Your employee handbook is a guidebook for your staff to begin learning about your company, your expectations, and the benefits they will receive from working with your business.

It’s important that your handbook for 2021 includes the following:

A Welcome Letter

Get started on the right foot by including a warm welcome letter from your company’s CEO to new hires. If possible, include pictures or headshots to help employees get to know faces they might not see often on a day-to-day basis.

Your Mission Statement and Company Culture

The next section of your employee handbook should be your company’s mission statement and information about your organization’s culture and goals. This section should paint a vivid picture of what your company stands for and where it’s headed in the future.

Pay, Perks, and Benefits

Next, let employees know what they can expect in regard to pay, perks, and benefits. Include everything here, including base pay, bonuses, health and life insurance offerings, paid time off, and any other benefits your organization is able to offer your employees. 

Pay Policies

The pay and benefits section of your handbook should discuss company policies in relation to pay, such as timekeeping, how to clock in and out or submit their hours, when overtime pay may be earned, break and mealtimes, etc.

Office Hours, Closures, and Contact Information 

Make sure your employee handbook for 2021 lists your normal office hours, holiday office closures, and contact information for key players on your staff.

Legal Matters

It’s also critical that your employee handbook contain all legal information that companies are required to supply the individuals they employ. For example, you’ll need to have a copy of Equal Employment Opportunity and antidiscrimination, antiharassment, and antiretaliation laws in an easily referenced area of the handbook.

You’ll also want to include information on Family and Medical Leave (FMLA), OSHA laws, and any other guidelines issued by government entities that your organization is required to disclose to staff members.

Behavioral and Disciplinary Policies

One of the primary reasons for developing a comprehensive employee handbook is to inform them of what your behavioral and disciplinary policies are, or your code of conduct. Your code of conduct should be robust and include information about what behavior and attire is prohibited in your workplace as well as the disciplinary actions your company will take when employees are found to have violated the code of conduct.  

Training Opportunities

Training opportunities are important to employees who want to be successful and move ahead. Let your staff know how what kind of training they can expect when they first arrive on the job, as well as ongoing mandatory and optional training opportunities that your employees can expect.

A Signature Sheet

The last page of your employee handbook should be a removable signature sheet that can be signed by your employees to affirm that they have received and read the handbook and agree to its terms. Keep these sheets in each employee’s personnel file.

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