Three Important Policies You Need to Include in Your Employee Handbook

Employees are a vital part of every company. Without them, there wouldn’t even be one in the first place. However, it is not easy to make employees from diverse backgrounds come together and work as teams. In order to maintain the harmonious working environment in the company, employees need to abide by certain rules and regulations. You can share these rules and regulations with your employees in the form of a handbook. Below are some important policies which companies need to include in their employee handbook:

Code of Ethics

Each employee must act professionally, and be on their best behavior in the workplace. However, doing so doesn’t come naturally for all. Thus an employee handbook should contain a section solely to guide the employees on their behavior. Within this so-called code of ethics, here are a few sub-contents which you may include.

Dressing Code – Like previously cited, it is of prime importance that employees are at their best when they are at work. This includes looking at the part. Every company should implement a dress code. It will help employees dress appropriately. Also, dressing according to the company code will help the workforce become more self-confident; thereby boosting the company’s day by day operations.

Attendance and Tardiness Policies – The success of a company is largely dependent on whether employees are punctual in arriving to work, as well as in doing their duties and obligations. Thus a section devoted to attendance and tardiness is a must to have in any good employee handbook. Through it, employees will become aware of what to do in case they have to be absent from work and if they have to be late for a particular reason.

Workplace Precautions and Safety Measures – In some companies, the necessity of working in somewhat hazardous conditions can’t be done away with. Not only that, some unavoidable situations like natural calamities happen. Thus, it is imperative that an employee handbook contains the dos and don’ts regarding safety in the workplace.

Grievances and Complaints Policy

No company is perfect. At times, conflicts and misunderstandings can occur within the workplace. To be able to resolve these kinds of occurrences, the company must have a clear policy regarding it. Here are the sub-contents which may be put in an employee handbook with regards to the above-mentioned topic:

Person Authorized to Process Complaint – A grievance or misunderstanding (whether it is employee to employee or employee to a company) can easily blow out of proportion. It can then turn into something which negatively affects the company. Thus, in order to avoid gossips, there should be a person who has the authority to handle the grievance presented.

Steps to Undertake in Processing a Grievance – It can confuse employees on what they should do with regard to filing a grievance complaint. A section in the employee handbook dedicated to the steps in accomplishing it will certainly be of great help to them in this case.

Onboard Hiring and Leaving Policy

Employees come and go in a company at all times. This event happens regularly in almost every workplace. In order to prevent disruption of the workflow in a company, employees must be aware of the company’s policies when it comes to hiring additional staff as well as dismissing. The succeeding sub-topics can include information on the following topics of hiring and dismissal:

Waiting Time for Benefits Eligibility – Some, if not almost all companies, have a so-called probationary period. Until this period is over, an employee cannot yet receive certain work benefits.

Salary Schedule – “Give credit where credit is due.” In the company, it can mean “Give compensation regularly when compensation is due.” With this having been said, it is important that an employee handbook contains a section wherein the schedule of receiving wages is clearly stated.

Promotion – Staying in the same position for the entire tenure in the company is not an option for most employees. Therefore, it is necessary for a good employee handbook to provide all the details on how one can move a step up on the career ladder.

Maintaining a smooth working environment will never be an easy task. With the help of an employee handbook containing crystal clear policies and guidelines, the process becomes less hard and more enjoyable.