information which employees need to know. It typically has three types of content: [1]

  1. Cultural: A welcome statement, the company's mission or purpose, company values, and more.
  2. General Information: holiday arrangements, company perks, policies not required by law, policy summaries, and more.
  3. Case-Specific: company policies, rules, disciplinary and grievance procedures, and other information modeled after employment laws or regulations.

The employee handbook, if one exists, is almost always a part of a company's onboarding or induction process for new staff. A written employee handbook gives clear advice to employees and creates a culture where issues are dealt with fairly and consistently.

Content

While it often varies from business to business, specific areas that an employee handbook may address include:

Revisions to an employee handbook vary from company to company. At many larger companies, a revised handbook comes out annually or at other regular intervals. It is recommended that handbooks be updated regularly as laws and regulations change.

Acknowledgement of receipt form

New employees are often required to sign an acknowledgement form stating they have received, read and understand the information within the employee handbook and accept its terms. [2]

Acknowledgement forms typically have additional content:

Failure of an employee to sign the acknowledgement form within a timely manner may prevent them from being hired or may result in termination.

Culture-first employee handbooks

In 2009, Netflix publicly released a presentation entitled Netflix Culture: Freedom & Responsibility [3] that described their movement away from a company culture based on command and control and towards one centered around freedom and responsibility. The presentation went viral and as of March 2018 had over 17 million views.

Because the presentation also discusses other common company policies, it is often referred to as Netflix's employee handbook. It has been very influential, with many companies copying their "unlimited" vacation policy [4] and their simple "Act in Netflix’s best interests" expenses policy.

Alongside the Valve Handbook for New Employees [5] and the Zappos Culture Book, [6] the presentation has influenced many companies to create culture-first employee handbooks that highlight their company culture instead of or before policies that would be found in a traditional employee handbook. [7] Even the policies are rewritten in a much different way than tradition would dictate, or include informal summaries or introductions in plain language.

Need for employee handbook

Federal and state laws and the growing number of cases of employee-related litigation against management strongly suggests that a written statement of company policy is a business necessity for firms of any size.

For example, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported that in 2005, companies paid out more than $378 million in discrimination non-litigated settlements. In 2014, the EEOC received a total of 88,778 discrimination charges filed against private businesses. [8]

Other examples of litigation against a company stemming from employee actions are the release of a customer's private information and, of course, the actions of one employee against another; sexual harassment being one type of offensive employee conduct.

That said, some legal counsels recommend very small companies (less than 10 or 15 employees) to not have a handbook at all because most very small companies find it difficult to dedicate time or resources to maintaining an up-to-date employee handbook. It may be less risky for very small companies to not have documented policies at all rather than having misleading, out-of-date, or incomplete policies. [9] [10] However, others have maintained that there are benefits to small organizations, such as some NGOs, to maintain a quality policy manual for staff. [10]

One of the most important aspects of any employee handbook is that the handbook is kept current as laws change. If a company chooses to publish its handbook in multiple languages, each version should be updated concurrently.

Employee handbooks are of a great necessity when it comes to running a business, they help employers manage their business without any complications and conflicts of interest, they also help employees gain an understanding of what is expected of them while being employed.

Employee handbooks should be reviewed by an attorney for consistency and compliance with current federal and state or provincial laws. As an example, many US states have specific laws that go above and beyond federal laws. Because of this, a New Mexico employee handbook should not be used in California. In the US, California is the state with the highest number of regulations that go above and beyond federal law. Companies operating there usually have special content for California employees. Other states that will typically require special content are New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Connecticut, Washington DC, and Texas.

In the United Kingdom, the employee handbook may also form part of an employee's terms and conditions of employment. If five or more people are employed, it is a requirement of the Health and Safety at Work Act to have a written statement of the company's health and safety policy. [11]

Related Research Articles

Labour laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, employer, and union.

Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any other entity, pays the other, the employee, in return for carrying out assigned work. Employees work in return for wages, which can be paid on the basis of an hourly rate, by piecework or an annual salary, depending on the type of work an employee does, the prevailing conditions of the sector and the bargaining power between the parties. Employees in some sectors may receive gratuities, bonus payments or stock options. In some types of employment, employees may receive benefits in addition to payment. Benefits may include health insurance, housing, disability insurance. Employment is typically governed by employment laws, organisation or legal contracts.

In United States labor law, at-will employment is an employer's ability to dismiss an employee for any reason, and without warning, as long as the reason is not illegal. When an employee is acknowledged as being hired "at will", courts deny the employee any claim for loss resulting from the dismissal. The rule is justified by its proponents on the basis that an employee may be similarly entitled to leave their job without reason or warning. The practice is seen as unjust by those who view the employment relationship as characterized by inequality of bargaining power.

A layoff or downsizing is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or, more commonly, a group of employees for business reasons, such as personnel management or downsizing an organization. Originally, layoff referred exclusively to a temporary interruption in work, or employment but this has evolved to a permanent elimination of a position in both British and US English, requiring the addition of "temporary" to specify the original meaning of the word. A layoff is not to be confused with wrongful termination. Laid off workers or displaced workers are workers who have lost or left their jobs because their employer has closed or moved, there was insufficient work for them to do, or their position or shift was abolished. Downsizing in a company is defined to involve the reduction of employees in a workforce. Downsizing in companies became a popular practice in the 1980s and early 1990s as it was seen as a way to deliver better shareholder value as it helps to reduce the costs of employers. Research on downsizing in the US, UK, and Japan suggests that downsizing is being regarded by management as one of the preferred routes to help declining organizations, cutting unnecessary costs, and improve organizational performance. Usually a layoff occurs as a cost-cutting measure. A study of 391 downsizing announcements of the S&P 100 firms for the period 1990-2006 found, that layoff announcements resulted in substantial increase in the companies’ stock prices, and that the gain was larger, when the company had prior layoffs. The authors suggested, that the stock price manipulation alone creates a sufficient motivation for publicly-traded corporations to adopt the practice of regular layoffs.

A background check is a process a person or company uses to verify that an individual is who they claim to be, and this provides an opportunity to check and confirm the validity of someone's criminal record, education, employment history, and other activities from their past. The frequency, purpose, and legitimacy of background checks vary among countries, industries, and individuals. An employment background check typically takes place when someone applies for a job, but it can also happen at any time the employer deems necessary. A variety of methods are used to complete these checks including comprehensive database search and personal references.

An employment contract or contract of employment is a kind of contract used in labour law to attribute rights and responsibilities between parties to a bargain. The contract is between an "employee" and an "employer". It has arisen out of the old master-servant law, used before the 20th century. Employment contracts relies on the concept of authority, in which the employee agrees to accept the authority of the employer and in exchange, the employer agrees to pay the employee a stated wage.

<i>Canada Labour Code</i> Canadian employment legislation

The Canada Labour Code is an Act of the Parliament of Canada to consolidate certain statutes respecting labour. The objective of the Code is to facilitate production by controlling strikes & lockouts, occupational safety and health, and some employment standards.

In human resource development, induction training introduces new employees to their new profession or job role, within an organisation. As a form of systematic training, induction training familiarises and assists new employees with their employer, workforce and job design. The scale of induction training varies between organisations, with smaller firms typically conducting induction in the early months of employment, in comparison to larger corporations who dedicate greater time and resources to its completion.

Human resource policies are continuing guidelines on the approach of which an organization intends to adopt in managing its people. They represent specific guidelines to HR managers on various matters concerning employment and state the intent of the organization on different aspects of Human Resource management such as recruitment, promotion, compensation, training, selections etc. They therefore serve as a reference point when human resources management practices are being developed or when decisions are being made about an organization's workforce.

