So you have decided to develop an employee manual, or maybe you even have one already. Now what? Can’t you just stick it on a shelf somewhere in case you end up in a lawsuit someday?
Well, you can. But it is a waste of money to do that, and legally you might be better off not having it at all. If your company doesn’t follow its own policies, that can be grounds for losing wrongful discharge law suits even if you have done nothing else wrong. If you really won’t use it, then your employee manual should be the bare minimum legal boilerplate that you have to follow anyway, such as equal opportunity employment.
An employee manual can be so much more than a dusty binder on a shelf. It can:
- record decisions you have made so that you don’t have to re-make them every time the issue comes up
- provide consistency in employee management
- make disciplinary procedures easier
- ease training
- make your company a better place to work
A well-thought-out manual can act as a management tool rather than just CYA material. It save time for actually running your business.
For more on your employee manual can help you, read Using Your Employee Manual.