How to Write Your Employee Handbook

One of the most important documents that exists between an employer and an employee is the formal “Employee Handbook.”

 

According to the United States Small Business Administration, a proper handbook should clearly detail your expectations for your employees and describe what they can expect from you.

 

As a human resources professional, if you have been charged with this responsibility and you find it somewhat overwhelming, remember that there is an app for that too.

 

One of the best online tools to help you is the app HR at Your Fingertips.

 

Useful for both veterans and newcomers, its many jewels of information include a thorough guide on how you can write an employee handbook. It signals item by item that needs to be covered, giving insight into each section, and even offers help on how to put in writing the policies the company wants every new employee to know.

 

The app is available for both iPhone or iPad. The information it contains is divided into three sections and includes a dictionary of over 270 human resources industry items so you will never be stumped.

 

There is a useful section on the federal U.S. laws related to human resources and details on which employees are eligible for certain benefits.

 

Your employee handbook is where you should include non-disclosure agreements which each employee should sign to uphold the company’s privacy as well as conflict of interest statements so they are clear that they cannot work for you and your competitor, for example.

 

The handbook should also feature your policies prohibiting discrimination and harassment in the workplace, the procedure by which work schedules and holidays are determined, and standards of professional conduct expected.

 

It should outline how you as an employer have taken steps to provide a safe work environment for each employee, outline details on how and when computers can be used, and who should or should not speak to the media if something happens within your organization. It will also detail all benefit (maternity and paternity leave, paid vacations, statutory holiday pay etc.) and the accepted circumstances that would justify a leave for an employee (i.e. death of an immediate family member or jury duty, among others).

 

For more information on how to write your employee handbook, contact SkyPrep today!