What Goes in the Employee Manual?

A good employee manual helps to put everyone on the same page

From best practices I’ve seen over the years, I’d say it’s a good idea to have an employee manual to not only spell out workplace polices and practices but also to support the vision of a community of shared values. It is also a good place for legally required policies on things like harassment and health and safety that apply to workplaces over a certain size.

That said, I’d quickly add that putting together a comprehensive manual – or updating an old one – is a big job that requires planning, forethought and careful review.

One point to keep in mind is that many of the policies, standards, and best practices probably already exist and are most likely written down somewhere. They may be in HR or accounting or the IT department. Smaller employers may not write most of them down at all, or perhaps just make policies one at a time when they are legally required or when the underlying issues come up. In either case, the employee manual just pulls it all together and, if nothing else, cuts down on confusion and possible misunderstanding

I’m not an expert on the legal ins and outs of these policies, but people who are experts warn about three potential pitfalls in particular.

1. Creating policies that could conflict with legislation. Some policies, especially for larger employers, are legally required. In those cases, the workplace policy can simply make a statement of commitment and reference the applicable laws.
2. Failing to account for different laws and regulations in different provinces.
3. Unintentionally creating new employee entitlements (or confusion about what entitlements consist of, and under what circumstances they come into play).

There are a great many policies that different workplaces use, depending on the requirements of their particular area. Here are some of the most widely used – though not a complete list by any means.

1. Mission and vision: It’s good to start with a welcome and perhaps a mission or values statement. There are many ways of expressing the desire to maintain a safe and happy working environment that values and respects people.
2. Equity: Express a commitment to fairness, equal opportunity, human rights, and reasonable accommodation, both in legally protected areas and in general.
3. Harassment and violence:  Include a policy on workplace harassment, discrimination, and violence, including not only prohibited conduct, but also reporting obligations and procedures, the investigation process, confidentiality, and anti-reprisal protection.
4. Workplace health and safety: Explain the responsibilities of employees, supervisors and management, including hazard reporting, emergency procedures, workplace inspections, and the rights of workers regarding things like hazardous materials.
5. Hours of work, schedules, breaks, and overtime: Explain normal working hours, breaks, timekeeping, overtime procedures, overtime pay or time off in lieu, and rules for schedule changes.
6. Attendance, punctuality, and absenteeism: Explain expectations for reporting to work on time, calling in ahead for sick leave, job abandonment, the consequences of excessive absenteeism, and how to request leave or time off.
7. Pay, deductions: Cover such topics as pay frequency, direct deposit procedures, an explanation of pay statements, and statutory deductions.
8. Vacation and vacation pay: Explain the vacation policy, how vacation time is earned, how to request and schedule vacation time, whether any times of year require pre-approval, and issues such as how much vacation can be carried over from one year to the next.
9. Expenses: Explain what expenses incurred by employees in the line of work can be reimbursed by the employer, under what circumstances and what approvals that may be required.
10. Benefits: Naturally, I would suggest a comprehensive section on benefits, explaining all benefits in detail, when to use them, and how to access them.
11. How to access benefits programs: List any benefits, such as an employee assistance plans (EAPs), access to on-line counseling, or virtual medical appointments. Explain their purpose, their confidentiality, and how they can be accessed.
12. Retirement plans: The same goes for retirement plans. Explain how your plan works in detail and – especially important for younger workers – explain the benefits of joining the plan (if that is optional), the role of employer contributions, and what happens to funds in the plan if the employee leaves.
13. Statutory holidays: List all of the recognized or statutory holidays that apply in your province. Explain eligibility, holiday pay, working on a holiday, and substitute days.
14. 14. Leaves of absence: Summarize statutory and company leaves, such as sick leave, bereavement, family responsibility, pregnancy or parental leave, compassionate care, and other types of leave.
15. 15. Remote work, hybrid work, and work-from-home expectations: It’s often a good idea to start with a general statement that the basic requirement is to attend the workplace during normal working hours. However, when practical and subject to approval, remote work and work-from-home may be considered – subject to the employer’s right to modify or end the arrangement. Other factors to consider include off-site cybersecurity, equipment, expenses, confidentiality and home office safety.
16. Technology, internet, email, devices, and electronic monitoring: It’s important to point out that information systems and electronic devices are the employer’s property and that their use is restricted to the employer’s business. Explain the rules for passwords, data storage, downloads of files and cybersecurity. Note also that usage of devices and access to the Internet could be subject to routine inspection and that there is no expectation of privacy on the employer’s systems. It’s also good to mention that it’s important to use discretion with Internet searches and AI prompts, since your inputs remain in the system.
17. Use of artificial intelligence (AI) programs: This is, for most of us, a new one. Workplaces everywhere are struggling not only to understand and utilize the potential of AI, but also to guard against possible abuses. Content of a policy will likely vary considerably depending on the type of workplace, but from what I’ve heard and read on the subject, there are two main issues to address: the accuracy and reliability of AI produced material; and honest attribution of whether a given work was produced by AI.
18. Social media: There need to be clearly understood rules about what employees can and cannot disclose or discuss on their personal social media. Items to cover include posts that may disclose confidential information or make allegations of misconduct or that constitute online harassment.
19. Confidentiality, privacy, and data protection: Items to cover include confidential business information, employee or customer personal information, access to records and confidentiality obligations after an employee leaves.
20. 20. Conflict of interest: Set expectations for honesty, avoidance of conflicts of interest, how to handle gifts, whether outside work is permissible, and customer or client interactions.

Of course, there are many other policies that may be required in any given workplace, but these are the ones that seem to come up most often.

Finally, it’s good practice to spend a little time with new employees during their orientation to explain the handbook and ensure that they have read and understood its contents.

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I really appreciate comments, ideas, suggestions or just observations about the blog or any other topics in benefits management. I always look forward to hearing from readers. If there’s anything you want to share, please email me at bill@penmorebenefits.com.

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