DISCLAIMER: This post gives a general overview of employee handbooks. It is not legal advice, and I am not your attorney. If you require information or advice applied to your unique situation, please make an appointment to discuss it with an employment attorney in your jurisdiction.
It can take an employer a long time to create an employee handbook customized to the workplace you will be in. Whether they create one themselves or hire an outside contractor to write it, many end up using standard templates with corporate and legal language. This can be good when you move to a new job; you’ll know what to expect. This guide is for the times when the expectations are not as clear.
What You Can Tell From an Employee Handbook
An employee handbook with standard language that reads a lot like the one from your last employer can signal:
- Your employer values compliance and uniformity.
- Employee policies might not be your employer’s to priority right now.
- You will be working in an environment where not too many people know what’s in the employee handbook.
These might not be the worst employment conditions, but it often helps to identify them in the early stages and develop a plan to navigate them.
Navigating a Workplace with Other Priorities
Remember, employment is a mutually beneficial partnership toward compatible goals. You chose to work for this employer for several reasons that meet your current needs. The employer might not be as employee-focused as you hoped, but you might not have accepted the job with much consideration of the employer’s needs, either. A partner acknowledges the employment conditions and first works with them as-is. If they are not working, you can open a discussion about the specific limitations and how to improve the results.
For now:
- Learn the rules by reading the employee handbook. You can’t win a game when you don’t know the rules. This will also help you minimize the risk of erring.
- Observe. Focus first on your own work, of course, and meeting the minimum acceptable requirements like being at work, on time, and completing projects consistent with deadlines, Yet also learn what business challenges are distracting your employer from focusing on employees. Listen for invitations to share constructive feedback with management.
- Be a resource, but not a know-it-all. Because you will have read the employee handbook, you might be one of the few people who knows what’s in it and can assist co-workers in finding answers they need. Lightening the load of management, you demonstrate yourself as a team player, which increases your influence and opportunities, both inside and outside of work.
Working Without an Employee Handbook
Sometimes, small or new employers will not yet have employee handbooks. However, they are required by law to adopt certain policies. These can be found on the employer’s premises, often in the break area. In New York, employers are also required to give electronic access, which could be in as simple a form as a shared folder. Regardless, you should have access to policies in the following categories:
- Bulletin Board – notices, posters, and other information required to be displayed in a conspicuous location in your workplace
- Job Descriptions – detailed job descriptions for each position in your business
- Minimum Wage, Overtime & Breaks – information about your policies regarding minimum wage, overtime, and breaks
- Operations Manual – various policies and procedures for running your business
- Sexual Harassment Prevention – policies and procedures for preventing sexual harassment in the workplace (If you have not yet adopted such policies, you can get started with New York State’s Model Policy.)
- Vacation and Sick Pay – policies regarding vacation, paid time off, Safe and Sick Leave pay, and unpaid leave
Not sure your employer is in compliance?
Why Your Employee Handbook Isn’t Enough for Today’s Workplaces