Employee handbooks can be critical for companies. Employee handbooks set forth rules and guidelines for employees and managers in their relationships with each other and customers. Employees normally appreciate consistent policies and procedures in place. Handbooks can help keep confusion about the rules to a minimum.
Employee handbooks also benefit employees by giving them standards of conduct, and information about policies that apply to them. Some standard topics that are covered in employee handbooks include working hours, employee benefits, anti-discrimination policies, the mission of the company, standards of conduct, confidentiality, discipline, and more.
Employees have the right to know what to expect from their workplace. In some cases, employee handbooks are not followed. A disciplinary policy may be listed, but an employer may pick and choose when the policy is followed and when it is ignored. A handbook may list benefits, but the employer may choose not to offer those benefits to the employee. The employee handbook may make a guarantee of future employment so long as an employee is abiding by the rules listed in the handbook, but then an employer may fire an employee who is following the rules.
If you are an employee and your employee handbook is not being followed, you should speak with management to get clarification. If you were terminated or other actions were taken against you in direct contradiction to which is written in the handbook, you should speak with an attorney. The employee handbook may constitute an employment contract under certain situations.
Call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles employment attorney, at 310-385-0567 if you have questions about your employee handbook and you believe it has not been followed. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation.