Documents You Need to Have on Hand if You Own a Business
If you own a business, then you know that staying ahead of the game when it comes to managing employees is a complex task.
With ever-evolving state and federal regulations and a changing work environment, it can be hard to keep up with all the documents you need to have in place.
The following offers several types of documents every business owner needs to have on hand in order to protect the company and ensure success.
Comprehensive Handbook
No matter what size business you own or what type of work you do, you need to have on hand a handbook that outlines basic policies and procedures.
The book should detail everything from mundane details like dress code and time off to more important and legal concerns such as federal regulations on disability assistance.
If you distribute a handbook to each new hire, then it will save you a lot of legal hassles later. Make sure you include a signature agreement at the end of the handbook for employees to sign and date, and keep a copy of these agreements in your HR department.
This ensures that everyone read and understood the policies so you can protect yourself in the case of a lawsuit.
Discrimination Policies
In addition to a comprehensive handbook, you need to keep detailed discrimination policies in a notebook that can be accessed easily by everyone in the office.
It’s best to have monthly or semi-annual seminars to keep everyone up-to-date on state and federal guidelines. For example, sexual harassment may mean different things to different employees.
In order to ensure that everyone follows the same regulations, you should post these policies in a well-trafficked area inside the office or keep them in notebooks where everyone can read them in detail.
Make sure everyone understands how discrimination works and the procedures for reporting it.
As with the employee handbook, have your employees’ sign and date acknowledgments that they understand your company’s policies on discrimination.
Legal Forms & Agreements
Finally, you will need a variety of legal forms on file from each employee. Salespeople should sign non-compete agreements to ensure that they don’t steal clients if they get terminated or leave the company.
In order to protect you from legal ramifications, all employees should sign non disclosure agreements stating that they will adhere to company confidentiality.
This will help maintain the ongoing security of the company, its clients and assets.
Many businesses keep these documents on hand in case of policy changes, but you should definitely ensure that every new hire signs a non-compete and non disclosure contract as soon as they begin working.This will help you easily refute any lawsuits made against you.
As the workplace evolves, paperwork evolves with it, but in order to stay on top you need to make sure you have the right documents on hand to meet growing demands.
If you’re looking for a convenient way to find these and other business documents, then FindLegalForms.com offers a variety of resources. You’ll find everything you need to run your business smoothly and effectively.
