Can an employee handbook help your business avoid litigation?

If your New Jersey business has ever navigated a legal dispute, you may know that these disputes have the potential to take time, money and attention away from your business operations. Sometimes, you have no choice but to litigate. However, there are also certain steps you might take to lower the chances of your company finding itself embroiled in one in the future.

One way you may be able to lessen the chances of a dispute arising is by creating and using an employee handbook. The contents of the handbook may vary based on the type of company you run, among other factors. Most outline an organization’s mission, expectations, benefits, meal and rest breaks and contractual disclaimers, among related areas. Why might you want to create one for your business?

Handbooks may help you avoid litigation

A current and compliant handbook may serve as your business’s first and potentially strongest line of defense against litigation. For example, if an employee tries to argue you maintain an environment where discrimination occurs, your handbook may prove that you do have policies in place to prevent such treatment and that you do value equity in your workplace.

Handbooks help set expectations

An employee handbook is also beneficial in that it outlines your expectations of your employees. This helps ensure that they stay on task, understand their job duties and handle those responsibilities accordingly.

If you do decide to create an employee handbook to help set expectations and avoid litigation, review it every so often to make sure its contents still apply. If anything changes, update your handbook in real-time and have your employees review it again to avoid potential problems.