The beginning of a New Year is a good time to reflect on the past and look ahead to the future. If you are an employer, the attorneys at Skeeters, Bennett, Wilson & Humphrey suggest taking some time this month to consider your relationship with your employees and ensure you're steering clear of any practices that could lead to trouble for your business in the months ahead.
Essential Questions for Employers
- Is our employee handbook up to date? That’s right; it’s time to dust off your employee handbook and take a look. Do the policies contained in the handbook reflect your employment practices? Does it contain everything you enforce? If not, it may be time for an update. Make sure you talk to an attorney if you think it’s time for any changes.
- Are we compliant with the law? When is the last time you spoke with an attorney to make sure your practices are compliant with the law? If it’s been more than a year, we suggest you touch base soon. Employment law is constantly changing and can be especially confusing.
- What workplace issues did we have last year? Was there an employee issue that occurred repeatedly? Reflect on the question and ask yourself if it’s time to add a new policy or incorporate further training to avoid the same or similar problems in the new year.
- Have we recently communicated our policies and expectations to our employees? The New Year is a great time to revisit your policies and expectations with your employees. Do they know what is expected of them? Are they aware of policies to protect them from workplace harassment, discrimination, and other issues? If you haven’t had a conversation recently, now is the time.
The attorneys at Skeeters, Bennett, Wilson & Humphrey know this time of the year can be busy, but don’t miss the opportunity to clean up your policies and employee issues. As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.