HR DB2

Importance of Employee Handbook in Avoiding Lawsuits

Managerial mistakes in dealing with employees have various consequences for the company . It may not only disrupt business operations , it could also lead to employee litigation . Lack of communication with employees is one of the common mistakes of managers which usually lead to conflict . Examples of this include failure of managers to listen to their employees ' concerns and to provide the employees a firm understanding of their job duties and company expectations . These kinds of communication problems may result in the malcontentedness of employees

and cause them to a lawsuit against the company (Levesque , 2003 . Some managers also tend to focus on the negative aspect of the employees ' performance , causing them to lose motivation and leave the company

Mistakes in handling employees may also give rise to a lawsuit Employees usually lawsuits against the company when they perceive that they are being treated unfairly . One of the most common mistakes of companies is when the company policies are disregarded . When managers overlook the company policies , inconsistency in employee treatment may arise such as difference in disciplinary procedure and compensation plan . For instance , when the manager decides to terminate employees on the grounds of underperformance after providing bonuses for several years to motivate their poor performance , this could be evidence sufficient enough to state that the company policies are inconsistent Employees also resolve to litigation when they are terminated from work without notice and without being given a chance to explain their side Performance criticism could also lead to lawsuit on the grounds of bias and discriminatory stereotyping when managers critique the employee and his personality or attitude rather than his or her job performance Ignoring problems such as poor employee performance may also cause an employee to retaliate with claims of discrimination and hostility Avoiding confrontation of employees ' output deficiencies might also cause them to think that their performance is acceptable . There are also managers who fail to keep a written record of performance issue documents which is another common management mistake . When there are no written documents to rely on , the company or the employee can easily change the information stated by each other . It is also a common management mistake to leave as it is sexual harassment or harassment due to age , disability , or race in form of jokes and passing comments , which may increase the risk of litigation . Lying is another common management mistake . For instance , management liability increases when they lie about the real reason for an employee 's termination . Finally , covering up previous misdeeds by destroying documents , deleting s is also a management mistake that may give rise to employee litigation

All these managerial mistakes may be avoided when they are taken into consideration in drafting the company policies and compiling them in the employee handbook . When the employee handbook complies with employment laws , the company can potentially save itself from costly lawsuits (Kleiner Ellerman , 2006 O ' Kelly , n .d . It also reduces the occurrence of...