1. Employee handbooks
MGT Marler

2. Overview of discussion
Purpose
Commonly included topics
Pros and cons
Steps to follow
Common mistakes
Tips on terminology
Trends
Questions

3. Employee handbook ≠ _____________manual

4. What is the purpose of an employee handbook?
Clearly communicate relevant information
Summary of employment policies and procedures
Orientation information for new employees
Legal obligations & rights of employer and employee
Responsibilities of employer and employee to each other
Source: SHRM White Paper  11/1/1996 
By Dale Scharinger, SPHR, Reviewed November 2002  

5. Three handbook examples
“World’s shortest”
employee-handbook
Traditional format
SampleEmployeeHandbookRev08.pdf
More modern format

6. Commonly included topics
Employer information
Purpose of handbook
Benefits information
At-will disclaimer
Policy information
Safety information
Procedure information
Employee receipt form
Employee responsibilities

7. What can a company do to get employees to read handbooks?
Zappos
Valve
ndbook_LowRes.pdf
handbook/#SgtdMtfiskqB

8. Answer: _____________
Are employee handbooks legally required?

9. Should every employer have an employee handbook?
PROS
CONS
Fosters good employee relations
Communicates well- defined, standard policies
Establishes a common understanding between employee and employer
Prevents lawsuits or provides legal defense
Leads to workforce dissatisfaction
Fosters inflexibility
Does NOT guarantee that managers uniformly apply policies
Risk of implied contract
May prompt or support employee lawsuit
Not required by law

10. Steps to follow: Don’t reinvent the wheel
Before starting the process, educate yourself on employee handbooks!!!
Look at examples
from other
companies
Find handbooks the company has previously used
Take advantage of templates
(Warning: Use them only as a guide)

11. Creating an employee handbook: Steps to follow
Step 1: Review and revisions to the current company policies
Step 2: Create an outline
Step 3: Summarize policies and procedures
Step 4: Add each summary according to the outline
Step 5: Review the entire handbook
Step 6: Send to legal counsel for review
Step 7: Select a means of publication
Step 8: Distribute handbooks
Step 9: Update as necessary
Source: Shrm.org, “How to develop an employee handbook,” 6/1/2009

12. Common mistakes
Using long, overly detailed handbooks with __________ language
Putting the company on shaky legal ground
Neglecting to include anti-harassment & discrimination policies
Failing to consider federal, state, and local laws
Inadvertently creating contractual rights (implied contract)
Neglecting to have a lawyer review handbook
Failing to obtain __________ employee’s acknowledgement that they have received, read, and understand the handbook
Not educating __________ on policy
Failing to regularly __________ the handbook

13. Consider using the term:
Tips on Terminology
Consider using the term:
___________ instead of permanent
______________ instead of probationary
______________salary rather than annual salary

14. Tips on Terminology
Don’t imply that an employee will keep a job by following the stated guidelines
Use ___________
e.g., “we are an at-will employer”
NOTE: Even if you use a disclaimer, the court may still interpret the handbook as an _______ contract

15. Tips on Terminology Leave “wiggle room”
“We will provide a safe work environment”
“We strive to provide a safe working environment”
Keep it _________ - - realize that your handbook will need to be changed in the future

16. Making handbooks more approachable
Handbook Trends
Making handbooks more approachable
Digital handbooks (live documents)
Acknowledgement forms
Giving an employee the chance to _____ policies
Policies related to technology
Cellphone use and electronic monitoring
Privacy of employee information

17. Advice on handbooks for small businesses:
Useful websites
Advice on handbooks for small businesses:
employees/employee-handbooks
Interesting handbooks:
employee-handbook-examples-cm459464
Sample handbook:
el-employee-handbook.pdf
with information about employee handbooks

18. Employee handbooks
Questions???