Are Employee Handbooks Necessary for Small Businesses?

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Have you ever worked at a large company? On your first day you probably received a large stack of important company information, documents, policies and more – maybe even in the form of an employee handbook.

Employee handbooks are usually provided by employers and contain employment and job-related information that employees need to know such as recognized holidays (days off), company rules, grievance procedures, important resources and contacts, policies, and more. But is all of this information really necessary at a small business?

Employee handbooks are extremely important for small businesses and large businesses alike. Here are just a few reasons why:

Handbooks Protect Employers: Handbooks provide clear expectations to employees and create a culture where issues are dealt with fairly and consistently. If an employee has a dispute, but has previously received and signed a handbook that clearly stated the policy, the company will often be protected from a liability standpoint. For small businesses especially, a claim against the business can completely destroy your cash flow – it’s much better to be safe than sorry!

Handbooks Save HR Professionals Time: You may not have an HR professional on staff – perhaps the office manager or even you, the business owner, is in charge of managing the employees. When there’s a handbook to conveniently outline paid time off, holidays, vacation time, etc., you don’t need to explain (or email) the same information over and over again each time an employee inquires. Remind them to refer to their handbook!

While the employee handbook’s main purpose is to establish a convenient and clear line of communication, don’t forget the following disclaimers: the handbook can be updated at any time and it is not an actual contract. Employee handbooks should be reviewed and revised each year at a minimum, or whenever the company undergoes significant changes.

Do you work with a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) or an Administrative Services Organization (ASO)? If so, be sure to ask them if their services include complimentary employee handbook creation and updating. If they do not, or you don’t currently work with a PEO/ASO, contact Employer Solutions Plus for additional information and support: 727-698-6207.

Why Are PEOs in High Demand

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Did you know that the PEO industry is rapidly growing?
According to NAPEO, in just one year (2010) the industry grew by $10 billion – shaping an industry that has $80+ billion in gross revenues each year and still has room to grow!

If you’re unfamiliar with the PEO business model you may be wondering why they are in such high demand among businesses of all sizes.

While PEOs are seen as business “life savers” for a number of reasons including but not limited to payroll support, improved benefits packages, and providing various forms of insurance, we believe the primary reason for this industry’s recent boom is based on shared liability and compliance.

As employment law and compliance experts, PEOs help protect businesses from:

  • Wage and hour violations
  • Workplace safety violations
  • Workers’ compensation and insurance violations
  • Employee benefits security violations
  • Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) violations
  • And more!

Because employment law is full of time consuming and confusing fine print (that changes all of the time), and because many business owners do not have a law degree, it’s simply not worth the risk of operating out of compliance standards. The penalties could debilitate your organization’s cash flow.

In the past few months, we’ve seen even more businesses jump on board with PEOs because of healthcare reform in itself. Whether it’s a business owner with 5 employees, or 50, nearly every one of them is feeling perplexed. So, if you read this and think “this is me,” you are certainly not alone!

For organizations that do engage a PEO and “offload” compliance responsibilities, every other aspect of the PEO business model is simply icing on the cake. To learn more about the PEO business model, contact our team at Employer Solutions Plus.

I-9 Audits on Restaurants

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It’s no secret that the hospitality industry experiences high turnover. Restaurants don’t often keep waiters or waitresses on staff for long periods of time (in comparison to other industries), because fact of the matter is that for many employees it’s just a part time job, a transitional period of their life, or a way to temporarily make a little extra money on the weekends.

It is for this reason among a few others that the hospitality industry has become an easy target for I-9 audits. With employees coming and going all of the time, keeping up with the paperwork can be a fulltime job in itself. Every restaurant owner knows that the I9 form needs to be completed (ensuring that their new employee is eligible to work in the US), but they may not be completing this form in a timely manner, or they may be waiting a few weeks to see if a particular employee will stick around.

This is a BIG mistake! Avoiding a minor administrative headache today or placing this task on the backburner can result in a big compliance violation in the event that you’re audited by the government. If your business is randomly selected for an audit, you could have as little as three days’ notice before documents have to be surrendered. If your restaurant is in violation, hefty (and sometimes debilitating) fines will follow.

So, what can you do? The first option is to always ensure your restaurant is operating in compliance. Although, for busy business owners, sometimes mistakes are entirely innocent and unavoidable; we make them by accident or we’re just not educated enough within one particular area of employee management.

The alternative chosen by many restaurant owners is to work with a PEO. If you visit the “HR Solutions for the Restaurant Industry” section of our blog you’ll see that PEOs come with many benefits beyond their help and expertise surrounding compliance and new hire paperwork. They’re able to bundle nearly all HR and compliance responsibilities under one cost effective umbrella to ensure that your business is run as effectively and efficiently as possible.

To learn more about PEOs operating within the restaurant industry, click here. If you have any specific questions, feel free to contact us at Employer Solutions Plus: 727-698-6207.