Why employee manuals are so important
How many of you remember getting hired and being given some 10 to 100 page manual that you are suppose to read and then sign indicating that you understand what you read????
A lot of you should have raised your hands. I can confidently say that one of the single most boring activities has to be the reading employee manuals. Most of us when we start our jobs are so happy to be working that we barely even skim the pages and go RIGHT to the page where it says sign. In some cases, we don’t even know where the employee manual is after we signed it.
Unfortunately, in too many instances, when something crazy jumps off at our work place, the best tool for identifying your rights is that employee manual.
Now, that may do nothing for you if you are in a tough situation but here are a few things you should think about:
1) When you get hired
Read! Read! Read! I know it’s boring and I know you feel it’s a waste of your time but TAKE the opportunity to read the employee manual. This way, you are up to speed on what you are entitled and your job rights.
2) What should you be looking for?
You definitely want to focus on any grievance procedure and disciplinary protocol. You want to know what you need to do if you are contesting your discipline or what the grounds are for disciplining you.
3) What if they don’t have one?
Some employers may not have an employee handbook or policy manual. In some states, they may not be required to have one so don’t be surprised if they don’t.
4) While you’re working
Ask your employer if they have periodically updated the employee manual. If they don’t have one, ask if they intend produce one. More importantly, if you receive updates from your employer regarding Human Resource policies and procedures, READ! READ! READ!
5) When something goes bad
Here’s where most people are interested. And this situation can sometimes be delicate. If you are unsure about your rights, don’t be afraid to ask to review the employee manual. If you are still tentative about going to your supervisor, go speak to Human Resources and ask for a copy (Or at least a review).
The employee manual (if your employer has one) is a valuable tool that can be your best friend and ally in situations involving your employment. Don’t be school to check to see if your rights are violated. If you don’t, no one else will.
To quit or NOT to quit: Be mindful of HOW you leave your job
One of the most significant points in a person’s life is the point at which they must end their service of employment. Unfortunately, the WAY the employment ends may either be amicable or hostile, mutual or unilateral, or voluntary or involuntary.
Sometimes, the way we leave can be even trickier when you factor in unemployment compensation, severance pay, recommendations, and references. So you can easily see how difficult it may be from a technical standpoint with regards to leaving your job.
Alot of times, when we find ourselves in a position of realizing that our employment with an employer may be coming to an end, a whole lot of things come into play. You ask yourself “Do I wait until I’m fired or do I quit?”, “Should I start looking for another job or should I ride out with this one?”, or “Should I ask if my job is safe or should I just do my own thing?”.
With so many situations and scenarios in front of us, we ask ourselves “What should I do?”:
1) START LOOKING NOW. As tough as it may seems, the reality is that companies are downsizing and cutting costs. As a result, the cost may include reducing the number of employees. Most of us don’t move with a sense of urgency unless we have to and let me tell you, if you are losing your job, THAT is a sense of urgency.
2) ASK ABOUT YOUR JOB AND YOUR FUTURE. Listen, a company may say that your jobs aren’t in jeopardy but if enough information is floating out there to let people know that things may be getting tight, you can’t sit by comfortably and trust that your company is going to keep rolling. Ask what the future may hold. More importantly, ask for a good letter of recommendation in the event you decide to start looking.
3) DON’T DO ANYTHING STUPID. When your job get tense, people get angry. Don’t sit there and think that just because your boss made you mad you can just leave your job for a day to cool off. Leaving your job may be considered ‘JOB’ abandonment. As such, in some states, you may not be able to collect Unemployment.
4) DO I RESIGN or SHOULD I BE TERMINATED? Now, here’s the million dollar question, “Do I resign or should I be terminated?”. Here’s how it flows, if you resign, you leave on your terms. You have the ability to end your employment and from this point on, if anyone questions your end of your services, you can say that YOU ended your employment. However, if you voluntary end your services, in most cases, you can’t apply for unemployment compensation. Now, if you decide to let the company terminate you, you can now draw unemployment. This way, you can ensure that you have some income coming into the house while you look for a new job. However, when you apply for a new job, you still have to inform future employers that you were terminated from service.
The one thing this economy has done was put our society in the unique situation of evaluating our next career move. The time for being at a company for 20 years is probably rapidly leaving our society. As such, we have to be more aggressive about the moves that we make to ensure our health and prosperity.
It’s hard to separate your JOB from your LIFE
One attorney once told me that “employment law is the most PERSONAL law you will ever deal with!”. Interestingly so, he was right.
When you go to work, you are not merely ‘punching a clock’ as you would like to believe. Your job and your ability to do your job has a profound impact on you personally, professionally, emotionally, and psychologically:
1) Personally! Face facts. Your job is responsible for a great many things that are related to your life. Your job pays your bills. Your job puts clothes on your kids backs and puts your kids through college. You can’t drive a car without gas and you can’t have gas without money. It is a necessary part of your existence.
