5+ HR Manual Work Rules
Rules exist in a company so that everything is maintained in a way that ensures top performance and productivity, as well as the safety of those within the workplace. Thus, every business needs to come up with its own company policies to ensure that employees know the proper way to behave at work.
To ensure that employees have a copy of the rules that have been set by their employers, they are given employee handbooks or HR manuals. This article is going to focus on the rules that these documents should have to guarantee that employees are well-informed about company rules.
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Policies you need for an effective HR manual
If you want to have a good set of rules for employees, then be sure that the following policies are included in your manual:
1. Code of conduct
This is essential for every HR manual as this is the first place that your employees should go to if ever they have any questions regarding ethics or compliance. This is very helpful so that employees will not have to keep going to their assistant managers if ever they have questions.
The basic components of the code of conduct section should include:
- Code of ethics
- The workplace dress code and grooming standards
- Employee attendance
- Safety in the workplace
With a good code of conduct, you will be setting the tone of your organization by detailing your company’s effective mission core and values. Plus, it summarizes a majority of the rules that will affect the culture of your company.
2. Nondiscrimination Policy
In accordance with government law, any acts of discrimination will be met with certain legal consequences. Having a business policy that addresses these laws is a way of guaranteeing that your employees will comply with what should and should not be done. The nondiscrimination policy should include, but should not be limited to, the following:
- Nationality
- Religion
- Age
- Gender
- Disability
- Race or color
- Pregnancy
In addition to having this general policy, you should put name who to contact if anyone will witness an employee committing a discriminatory offense. This way, those in the company are sure not to make any co-worker feel uncomfortable and it will help prevent any legal charges against your and your business.
3. Compensation and benefits policy
This is the policy that will definitely catch the eyes of your employees. This particular policy will discuss how employees are to be rewarded for how they contribute to the success of your business. Also, this explains everything such as the employee payroll, how deductions are calculated, vacation and sick leaves, company simple insurance coverage, and much more. Fringe benefits are a great way to attract and retain top talent.This way, new hires can learn all about the perks that have caught their interest when you discuss it with them during their general employment interview. Plus, having these benefits in the manual will help remind employees that they will definitely be rewarded should they meet or go beyond the expectations of the company.
4. Communication policy
Consider how far we have come in the advancement of best technology; there are so many ways now that employees may be able to leak out important company information to competitors. This is why there has to be a policy that limits what employees may share via email, letters, texts, or social media posts. By laying out solid guidelines for handling personal, company, and customer information in the workplace, it will help prevent any embarrassing and costly mistakes that the company will have to pay for. Also, other policies such as those for discrimination or harassment policy are extended to all forms of communication, making this particular policy even more important.
5. Employment termination policy
This is the policy that should cover all of the basic terms of accepting one’s employment with your organization, as well as providing the standard reasons for termination.
The other areas of employment that should be taken into account with this policy are the following:
- Job classifications
- Introductory periods
- Union information
- Job eligibility
- Referrals
- Employee transfers and relocations
6. Disciplinary actions that should be included in the manual
Whenever an employee violates a policy, they should not expect to just get off the hook as if nothing happened. Depending on the severity of the offense, there should be an equal consequence. So, the following are the disciplinary actions that you have to include the employee handbook:
- Verbal warnings – This is the least severe form of punishment that any employee could hope to obtain. The purpose of a verbal warning is to bring up a problem to the attention of the general employee. Whenever there is a need for a verbal warning, the authoritative figure who is handing it out to the employee must do it within a private area so that no other employee who is not involved may know about the purpose of the disciplinary action. With a verbal warning, it allows the supervisor of the employee or any authority figure in the office to state that any similar problem that occurs again will be met with more severe disciplinary actions. Although this is the least severe of all the consequences, it is still important so that employees will understand what they did wrong and how they will avoid similar problems in the future.
- Written warnings – These are for offenses that have gone beyond just a verbal warning. The point of handing over a written warning is to share with the employee the severity of his or her offense and what that offense is. Also, the warning will also point out how the employee will be able to correct the problem. When writing down written warnings for employee, it is very important that they are specific and straight to the point. So, basically it should point out the date when the offense took place, the area it happened, what particular offense the employee has committed, who were involved during the incident, and how the employee will correct the problem. The employee and his or her supervisor must both place their signatures on the written the warning to verify that both have understood its contents and that both understand what needs to be done in order to correct the issue. These letters are usually for problems such as poor performance in the workplace, continuous absences, disobedience to a superior, and anything else similar to the severity of these offenses.
- Demotion or reduction in salary – This action is taken in the event that the employee has failed to heed the written warning, or has committed continuous offenses within the workplace. You may also like HR Strategy Templates
- Suspension or dismissal – This is merited when an employee has committed an offense that endangers the very company that he or she works for. Let us say that an employee were to disclose certain confidential information to a competitor, providing them with information that can damage the company’s success in the market. Something like this cannot go without consequence, so the general employee responsible for leaking the confidential information should be severely punished. Another scenario would be a severe case of harassment in the office wherein one employee is accused of the offense. The employer may decide to temporarily suspend the employee during the investigation, and terminate him or her should the employee be found guilty of the charges. Although something like this may seem harsh, the company’s well-being must always be the top priority. So, if an employee were to violate a simple policy to a very high degree, then you should hand over the termination letter as soon as possible.
Rules are always going to be a necessity for every business. If a company wants to aim for success, then those in charge have to make sure that employees know what they must and must not do in order to achieve business goals. So, if you are going to create rules for your employee handbook or HR manual, then make sure these are the rules that will push your company to greater heights.
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