An employee handbook, sometimes also known as a staff handbook, sets out a company’s policies, procedures, rules and expectations for employees so that there is a clear and consistent approach to dealing with the full range of issues that normally arise during the employee lifecycle. Essentially, it is a guide on how things work for employees within a business.
What does an employee handbook contain?
An employee handbook will typically contain a range of useful information that employees will need to know or easily be able to refer to during their time with a company. Let’s have a look at some of the basics of what an employee handbook generally includes:
Introduction / Welcome – It’s always good to have this section especially for new starters. The introduction / welcome section will usually include a brief company history, some key facts and then share an overview of the company’s mission, vision and values which set the tone for what new employees can expect and what the culture of the company is.
Policies & Procedures – The majority of information in an employee handbook will provide details on the policies and procedures operated by the company. Many companies group related policies together in their employee handbook so that they are easier to find and this also makes the handbook more readable. The order of the sections will vary but an example of the sections included might be Starting Work, Development & Training, Time Off, Health & Wellbeing, Employee Relations, Family Friendly, Diversity & Inclusion, Leaving and then a catch all else section to finish off with.
Forms – Some of the policies and procedures which are documented in the employee handbook will have associated forms that staff need to fill in. That could be a form to request paternity leave or perhaps an employee wants to make a flexible working request and they therefore need to complete and submit a form that provides all the relevant information. Rather than having to search elsewhere for these forms it’s a good idea to include them in the employee handbook as well so that the handbook becomes a one stop shop and saves time for employees. By doing so the handbook also becomes a more valuable resource for employees and means that it is likely to be accessed more frequently in one way, shape or form.
Where should an employee handbook be stored?
In days gone by many employees would be presented with an employee handbook on their first day in a new job and would then spend the rest of that day, and maybe a bit longer, reading through the handbook. Whilst that still happens in some cases employers have tended to move away from that approach for various reasons. Firstly, there is the cost of paper, printing and staff time involved particularly if your business has relatively high turnover and regularly has a high volume of new starters. Secondly, making a new employee sit and read a handbook for a day is absolutely not a good use of resource. Finally, adopting that approach really doesn’t give an employee a great first impression of what life is like in their new job. There will no doubt be some key information that they need to know on day one but with a clearly structured and developed induction plan the remainder can be covered in a staggered manner over a period of time.
It is important though that the employee handbook is available to staff. If employees don’t readily have access to a computer then a hard copy of an employee handbook should be printed and stored in a file somewhere that staff can access, that might be a staff room, canteen or general office. For companies where all staff have computer access then it is perfectly acceptable to just have an electronic version of the employee handbook. This can be stored in a shared drive, on the company intranet or HR system, anywhere really that is open to all employees. Make sure though that these versions can’t be edited in any way by those employees who simply need it for reference purposes.
Reviewing & Updating
Once a company has an employee handbook in place it is crucial that it is regularly reviewed and updated. Employment law and guidance from ACAS changes frequently and so the handbook needs to be dynamic. This month alone there have been numerous amendments to existing employment law and the implementation of new regulations. If changes to employment law and ACAS guidance happen and the handbook does not reflect those changes then a company is at risk of failing to adhere to their legal obligations and responsibilities. Ultimately that could lead to legal action and employment tribunal claims being brought against an employer so taking time to review and update the employee handbook is essential. When changes are made to any policies and procedures it is also important that these changes are shared and communicated out to employees so that everyone knows what amendments have been made.
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