Model Employee Handbook for Small Business—New Insights.

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For this assignment, you will read the Guide to the Employee Handbook written by the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) and then will review your company’s handbook (or the employee handbook of an organization with which you are familiar) for the purpose of making recommendations regarding which policies are fundamental (i.e., policies that should be kept or added) and which should be adjusted or removed.

Upon successful completion of the course material, you will be able to:

  • Determine which organization policies are fundamental and which need adjustment or removal following the review of an organization’s employee handbook using NFIB’s Guide to the Employee Handbook.

Resources

  • Textbook: The Employer’s Legal Handbook
  • PDF: NFIB Guide to the Employee Handbook

Background Information

According to the NFIB’s Guide to the Employee Handbook (2012):

The purpose of an employee handbook is to orient new employees with the company. It is a resource that provides answers for the most frequently asked employee questions. Besides informing new employees about company policy, a good handbook emphasizes the at-will nature of employment and the company’s disciplinary and termination rights. Most importantly, it is a declaration of the employer’s rights and expectations. (p. 2)

Instructions

  1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.
  2. Review Chapter 2, “Personnel Practices,” in The Employer’s Legal Handbook.
  3. Download and read the NFIB’s Guide to the Employee Handbook.
  4. Review your organization’s handbook (or the handbook of an organization with which you are familiar). Determine which policies are fundamental, need adjustment, or need removed.
  5. Write a paper with inclusion of one or more paragraphs for each of following areas using similar headings in your paper:
    1. Introduction.
    2. Importance of an Employee Handbook. Explain in detail why it is important for an organization to have an up-to-date employee handbook.
    3. Organization Overview. Provide a brief but thorough overview of your organization (or the organization with which you are familiar). Include the entity name, physical address of the headquarters, web address, identification of other locations (if any), type of industry, date started, form of business (i.e., publicly-traded, private, non-profit, government, education, or church), number of employees, product or service offered, and the organization’s competitive advantage.
    4. Current State of the Employee Handbook. Describe the current state of the organization’s employee handbook, including date of publication, how the handbook is accessed (print, electronic, etc.), explanation of how it is formatted, and details of the most recent update (provide the name of the policy, date of the change, what was changed, and why the change took place).
    5. Policy and Procedure Issues. Describe a problem that is a result of either an existing policy (the confusing or erroneous way that it is currently written) or the result of having no policy in place.
      1. Either write a new policy or update, delete, or change an existing policy that is specific to the organizational problem identified.
      2. Include the policy in the appendix of the paper. Make reference to the appendix in the body of the paper.
    6. Employee Handbook Review for Minimum Inclusions. According to the NFIB, an employee handbook should include, at a minimum, the seven items listed below:
      1. An at-will disclaimer
      2. A statement regarding equal employment opportunity
      3. A policy prohibiting unlawful discrimination and harassment
      4. A section that describes the policy for use of company property and privacy rules
      5. A section on employment classification and overtime rules
      6. A policy on Family and Medical Leave if the organization has 50 or more employees
      7. A section on safety (NFIB, 2012, p. 2)
        1. Review your organization’s handbook (or the handbook of an organization with which you are familiar) compared to the above seven items and answer the following questions:
          1. Which of the seven minimum inclusions are found in the organization’s employee handbook? Which of the seven minimum inclusions are not found in the handbook?
          2. What are your recommendations for policy keepers (keep as written), additions, deletions, or changes as they relate to your seven minimum inclusions analysis?
    7. Employee Handbook Review—Keepers, Additions, Deletions, and Changes. Use the NFIB’s Guide to the Employee Handbook to compare and contrast with the policies found in your chosen organization’s handbook.
      1. Determine which policies are fundamental, need adjustment, or need removed.
      2. Use a figure similar to that shown below. List at least six to eight policies and provide an explanation in the comments for each recommendation. Place the figure in the appendix of the paper. Write a paragraph or two explaining your findings and recommendations. Make reference to the appendix in the body of the paper.
Policy Fundamental Adjust Remove Comments
6.1 Vacations X Change hours from 2 to 4: Employees released from jury duty with 4 hours remaining in the workday, are expected to return to work.
8.1 Grounds for Disciplinary Action X Add action item: Falsifying injury reports or reasons for leaving.
    1. Model Employee Handbook for Small Business—New Insights. Describe new insights you gained from reviewing the model handbook and the completion of this exercise. Include in this section any other recommendations you may have for the organization as it relates to publishing the employee handbook and communicating policies to employees.
    2. Conclusion.

~~ALTERNATIVE OPTION~~

If your organization does not have an employee handbook, or you do not have access to an employee handbook for an organization with which you are familiar, then approach the assignment with the viewpoint that a handbook needs to be written for the first time. For a publicly traded company or widely known non-profit organization with which you are familiar, complete the assignment as follows:

    1. Introduction. (Complete as instructed in “a.” above.)
    2. Importance of an Employee Handbook. (Complete as instructed in “b.” above.)
    3. Organization Overview. (Complete as instructed above, selecting a company with which you are familiar.)
    4. Current state of the Employee Handbook. Explain the non-existing nature (or non-availability) of the employee handbook and the disadvantages for having no employee handbook—for both the employer and the employee. Since no handbook exists (or is unavailable), describe your recommendations for the required steps and procedures to (i.) create, (ii.) publish, and (iii.) distribute an employee handbook unique to the organization.

      NOTE: This section of the assignment is in contrast to “b. Importance of an Employee Handbook” which highlights the importance (and advantages) of having an employee handbook.

    5. Policy and Procedures Issues. Write a sample new policy specific to a real or imagined problem faced by the company with which you are familiar. Include the policy in the appendix of the paper. Make reference to the appendix in the body of the paper.
    6. Employee Handbook Review for Minimum Inclusions. Select a minimum of three of the seven inclusions. Write a policy for each selection. Place each policy in a separate appendix page, limiting each policy to no more than one page, single spaced.
    7. Employee Handbook Review—Keepers, Additions, Deletions, and Changes. Use the NFIB’s Guide to the Employee Handbook as the basis to suggest policies that should be found in the employee handbook. The policies for this section are to be different policies than those previously discussed in sections “e.” and “f.” in your paper. Use the figure shown in letter “g.” above to list six to eight policies. Identify each as fundamental, not needed, or adjusted when compared to the policies shown in the small business model handbook. Write a paragraph or two explaining your findings and recommendations. Make reference to the appendix in the body of the paper.
    8. Model Employee Handbook for Small Business—New Insights. (Complete as instructed “h.” above)
    9. Conclusion.
  1. Your paper should be 500–600 words in length, not including the title page, reference page, or appendix items. Appendix items are not included in the word count requirement.
  2. Use APA formatting. At a minimum, cite (1) the NFIB’s Guide to the Employee Handbook and (2) an HR professional or informational website. Note that your company’s website may be substituted for the second resource.
  3. Answers should be substantive with use of the language of business and employment law. See the grading rubric for assignment expectations.
  4. Before submitting this assignment, thoroughly edit the written paper.
    1. Run a Word spelling and grammar check and make corrections as needed.
    2. Run a Grammarly report and make appropriate changes. Visit Grammarly to learn more about the software. Go to Grammarly sign-up to set up an account.
    3. Check for proper APA formatting, citations, and references.
      1. For questions on APA style, go to OCLS APA Writing Styles Guide.
    4. Checkmark the instructions for this assignment, and checkmark the rubric to be sure your paper has fulfilled all requirements.
  5. When you have completed your assignment and edited it, save a copy for yourself and submit a copy to your instructor by the end of the workshop.