As employees begin to return to work, COVID-19 has clearly caused businesses to deal with a number of challenges.
For small businesses that have been on the fence regarding the development of an employee handbook, now is the time to create one. For those businesses that do have an existing handbook, it is important to consider reviewing current policies and adding COVID-19 related ones.
POLICIES IMPACTED BY COVID-19
Some of the existing policies which should be analyzed may include:
- Attendance;
- Vacation/Paid Time Off;
- Remote work;
- Work hours, including start/stop time, breaks, lunch times, flexible hours, and staggered work hours;
- Timekeeping, including clock in/out procedures;
- Leave policies, including sick leave;
- Travel policies, including business and personal travel; and
- Information technology and usage.
Policies which you will need to consider adding include:
- If and how organization will conduct temperature checks and/or what COVID-19 symptoms screening questions will be asked of each employee entering the worksite;
- Cross-training the workforce to accommodate more employee absences;
- The protocol the company will follow should an employee test positive for COVID-19.
- Social distancing;
- Reduction in workforce and when/if a voluntary or involuntary process will be used;.
WHY DO YOU NEED AN EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK?
Having an employee handbook, even for those businesses with less than 10 employees, is a sound decision.
By having policies in place for addressing different HR matters, you greatly minimize the risk to your organization by eliminating the appearance of discrimination which can happen when matters are not handled uniformly.
Something to consider is that, regarding cost of possible litigation, the median cost of an employment case that goes to trial is $88,000!
Marzano Human Resources Consulting makes the development of a new employee handbook or the updating of an existing one pain free and at a very reasonable price.
We use a template which contains the most universally common policies, some requiring minor editing so as to be company-specific. And we have a large database of other policies, including COVID-19 related ones.
Please consider contacting Marzano Human Resources Consulting for a free consultation.
Marzano Human Resources Consulting
973-513-9916
gordon@marzanohrconsulting.com