Employee handbooks ‚ The benefits are HUGE

An employee handbook compiling your work workplace rules is a great way to communicate work policies to employees. However, it’s extremely important to follow certain guidelines when creating a handbook in order to avoid inadvertently creating an employment contract. Employee handbooks are basically manuals containing an employer’s work rules and policies which can be used to communicate these rules and policies to employees.

Manuals can also contain other information that is useful to the employee, such as the business’s history, its goals, and its commitment to customer service.

Should your business have an employee handbook???????

For a small business in particular, this question is hard to answer. Whether to have a handbook should depend largely on the size of your business. If you have only a handful of employees, the time it would take to assemble a handbook probably will put you off. Fresh HR Insights have the solution – handbooks customised for your small business needs.

Why do you need a handbook I hear you ask???????????

Handbooks can pass on valuable information to your employees, such as:

• What you expect of them and what they can expect of you
• What your business’s service policy to customers is
• What place your business has in the community and the industry
• What makes your business a good place to work

If you’re undecided about whether to invest in a handbook, consider some of the other uses for a handbook in addition to communicating important information to employees.

The handbook can serve a number of purposes:

• A motivator. A handbook can give employees a sense of being a part of something larger. If your handbook includes information about the business’s history and goals, it can provide a positive motivation for keeping employees excited about their jobs and involved in the company’s success.
• A reference. With a handbook, everyone knows the rules of your workplace. When an employee breaks a rule, you can refer to the handbook. It helps make enforcement and discipline easier.
• Your shield from charges of discrimination or unfair treatment. If discrimination or FWA claims are brought against your business, your handbook can provide persuasive evidence that you had clear, reasonable rules against certain conduct which were communicated to employees and fairly enforced.

At Fresh HR Insights we have employee handbooks for small business. For further information or for a quote for your business please contact Paulette on 0452471960 or paulette@freshhrinsights.com.au.