Should My Company Have an Employee Handbook?

Employee Handbooks are good for laying out to employees the company policies and procedures. Maintaining good employee policies helps you in the event that an unhappy employee sues you or makes a complaint to a governmental entity.

An Employee Handbook can contain the following sections:

• Normal working hours and overtime pay
• Your sexual harassment policy
• Your policy regarding use of computers and the internet for personal matters
• Your vacation and sick days policy
• Your at will employment policy (stating that the employer and the employee are free to terminate the relationship at any time for any reason or no reason)
• Your email policy
• Your non-discrimination policy
• Your policy prohibiting the use of illegal drugs or alcohol while on company business or during company hours

It's a good idea for each employee to sign an acknowledgement form that he or she has read and understood the Employee Handbook. See the AllBusiness.com Forms & Agreements Center for a sample.