According to a survey conducted by XpertHR, emerging HR issues are starting to appear in employee handbooks—but very slowly.
It’s hard to keep up
“Employee handbooks continue to be a perennial challenge and opportunity for employers,” says Peggy Carter-Ward, head of content for XpertHR, a provider of online compliance tools and guidance for HR professionals. “The challenges of keeping up with a changing workforce, new laws, and just getting employees to read the handbook are not new, yet addressing the evolving workplace issues of paid sick leave, data privacy, and social media are complex.”
In fact, respondents reported that keeping their handbooks current within an evolving workplace and workforce is the most challenging aspect (41%), followed closely by keeping it current with the law (35.6%). A distant third is getting employees to comply with handbook policies (11%).
Of the 521 individuals surveyed, 91.9% report having an employee handbook. Those with handbooks are generally diligent about keeping them updated, with 78% reporting updates within the last two years; 14.2% within three to five years; 3% within six to nine years; and 2.1% within 10 or more years.
New HR trends to note
Of the new legal trends, the top three most commonly addressed in handbooks are:
- Paid sick leave, addressed by 79.4% of respondents;
- Data privacy, addressed by 67.2% of respondents; and
- Social media, addressed by 64.2% of respondents.
Other trending topics that should be covered in handbooks, but apparently are not yet, include:
- E-cigarettes, addressed by 20.6% of respondents;
- Lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (LGBT) protection, addressed by 17.2%;
- Bring your own device (BYOD) policies, addressed by 14.5%;
- Medical marijuana, now legal in nearly half of the states, yet only 6.4% of respondents explicitly address it in their handbooks; and
- Wearable technology, such as so-called smart watches, incorporated into the handbooks by only 4.1% of respondents.
Preparing, maintaining, and distributing the handbook
The survey found that by far the majority of employee handbooks are initially prepared in-house by human resources (HR) and reviewed by a lawyer (58.5%); 18.8% of the respondents prepare handbooks in-house without review by a lawyer.
Maintaining the handbook is a job that falls squarely on HR’s shoulders, with 83.4% of respondents reporting that HR is responsible for updating their handbooks, distantly followed by in-house legal (3.7%), outside law firms (1.4%), and outside consultants (2.5%).
Handbooks continue to be distributed in print form (64.5%), although 55.3% of respondents post theirs on company intranet sites, and 28.2% distribute the handbook via email.
Conclusion
“When properly drafted, handbooks can be an excellent tool to ensure consistency in employee management as well as to make sure that all employees and supervisors are familiar with their rights and obligations,” says Carter-Ward. “However, improperly drafted handbooks can create potential liability for employers and leave them susceptible to employee legal claims based on the content of the handbook.”
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