Your business doesn’t need to have multiple locations or hundreds of workers to benefit from an employee handbook. You only need to have a handful of workers to make the creation of a handbook a worthwhile endeavor.
Every new staff member you hire increases the amount of liability and the risk that your company has. Employees can break the law, mistreat one another and even bring frivolous lawsuits against a company for personal financial gain. The creation of an employee handbook can be an important preventative measure to protect your company from lawsuits and employment-related liability.
A handbook can show you don’t tolerate certain behavior
The bad behavior of a few workers or an executive could be enough to endanger your company’s future. The things someone says or does to another worker might result in litigation that costs your company a significant amount of money.
By creating a handbook with clear policies on discrimination, harassment and other inappropriate employee behaviors, you help protect your company from claims that you foster a hostile work environment. Additionally, you can give workers who notice something inappropriate explicit instructions on how to report those issues.
Your employee handbook can clarify worker expectations
From how you want your workers to dress to your attendance policy, you can put all of your rules in black and white in your handbook. Agreeing to those terms can be part of their employment contract, which can protect your company from claims of wrongful termination or other kinds of employer misconduct.
The more that workers understand their obligations and what your company will do for them, the less likely they are to initiate frivolous proceedings against your company that waste time and money. Creating a handbook can be one way for your company to protect itself and foster a positive work environment. It can also be a valuable tool in your defense if you do face litigation brought by a current or former employee.