Free Employee Handbook Template

Building an employee handbook is no small feat—get tips and best practices to ensure that your employee handbook is the best it can be!

Welcome employees to the company's values and mission

Clarify expectations and quality standards

Educate employees on company policies and employment laws

Employee Handbooks

Every business needs a company employee handbook. Yet any old handbook won’t do. Plenty of business owners and managers resort to a quick Google search to find a free employee handbook. Unfortunately, far too many make the mistake of copying the Google employee handbook that they’ve looked up nearly word for word. Each business must have its own unique employee handbook that speaks to the company’s individual nuances. No two employee handbooks should be the same yet in reality, many are near carbon copies of one another. While a Google search is an important first step for a free employee handbook small business, relying on the query results should only serve as a guide to developing your company’s unique employee handbook. Sometimes, employee handbook software is also necessary to build the perfect guide.

Some readers are probably questioning why a company handbook is even necessary. There are a number of answers to this question. First and foremost, the employee handbook outlines employer policies. This is an especially important function for small businesses as an employee’s lawsuit has the potential to cripple operations. The employee handbook should describe in significant detail what the employer expects of its employees, whether drug tests can be administered (and how) and how extensive of a notice an employee must provide when leaving his position. It must also include sexual harassment policies, general harassment policies and how much vacation time, paid time off and sick time employees receive. Feel free to check out the download above to see the free employee handbook pdf for more information regarding the contents of employee handbooks.

Employee Handbook Sample

When attempting to craft your company’s employee handbook, a sample employee handbook for small businesses is an excellent reference point yet its content won’t be automatically applicable to your organization. Each company has its own distinct culture, policies, requirements and expectations of employees. Therefore, each organization requires an employee handbook that is custom tailored to its idiosyncrasies rather than those found in an employee handbook sample for small business found through a Google search. Ask any successful business that has been operating for years and the owner/manager will testify that he did not solely rely on a simple employee handbook sample to construct his company’s guide.

Do not fall into the trap of copying an employee handbook sample word for word. Even paraphrasing the content of employee handbook examples can lead to trouble down the road. While a free employee handbook sample will help you create the perfect guide for your business, it should not be your sole resource. Perform more research, consult with the download above, find another employee handbook sample pdf and even consider meeting with an attorney to ensure the legality of your employee handbook’s contents. Sit down and think about the expectations that you have for your company’s employees. Consider how you want them to be treated, how they should behave and build an employee handbook checklist. Then begin writing your company’s employee handbook according to this criteria.

Employee Handbook Template

It is awfully tempting to rely on an employee handbook template created by another business owner or manager as the foundation for your organization’s guide. Yet Microsoft office word templates and a free employee handbook template found online will only take you so far. An employee handbook template for small business can function as the document’s “skeleton” but you must assemble the “flesh”. So go ahead and get an employee handbook template download but don’t assume that a free employee handbook template word will be all that you need. Employee handbook template word free and training manual template Microsoft word should only be used for general ideas.

If you are struggling to craft the content of your employee handbook, do not hesitate to commit a considerable amount of time to researching exactly what should go in this important guide. The language of your company’s employee handbook can leave you exposed to costly and time-consuming employee lawsuits. This is why it is imperative that you craft an individualized employee handbook that puts forth employee expectations and requirements in a manner that is legal. If you rely on an employee handbook template free or an employee handbook template word, you’ll likely run into all sorts of linguistic and legal problems in the future.

Restaurant Handbooks

A well-crafted employee handbook is especially important for restaurant employees. While you can easily find a restaurant employee handbook template on the web, it likely won’t conform to your state’s unique laws. Nor will it set forth the work rules, benefits policies, and other critical information that is unique to your restaurant. Furthermore, the content of a restaurant employee handbook sample might not describe the proper tip reporting policy, the classification of employees, dress code, safety/accident rules and other nuances that are specific to your business.

Unlike many other sectors, the food service industry experiences a high turnover rate. It seems like employees are constantly shuffling in and out of the door. If they don’t have an informative and accurate employee handbook to consult, they won’t know the workplace’s policies, be crystal clear on the attendance policy or understand whether something like a two week notice is required when quitting. When employees are unaware of employer expectations due to an employee handbook that has been hastily put together according to restaurant employee manual template, they end up confused and frustrated as to how they should conduct themselves. So feel free to use a restaurant employee handbook template free as a starting point but do not rely on it as the sole source of information for the final version of your company’s employee handbook. Use multiple resources including numerous templates, actual modern employee handbooks from other businesses and even attorneys to ensure that the final edition of your employee handbook explains work rules and employee requirements in the proper manner. Do not forget to update your employee handbook on a regular basis to reflect policy changes as well as changes to state and federal law.

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