Your employee handbook can be an invaluable organizational tool. In recent years, Congress and state legislatures have been busy enacting laws that directly affect your employee handbook. If your employee handbook hasn’t been updated in the past six months, it’s out of date.
Here are 10 common handbook mistakes you should avoid:
1. Using form handbooks with provisions unrelated to your church.
2. Meshing policies and procedures, which may confuse employees.
3. Including a probationary period, which implies that anyone who stays with the organization beyond that time is then a permanent employee.
4. Being too specific in descriptions and lists, especially those involving discipline.
5. Not being consistent with other church documents.
6. Not adding a disclaimer, or not having enough disclaimers in the right places.
7. Sabotaging disclaimers by what you do or say, especially by reassuring employees that their jobs are secure and they’ll be fired only for a really good reason.
8. Not adapting the handbook for each state’s laws. You may need more than one version of the handbook if you have employees in several states.
9. Failing to update the manual frequently for changing laws.
10. Being unrealistic about what your employees understand. Don’t include policies you can’t or won’t enforce.
Complete our easy-to-use wizard and get a new employee handbook in about 7-10 days.
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Clergy Financial Resources serves as a resource for clients to help analyze the complexity of clergy tax law, church payroll & HR issues. Our professionals are committed to helping clients stay informed about tax news, developments and trends in various specialty areas.
This article is intended to provide readers with guidance in tax matters. The article does not constitute, and should not be treated as professional advice regarding the use of any particular tax technique. Every effort has been made to assure the accuracy of the information. Clergy Financial Resources and the author do not assume responsibility for any individual’s reliance upon the information provided in the article. Readers should independently verify all information before applying it to a particular fact situation, and should independently determine the impact of any particular tax planning technique. If you are seeking legal advice, you are encouraged to consult an attorney.
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