Rules for Your Workers
In a perfect world, your workers would think exactly the way that you do.
They would come in and leave when you expect them to, they would dress the way
you expect them to, and they wouldn't do anything that would necessitate formal
rules and discipline. But no two people think alike, and everyone has a
different perception of what the work environment should be.
Because that's true, if you have employees, you need to think about setting
some basic ground rules. You need to make sure that your employees understand
what is expected of them, not only in the work that they do, but in their
behavior and in other areas of your employment relationship.
While some think of rules as nothing more than a necessary evil, if they are
carefully selected, clearly related to the business, and fairly enforced, they
can help you to better manage your workplace and your workers. Some issues
you'll want to think about when considering work rules are:
- Why
you should have work rules: Here we'll explain why you should consider
having some work rules and how they can protect your business from certain
types of litigation from employees.
- Selecting
your work rules: Once you feel sure that you want to have some ground
rules for your employees, you'll need to decide which policies and rules to
adopt. We'll take you through the criteria you should consider when
formulating your rules, such as whether certain rules are required,
appropriate, or unduly restrictive for your workplace.
- Rules
that are required: Your business may be required to have and to post
policies regarding certain workplace issues such as smoking, sexual
harassment, and drugs and alcohol in the workplace. Read these discussions
to determine your liability and to make use of our sample policies.
- Other
rules to consider: Many workplace policies that employers have are not
required but are still worth considering because they can help you to keep
order in your workplace and give employees the information they need to have
regarding their employment with you. You'll find plenty of sample policies
and pointers on how to handle certain employee management challenges here.
- Communicating
your work rules: In some cases, you may be required to post or
distribute a written policy to employees, but in most cases the way that you
communicate your rules is your decision. Here we'll present the pros and
cons of both written and verbal communication methods and give you some tips
if you want to create an employment handbook.