Being a small business owner comes with challenges unique to the size and function of the business. The small business owner has to handle all the challenges of selling, delivering, financing, managing and growing the business with little or no staff, while trying to make it a success. The most important of all is to retain the interest of all stakeholders like customers, vendors and team to build momentum in a short span of time. We would like to offer some concrete, and often over-looked, suggestions on running your business that can make these challenges easier to handle. However, running a small business can be hugely rewarding both personally and financially.
Treat Employees Consistently
A employee handbook tailored to the way you do business helps ensure that managers across the organization handle issues consistently. A handbook should not be an “instruction book” on how to manage or deal with every conceivable problem or issue, but it should provide a framework for managers to follow.
“Sell” The Benefits You Offer
You spend a significant amount of money on every employee in ways that employees do not see or appreciate. A handbook allows you to take credit for all that you do for employees.
Without a lot of detail, a handbook should list all of the benefits provided by you at no cost to the employee (workers’ compensation in most states), subsidized by you (medical insurance) available for purchase at reduced rates (short-term disability insurance) or just available through payroll deduction (a credit union). Additionally, a handbook should refer to various types of paid and unpaid time off offered to employees.
Help To Win Unemployment Claims And Lawsuits
In case the need arises, a well-written handbook is the first step of a successful defense of unemployment or other legal claims. In most states, winning an unemployment claim requires proof that the terminated employee was on notice of a certain rule and had been warned that violating the rule would lead to disciplinary action up to, and including, immediate termination.
Likewise, many employment lawsuits hinge on consistent treatment of employees and/or ensuring that employees were on notice of important company policies and procedures. The page of the handbook containing the applicable policy, as well as the signed acknowledgement form, should be critical to the defense of unemployment or other legal claims. Certainly, you can expect that these documents will be exhibits in any litigation and can help you win or at least minimize damages.
Final Considerations
A handbook needs to reflect compliance with applicable federal, state and local laws. This does not mean that every law needs to be specifically addressed and referenced in detail in the handbook. Rather, the handbook should not conflict with any applicable law and should contain a clear statement that you intend to comply with all applicable laws. A handbook should be tailored to your organization and should reflect how you conduct business. Copying another employer’s handbook or one you find online might do more harm than good. Handbooks that contain typos, are copied askew, are out of date, contain another employer’s name or inapplicable policies and look sloppy or unprofessional, send a message that you do not really care about your employees.
For a minimal investment, you can have a well-written, professional-looking handbook. Remember, even the best handbook fails to provide a benefit to you if employees do not have easy access to it, if you cannot “prove” an employee received the handbook, and do not understand that he or she is required to abide by it.
Though not required by law, you should consider requiring employees to sign the employee handbook acknowledgment form. In addition, employers should require employees to sign an acknowledgment whenever an updated handbook is distributed. However, if an employee refuses to sign a handbook acknowledgment, an employer does have some options. One option would be to have the employee write “I refuse to sign acknowledgment” in his or her own handwriting. Another option would be to have an organization representative write “employee refused to sign acknowledgment” and have the organization representative and another witness sign the form. If a legal issue arises, the employer then has documentation indicating that the employee was asked to sign the acknowledgment form and was aware of the handbook.
Protecting Sensitive Information
A Confidentiality Agreement, sometimes known as a Non-Disclosure Agreement, is, as the name would indicate, an agreement that any confidential plans or ideas that you may have will be held by the other party in the strictest of confidence. Such an agreement, naturally, will only be effective if it is signed by the receiving party prior to disclosure of your ideas.
Confidentiality Agreement with Employees
This is an agreement that sets out a company’s confidentiality policy regarding the privacy and confidentiality of proprietary information. Employees routinely have access to proprietary information in the normal course of the work day. This policy prohibits the employee’s unauthorized use and dissemination of such proprietary information, which includes customer lists, financial information, business plans and models, and information related to a company’s business operations. This agreement is ideal for small businesses or other entities that wish to keep proprietary information employees learn confidential.
Sensitive information
The Confidentiality Agreement exists solely to ensure that information can be shared for certain projects without the threat of the total loss of the information to a possible competitor. The Confidentiality Agreement offers organizations and individuals the opportunity to expand business relationships, form cooperative product lines, and solicit larger projects than if the organization worked alone.
JV LAW GROUP, LLP can assist you with creating Employee Handbooks and Confidentiality Agreements for your business.
If you have any questions or concerns about any of the items above, please do not hesitate to contact JV LAW GROUP.
