Overview of an Employee Handbook
What is an Employee Handbook?
An Employee Handbook sets out details of an employment relationship that are not covered in an individual Employment Contract, as well as detailing general employment policies.
An Employee Handbook sets out the mission and values of a company and communicates to an employee what is expected of them and what they can expect from their employer.
An Employee Handbook supplements but does not supersede an Employment Contract.
Why have an employee handbook?
It’s critical that all of your staff are aware of your company’s policies and procedures. Employee handbooks demonstrate to employees that policies are uniform for all employees – the same rules and principles apply to all employees, and all employees are treated equally.
It can assist foster a happy, productive, and safe work environment by explicitly laying out corporate policies. As a result, the handbook can assist you to defend a case and protect your firm from sexual harassment, wrongful termination, and discrimination charges.
What is included in an employee handbook?
These are the important things to include:
- Company details, mission statement, and history: It should contain information about the company, its mission & vision to make their employee know better about the company and its goals.
- Company’s core values and culture: Having clear company values ensures all your employees are working towards the same goals. It also supports the company’s vision and shapes its culture.
- Harassment and discrimination reporting procedures: for any company to succeed, it is very important to have a healthy working environment in an organization. Having clear harassment and discrimination reporting procedures can ensure employees their rights are protected and prioritized.
- Leave entitlements: A clear detail about different types of leave like casual, sick leave and maternity leave, etc should be mentioned in an employee handbook to let their employees know about the leave and manage their schedule accordingly.
- Working hours and overtime policy: it should contain detailed information about the regular working hours and overtime details to let employees know about organizational arrangements.
- Employee resignation and termination: It is very important to mention employee resignation and termination procedures including notice period, final paycheck and compensation, etc.
What makes an employee handbook great?
A good employee handbook should be both practical and entertaining. It should efficiently communicate your firm’s principles and assist your employees in understanding the culture of your organization. Your employees should know exactly what is expected of them after reading your employee handbook and what they will receive in return if they comply.
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Along with this document, make sure you see these other templates in our library:
- Shareholder Agreement
- Option Agreement
- Employee Option Repurchase Agreement
- Share Appreciation Rights Plan
- Share Option Plan
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