Why Do Businesses Need Personnel Policies?

Any business with employees must establish an effective set of rules and guidelines to define employee conduct, company procedures, and establish safety protocols. Personnel policies are the best way to define, protect and challenge employees. They help businesses work effectively and as a single unit even with multiple employees. These policies also help to legally protect employers in a number of areas, including government regulations, employee safety and disciplinary actions.

Government Regulations and Laws

Certain business operations must be defined with personnel policies due to federal, state and local laws. These laws regulate employee and employer conduct and work practices such as hourly minimum wages, break times and sexual harassment.
State and local laws vary on work place policies. For example, restaurant employees must conform to various local and state health department laws on the preparation of food and its handling. If the business doesn't have policies in place to define these health regulations, they may have no way of proving that they follow them. This is especially important should a violation happen because of an employee's mistake.

Employee Safety

Employee safety is a key area of business that must be defined with personnel policies due to federal laws. It is also essential for businesses to define employee conduct because of the potential dangers of litigation should an employee become injured while on the job.
A federal agency that oversees employee safety and health issues is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). All OSHA regulations must be a part of any business operation and the requirements are expressly defined. These include the establishment of a comprehensive hazard communication program, definitions of such things as container labeling, posted safety date sheets, and defined employee-training programs. Violations of OSHA or injuries to employees because of an OSHA violation are always subject to fines and often litigation.

Employee Evaluations and Disciplinary Actions

Employee evaluations are an area where problems can arise if businesses do not have set procedures. Many companies have lost legal proceedings on charges of discrimination or sexual harassment because the firm did not have a set personnel policy.
A key to creating process for employee evaluations is to have a set of disciplinary policies. The personnel policies focus on conduct that concerns such things as work quality, punctuality, employee attitude and general professional behavior.
Some states require employee evaluations to be a part of any disciplinary action and procedure for the dismissal of an employee. These actions should always be defined to avoid possible litigation.

A Special Warning about Disciplinary Actions

A disciplinary area many new businesses fail to address is policy concerning communications standards and the use of the Internet during business hours. A number of new businesses have faced litigation because an employee has misused the internal communication network of the firm.
Strong disciplinary actions against employees sending harassing messages, viewing inappropriate websites or sending personal messages through email, texting or phone must be addressed. Defining the consequences of such behavior in a personnel policy will avoid potential litigation.

The Best Solution

Personnel policies are a vital part of any business. These policies protect businesses from litigation and regulatory fines. Though the government does not require an employee manual, it is a good idea for any business to create one. An employee manual standardizes procedures, helps businesses show government they are complying with regulations, defines employee conduct, and allows employers to terminate employees without the fear of litigation.
Setting personnel policies in a written format is the best way for any size company to protect its business and fiscal interests.

References

• United State Department of Labor
• United States Small Business Administration
• University of Western Australia