A severance package is pay and benefits that employees may be entitled to receive when they leave employment at a company unwillfully. In addition to their remaining regular pay, it may include some of the following:

The Employment Standards Act, 2000 is an Act of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The Act regulates employment in the province of Ontario, including wages, maximum work hours, overtime, vacation, and leaves of absence. It differs from the Ontario Labour Relations Act, which regulates unionized labour in Ontario.

Japanese labour law is the system of labour law operating in Japan.

Annual leave is a period of paid time off work granted by employers to employees to be used for whatever the employee wishes. Depending on the employer's policies, differing number of days may be offered, and the employee may be required to give a certain amount of advance notice, may have to coordinate with the employer to be sure that staffing is available during the employee's absence, and other requirements may have to be met. The vast majority of countries today mandate a minimum amount of paid annual leave by law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Employment Rights Act 1996</span> United Kingdom Law

The Employment Rights Act 1996 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament passed by the Conservative government to codify existing law on individual rights in UK labour law.

Paid time off, planned time off, or personal time off (PTO), is a policy in some employee handbooks that provides a bank of hours in which the employer pools sick days, vacation days, and personal days that allows employees to use as the need or desire arises. This policy pertains mainly to the United States, where there are no federal legal requirements for a minimum number of paid vacation days. Instead, U.S. companies determine the amount of paid time off that will be allotted to employees, while keeping in mind the payoff in recruiting and retaining employees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Employment Relations Act 2000</span> Statute of the Parliament of New Zealand

The New Zealand Employment Relations Act 2000 is a statute of the Parliament of New Zealand. It was substantially amended by the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2001 and by the ERAA 2004.

A grievance is a formal complaint that is raised by an employee towards an employer within the workplace. There are many reasons as to why a grievance can be raised, and also many ways to go about dealing with such a scenario. Reasons for filing a grievance in the workplace can be as a result of, but not limited to, a breach of the terms and conditions of an employment contract, raises and promotions, or lack thereof, as well as harassment and employment discrimination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whistleblower protection in the United States</span>

A whistleblower is a person who exposes any kind of information or activity that is deemed illegal, unethical, or not correct within an organization that is either private or public. The Whistleblower Protection Act was made into federal law in the United States in 1989.

In law, wrongful dismissal, also called wrongful termination or wrongful discharge, is a situation in which an employee's contract of employment has been terminated by the employer, where the termination breaches one or more terms of the contract of employment, or a statute provision or rule in employment law. Laws governing wrongful dismissal vary according to the terms of the employment contract, as well as under the laws and public policies of the jurisdiction.

The 2021 Netflix walkout was a labor dispute involving a number of workers at American streaming and production company Netflix in late 2021. After several workers spoke out against The Closer, a controversial stand-up comedy special released by Netflix, the company's response sparked further controversy, leading to a walkout organized by the Netflix trans employee resource group.

References

  1. "The 3 Types of Employee Handbook Content - Culture-First Digital Employee Handbooks by Blissbook". blissbook.com.
  2. "Acknowledgment: Handbook Receipt". SHRM. 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  3. Netflix Culture: Freedom & Responsibility
  4. Renzulli, Kerri Anne (October 14, 2015). "Why Your Company Wants to Give You Unlimited Vacation". Money.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2021.
  5. Handbook for New Employees
  6. Culture Book
  7. O'Dea, Thomas (2017). "How to Write a Culture First Employee Handbook" (PDF). Blissbook.
  8. "Trends in Employment Lawsuits - A CEDR HR Infographic". CEDR. Retrieved 2016-01-26.
  9. "Employee Handbooks Can Create Risk For the Company – Unless You Do Them Right". ERE Media. 2015-10-19. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  10. 1 2 Cameron, Bobby Thomas (2015). "Policy manuals: Important for NGO management" (PDF). Rendez-vous. Atlantic Council for International Cooperation. 15: 12.
  11. https://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/policy/index.htm Health and Safety Executive: Prepare a health and safety policy

See also