The topics covered in the free basic employee handbook are:
• Equal Opportunity Employer statement
• At Will Employment Statement
• Duration of Employment
• Harassment Policy
• Complaint Procedure
• Open Door Policy
• Code of Conduct
Companies can use the free employee handbook as a sample to create their own customized employee handbook by substituting their company name and other personal information.
Darin Hanks, president of HRIT Inc. says that many businesses are unsure about what exactly should be contained in an employee handbook and how much detail to include. “An Employee Handbook should be directive and relating to work-life issues. Don’t make it a training manual or detailed operations manual. It should answer general questions about being an employee. It’s even OK to be vague as long as the vagueness doesn’t create confusion,” says Hanks.
For example, Hanks says that instead of publishing an exhaustive list of benefits in an employee handbook that are subject to change, companies can get more life from their employee handbook with verbiage such as ‘Full Time Employees are eligible for the current benefit package as published by the Human Resources department.’
All of HRIT’s employee handbooks, both paid versions and the free version, undergo a semi-annual legal review to ensure legal accuracy. However, Hanks cautions that employers should still send their employee handbooks through a legal review process once they have customized the document.
“You need two sets of eyes on the Employee Handbook before it goes to the printer: Legal Eyes and New Eyes! Make sure your attorney gives it their blessing. And make sure you have it looked over by a good grammarian that has not been involved in the creation of the Employee Handbook,” explains Hanks.
In addition to their free basic employee handbook, HRIT also offers 3 free employee handbook writing tutorials as well as a $49.99 full length employee handbook that is delivered electronically in a customizable format. Specially tailored full length employee handbooks are also available for businesses in California, Texas, and Ohio.
Companies can also purchase a $99 employee handbook and HR form template kit which includes:
• Employee Discipline Forms
• Employee Performance Evaluation Templates
• Employment Application Templates
• Employee Non Solicitation Agreements
• Employee Termination Checklist
“These are documents that many companies pay tens of thousands of dollars to have drafted. Our philosophy is that every business, regardless of their budget, should have access to high quality, legally accurate employee handbooks and forms,” says Hanks.
About HRIT: Human Resources & Information Technology (http://www.hrit.com) is a publisher of customizable employee handbooks and HR forms. All of HRIT’s employee handbooks are developed by seasoned HR and employee managers are legally reviewed every six months to ensure the highest quality HR materials. Employee University (http://www.employeeuniversity.com), a division of HRIT, is a leading producer and distributor of motivational employee training videos designed to improve employee performance.
