A Sample employee handbook may not be everything that you may envision them to be.
In fairness to you, this page will not provide you with a place to get a free employee handbook. However, I would strongly encourage you to continue to read this page to find out why.
I have been in the HR and Cal-OSHA Consulting business since 1997. From time to time I will download a free sample employee handbook. From time to time I will also pay for an employee handbook. I have paid as much as $400.00 for what was supposed to be a good attorney written employee handbook. At the end of the day, none of them were worth the paper they were written on.Here are a few reasons why I have said the above:
- The sample employee handbooks do not have current policies. A table of contents does not make a good employee handbook. What makes a good employee handbook is how the policies are written.
- A sample employee handbook will not have all of the policies that you need. And if it doesn’t do you know enough about writing an employee handbook to spot that?
- The policies in a sample employee handbook will not be customized to your business and in most 95% or more not written well anyway.
- With 60% of employees facing some kind of ligation in the next five years regarding it simple is not in any company’s best interest to borrow someone else’s policies.
Employee handbooks are a very touchy thing, in fact, they are your first line of defense should a lawsuit arise. A well-written employee handbook can not only given you the victory in court but in can keep you out of court. I guarantee you there is not a sample employee handbook that you could download that will do either of those things.
The truth is we live in a very litigious society. The key today is to protect your rights not throw them away with a poorly written document.
However, you came here looking for something and while I am not going to provide you with a free employee handbook I am going to provide you with a table of content that comes from an excellent employee handbook that has been reviewed by over 28 different law firms. I will also let you know that we will be happy to review your employee handbook at no charge. The table of contents below will have all the things you should be addressing.
Table of Contents of a Good Employee Handbook
Table of Contents
Welcome New Employee ……………4
Introductory Statement …………….. 5
At Will Employment ………………….. 5
Right to Revise………………………… 5
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Compliance ………. 6
New Employee Orientation ……………………………………… 6
New Employee Reporting………………………………………… 6
Open Door Policy …………………………………………………… 6
Sexual and Other Unlawful Harassment ……………………. 7
Equal Employment Opportunity………………………………… 8
GINA ACT …………………………………………………………….. 9
Business Ethics and Conduct …………………………………… 9
Conflicts of Interest………………………………………………… 10
Conducting Personal Business ………………………………… 11
Outside Employment ……………………………………………… 11
Non-Disclosure………………………………………………………. 11
Requirements for Employment …………………………………… 12
Employment Categories ……………………………………………. 12
Access to Personnel Files ………………………………………….. 13
Personnel Data Changes …………………………………………… 14
Introductory Period …………………………………………………. 14
Workers’ Compensation Insurance ……………………………… 15
Workers Compensation ……………………………………………. 15
State Disability……………………………………………………….. 16
Unemployment Insurance………………………………………… 16
Social Security ………………………………………………………. 16
Performance Evaluation …………………………………………. 16
Employee Benefits ………………………………………………… 16
Scheduling Note …………………………………………………… 17
Vacation Time Off…………………………………………………. 18
Holidays ……………………………………………………………… 18
Sick Time Off……………………………………………………….. 19
Time Off to Vote ……………………………………………………19
Family Medical Leave Act ……………………………………… 20
Use of Paid Leave………………………………………………… 21
Paid Family Leave Law ………………………………………… 22
Bereavement Leave ……………………………………………. 23
Personal Leave ………………………………………………….. 23
Military Leave……………………………………………………… 23
Pregnancy Disability Leave ………………………………….. 24
Jury Duty …………………………………………………………… 26
Benefits Continuation (COBRA) ……………………………. 26
Federal COBRA and Cal-COBRA …………………………. 27
Health Insurance ……………………………………………….. 27
Life Insurance …………………………………………………… 28
Timekeeping …………………………………………………….. 28
Paydays …………………………………………………………… 29
Administrative Pay Corrections …………………………… 29
Pay Deductions…………………………………………………. 29
Mandatory Payroll Deductions…………………………….. 29
Reporting Time Pay………………………………………….. 30
Health and Safety ……………………………………………. 30
Work Schedules ……………………………………………… 31
Telephone and Cell Phone Policy ……………………… 31
School Conferences………………………………………… 32
Smoking and Tobacco Use ……………………………… 33
Rest and Meal Periods ……………………………………. 33
Business Travel Expenses……………………………….. 33
Educational Assistance Policy ………………………….. 34
Overtime……………………………………………………….. 34
Use of Equipment and Vehicles………………………… 34
Company Property, Security, Privacy
and Searches ………………………………………………. 35
Visitors in the Workplace……………………………….. 36
Social Media …………………………………………………36
Anti-Bullying ………………………………………………… 38
Computer and E-mail Usage …………………………. 39
Internet Usage ……………………………………………. 39
Social Media ………………………………………………. 41
Anti-Bullying ………………………………………………. 42
Workplace Monitoring …………………………………. 43
Workplace Violence Prevention ……………………..43
Employee Conduct and Work Rules……………… 44
Drug and Alcohol Use………………………………… 45
Drug and Alcohol Policy……………………………… 45
Drug and Alcohol Use Prohibited ………………… 46
Employee Assistance Programs …………………. 46
Use, Possession or Sale of Drugs or Alcohol .. 46
Drug and Alcohol Testing…………………………… 47
Chain of Custody Procedures ……………………. 47
Attendance and Punctuality………………………. 48
Dress Code and Personal Appearance ……… 48
Return of Property ………………………………….. 49
Resignation …………………………………………… 49
Suggestion Program……………………………….. 49