What Are Common Mistakes When Writing Employee Handbooks?

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Table of Contents

• What is an Employee Handbook?
• Common Mistakes When Writing Employee Handbooks
• Key Takeaways

Employee handbooks are extremely useful tools for improving employee performance. With an effective handbook, you can communicate your expectations and values as an employer, ensuring employee compliance with your business’ rules. This article will take you through the most common mistakes to avoid when writing your employee handbook.

What is an Employee Handbook?

An employee handbook is a useful document that outlines your company’s policies and expectations concerning performance and behaviour. Common items to include in employee handbooks include: 

• core legal policies, including anti-discrimination and harassment policies;
• the business’ core values and mission statement;
• key expectations, including working hours, attendance and dress code;
• leave policies; and
• disciplinary processes.

You should provide this handbook to all new employees and use it as a reference tool for existing employees.

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Common Mistakes When Writing Employee Handbooks

The following sections explore common mistakes an employer can make when writing their handbook.

Relying on a Standard Template

Though relying on a standard template from the internet can be tempting, you should tailor your handbook to your specific industry and business. A standard template may not just be irrelevant to your business but can cause legal issues where the template references laws from a different region. Further, all businesses are unique. As such, a standard template may not adequately reflect your business’s needs.

Failing to Update Your Handbook

Over time, laws will change, as will the needs of your business. Likewise, situations may arise that you did not consider when initially drafting your employee handbook. Therefore, avoid treating your handbook as a document that you ‘set and forget’. Instead, periodically update the document to ensure it correctly reflects your current business’ size, values and policies. Another consideration is ensuring your handbook reflects legal or industry developments relevant to your business’s operations.

Using Unclear Langage

Avoid using legalese or overly technical language when preparing an employee handbook. After all, an employee handbook aims to inform employees about your business goals and values – not to confuse them. 

Keeping your employee handbook clear and basic, with short sentences and simple language, will ensure your employees understand its contents. It is also essential that the handbook clearly states the potential consequences of failing to comply with company policies. Doing so ensures that you can rely on your handbook if future misconduct arises.

Being Overly Specific 

Write the employee handbook using broadly stated, non-specific terms. Avoid being overly prescriptive, as you do not want this document to create red tape and policies that do not align with the general needs of the business. Additionally, do not overwhelm your employees with too much information. There is no need to consider every hypothetical scenario from a legal perspective. Your company should only consider its general approach to common issues that arise and its core legal policies.

Confusing the Handbook With an Employment Agreement

Employee handbooks and employment agreements are two distinct documents. To avoid confusion, do not include the handbook as an annexure to your employment contract. Otherwise, any documents you annex to a contract will form part of the bilateral agreement, meaning both parties sign and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions as drafted. Consequently, you would be unable to update your handbook without a signed agreement from the specific employee. Practically, this could result in employees being bound to different versions of the handbook and needlessly complicates the process. 

Including Contradictory Policies

You should read your handbook carefully to ensure it contains no contradictory policies. Having policies in the employee handbook that conflict may expose you to risks and make the handbook less effective overall.

Having Provisions That Conflict With Laws or Company Policy

Often, employee handbooks contain provisions that are either unlawful or inconsistent with the general direction of the law. In other cases, it may be obvious that an employee handbook does not match the general policies of the business. You should avoid both of these scenarios to ensure your handbook is effective and enforceable where appropriate. Ultimately, this requires you to update your handbook when relevant laws are amended, such as employee leave entitlements. 

Including Unrealistic Provisions 

Employee handbooks aim to clarify the company’s position on key employee issues and provide one place to answer common questions from employees. It also sets out the company’s expectations and core legal policies, such as anti-discrimination and harassment and IT policies. As such, it is important that you only include realistic provisions. For example, there is little purpose to including a detailed grievance policy if there is no intention to comply with it. Therefore, you should be thoughtful about the policies to include and whether they will work in practice.

Key Takeaways

Employee handbooks are incredibly useful tools, and you should not overlook their importance. Some key mistakes you should avoid when writing your employee handbook include:

• relying on a standard template;
• Failure to update the document;
• using unclear language;
• being overly specific;
• confusing the handbook with an employment agreement;
• including contradictory policies;
• having provisions that conflict with laws or company policy; and
• including unrealistic provisions.

If you need assistance preparing or updating your employee handbook, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.