How often should my employee handbook be updated?

An employer should update their handbook at least annually. As employment law is an ever-changing area, an employee handbook should be considered a living document. Sometimes company policies and culture also strive to grow and change. It is important to stay up to date with all the changes to employment regulations. These changes should be reflected in a company’s employee handbook to safeguard both the employer and employee. In the event that there are any updates to the employee handbook, these updates should be distributed to all employees.

How should I distribute an employee handbook?

Employee handbooks can be distributed either as hard copies or electronically through email or an internal web portal. It is normal practice to distribute and discuss the employee handbook during a new hire’s orientation. If a company is distributing an employee handbook to employees for the first time, it may be advisable to schedule a human resources meeting to cover the main policies and procedures and answer any questions. No matter when the employee handbook is released, the employer should always request a signed acknowledgment form from the employee to confirm receipt and acceptance of the employee handbook.

What policies should I include in the employee handbook?

This depends on your size, your culture, and the issues you have in your workplace. There are several policies that most employers have or we recommend they have. These include attendance, rules of conduct, progressive discipline, drug and alcohol, dress code, cell phones, email and electronic communications (including social media), EEO, anti-harassment and discrimination, ADA/pregnancy/reasonable accommodation, searches on property, weapons/firearms, vacation, holiday, sick time, PTO, insurance, FMLA (if you have 50 or more employees in a 75-mile radius), general leave of absence, jury duty, bereavement, military leave, employee classification and entitlement to overtime, and payroll requirements. These policies are all included in our employee handbook and can be easily customized to meet your needs.

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What is an employee handbook?

An employee handbook is a critical document that outlines a company's policies, expectations, and culture while ensuring legal compliance and fostering clear communication. It serves as a foundational guide for employees, providing essential information about workplace standards, benefits, and procedures. These are often accompanied by a form which employees must sign to verify that they have read and understand the policies contained therein.

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Create an employee handbook in your state

When to create an employee handbook

An employee handbook sets forth a business's rules and policies in one accessible place for both employees and management alike. Some states require the development of an employee handbook, while others do not; however, it is important to create an employee handbook to avoid confusion and set employee expectations. After a company has been registered with a state, it is crucial to build an organized and clearly-written employee handbook.

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Gather Information

As you complete your employee handbook, you will need to provide certain relevant information. This includes, but is not limited to, the employer's business address, current number of employees, and policies concerning break time, employee benefits, and taking time off. It may help to discuss these items with your director of human resources and other key personnel.
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Use the information you collected to complete the employee handbook. We make this easy by guiding you each step of the way and helping you to customize your document to match your specific needs.
Review and Distribute

It is always important to read your document thoroughly to ensure it matches your needs and is free of errors and omissions. After reviewing, print a copy of the handbook for each employee and have him or her sign the employee acknowledgments page. Be sure to retain a copy of this page in each employee's personnel file.

Why create an employee handbook?

An employee handbook is a critical tool for a business to communicate and establish its workplace policies and culture, protect its legal interests, and streamline its onboarding processes. An employee handbook provides your employees with notice of the crucial policies and procedures that they must follow during their employment. Providing employees with this notice can serve to protect your company's legal interests and help to prevent unlawful termination or other employment-based lawsuits. A handbook also eases new employees' transitions into your company culture.

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Why choose LegalNature?

LegalNature offer the guidance to navigate the nuances of creating an employee handbook across all 50 states. LegalNature offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you're not happy, then we’re not happy. Give us a call and let us help.

Employee handbook guide

An employee handbook is designed to help you create comprehensive, state-specific employment policies that are customized to your company's needs. Our handbook includes legally mandated policies concerning payroll, sick leave, paid time off, overtime, benefits, breaks, and jury duty. It also covers vital company policies as well as the protection of confidential information and trade secrets. The following is a brief breakdown of the key components included in our employee handbook:

Company Policies

Our handbook automatically includes standardized employee policies including dress code, performance reviews, smoking policy, computer use policy, social media policy, and work from home policy. You also have the option of providing your own customized internal policies to govern employee conduct.

Payroll Information

In compliance with labor law requirements in your state of employment, our handbook allows you to make informed provisions regarding employee payroll frequency and payment methods.

Meal and Rest Breaks

An employee handbook should include information regarding the minimum amount of any meal or rest breaks required by your state. If your state requires one or both of these, your company may still allow more than the state minimum. If your state does not require these, then the form builder will give you the option of allowing these breaks.

Benefits Offered

Besides health insurance and workers' compensation insurance, most benefits are typically discretionary. Federal law requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide health insurance to full-time employees, and state law may impose requirements on smaller employers. Likewise, workers' compensation insurance is typically required for all employers under their respective state laws unless they are very small or some other special exemption applies. Be sure to check your state laws if you think you may be exempt from providing these benefits.

Sick Leave

Several states and localities have varying sick leave requirements for private employers, depending on the employer size. Our handbook automatically captures the required sick leave provisions in every state of employment. Nevertheless, employers are free to offer sick leave in excess of the minimum amount required by law.

Family and Medical Leave Programs

Under Federal law, employers that are subject to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) are required to provide unpaid leave for certain medical situations.

If a state provides an employee with more generous benefits than the FMLA, employers are required to follow the state law. Applicable state family and medical leave requirements are automatically captured in the handbook.

Probationary Period

Our handbook gives you an option to include a probationary period in the handbook. Probationary periods can help employers evaluate the performance and suitability of new employees. They can also be used for the purpose of determining when employees may begin accruing benefits.

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Employee Handbook

What is an employee handbook?

Create related business infrastructure documents

Create an employee handbook in your state

When to create an employee handbook

Create your employee handbook in 3 steps

Gather Information

Complete Our Short Questionnaire

Review and Distribute

Why create an employee handbook?

Why choose LegalNature?

Employee handbook guide

Company Information

Company Policies

Payroll Information

Meal and Rest Breaks

Benefits Offered

Sick Leave

Family and Medical Leave Programs

Probationary Period

Create your employee handbook in minutes