Employee Handbooks – Employer Solutions Plus

We are all familiar with the stories that have come out of the last decade – people making millions of dollars in frivolous lawsuits for things like being burned by hot coffee or slipping and falling while wearing 4-inch heels and holding a martini glass. Unfortunately as an employer you are at risk on a daily basis for being sued. It seems that should anything go awry, the first advice many receive is to “lawyer up” and go after the employer.

Did you have to fire an individual for poor performance? Hopefully they don’t turn around and say it’s because they are a female. Perhaps you are being sued because it took Joe or Sally 60 hours to do 40 hours of work due to their lackluster time management skills yet they still want overtime.

Whatever the reason there are 3 key things you can do to prevent workplace lawsuits. We are fortunate to have an arsenal of experts in this field that we reached out to for advice.

Employ a PEO. PEOs are gurus when it comes to risk mitigation and compliance. Their job is to take the burden off of you and leverage their expertise to ensure that your business is not at risk for violations of regulatory compliance – for instance OSHA. Employer Solutions Plus has an extensive network of PEOs that we can partner you with. This takes the guess work and headache out for you and passes on some of that risk and burden to a third party. Employer Solutions Plus can work with you to find a PEO that can support your needs.
Have an Employee Handbook. Employee handbooks include everything from dress codes to behavioral expectations to information about employee issues like harassment. By clearly outlining what you require of your employees and having the employees acknowledge this, you will have leverage should any instances of “well I didn’t know” come up.
Document Everything. While it may seem obvious that things like performance reviews or disciplinary items should be documented, the little things – such as incidents of misconduct or underperformance should be documented as well. This doesn’t need to be burdensome – just a short paragraph that is factual and descriptive. The employee should be made aware of these infractions in writing as well.

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.

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