2) Professionally! One attorney once told me “You spend a lifetime developing your reputation and you can lose it in 60 seconds or less!”. We all take our jobs personally but we take greater pride if the reputation we establish for ourselves. If we are good at what we do, we take pride in the world knowing it.
3) Emotionally! Anything that happens to your job, happens to you and your family. If your company is going bankrupt, you are not put in the position of wondering what the future may hold for you. You will be stressed. You will be anxious. You will be scared.
4) Psychologically! If something happens to you AT your job, you can’t merely walk away from that feeling. Think about it, you spend 40 hours a week in front of the same people. So if your boss rights you up or a co-worker cusses you out, you can’t just write them off. You have to see those people tomorrow. More importantly, those feelings will linger as long as you are there.
So you can imagine the power and concern when you find yourself in a position where you have been terminated or let go. This single event is the most devastating event in most people’s lives. No one wants to go through the situation of being ‘let go’. The simple fact of the matter is that we are all control freaks to a degree and NO ONE wants to leave a siuation on terms other than their own.
So you can imagine how all of the things that I mentioned above could come into play. You now have to figure out how you are going to pay your bills. You now have to figure out how you are going to find a new job. If you are terminated, you wonder if it is because of you or something that you have done. Now, you wonder how other employers will view you being terminated.
A million different emotions go running through your head. What’s even worse is that when you have to leave, it may not be a sexy leave because there are some predisposed thoughts that you may have floating through your mind:
1) Computer. Let me tell you something. If it’s personal, don’t put it on your computer. The simple fact of the matter is that your computer is your COMPANY’s computer. So you don’t want to have this misguided thought that you are entitled to get your information off of your computer. Because in reality, the computer is NOT yours!
2) Employee File. Check the laws in your states but some people have a sense of ‘ownership’ when the employer maintains an employee file. As an employee, you think “Hey, it’s my information about me! Why can’t I have it? It’s MY employee file!”. Back up a second. Depending on the state, these ‘employee files’ are merely kept as a means to maintaining records about you and your activities with the employer. In essence, the employee file is the property of the EMPLOYER! Think about it like this, if employers knew that they had to give their employees the employee files, they may not maintain them. Why? If you ask for your employee file, what are you REALLY looking for in the file?? That’s right! Something that you can use against the employer, if possible. Don’t suck your teeth. You know what I’m talking about!
3) Employee Friends v. Friends Friends. I know that sounds crazy but so many times, when we leave our jobs in a ‘blaze of glory’, we think that those same people who we used to ‘vent’ to about our jobs will be our biggest allies if we need them. Hey, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but we are in a tough economy so you just can’t predict what an employee will do. And you can’t hold it against them. Friends are friends but business is business. They have the same families to feed like you so they may have to make the tough decision to not put themselves out there.
Understand this, my friends, jobs are tough and our connections to our jobs are even tougher. In this tough economy, alot of us are finding ourselves in the position of having to determine what we need to do in order to survive. I know it’s hard to separate one from another but you must in order to move forward.
Employers DON’T just ROLL OVER!
What I find amazing is the number of people who believe that companies or employers will simply ROLL OVER and pay money when faced with the possibility of a discrimination law suit!
Part of the problem that most people don’t understand is that when a Plaintiff is deciding to sue, the Plaintiff’s decision is usually motivated by emotion and finances based on a perceived (or actual) damage that they have sustained. However, the decision to settle or fight the law suit on the part of the Employer or Company (i.e. Defendant) may be based on a purely Business decision. The decision may be guided by the evidence relied upon, the likelihood of the company losing, the cost to litigate the case v. the damages involved or the company’s position on these types of cases.
1) The evidence relied upon. Some employers will first take a hard look at the evidence involved. If the evidence appears to be strongly in favor of the plaintiff, employers may make the decision that it’s to their advantage to settle the case and move forward.
2) The likelihood of the company losing. Going to court is like rolling the dice. No matter how much of a streak you have going, you can always roll an unlucky hand. If a company feels that they have a pretty good chance of losing, they may not fight a law suit.
3) The cost to litigate the case v. the damages involved. Recognize this, most Plaintiff’s may be able to hire an attorney on a contingency or partial contingency basis. However, when an employer gets an attorney, they may hire a heavy weight law firm to represent them. Getting a heavyweight firm may mean paying between $250 to $500 per hour for an attorney to review the case, evaluate, conduct discovery, conduct depositions, prepare for trial, and go to trial. And trust me, everything I just listed is about a good 20 to 30 hours worth at a minimum (At $500 per hour, that’s $15000 right out the gate). So if a company can settle a case without having to pay a HUGE amount in attorney fees or risk the possibility of having to pay their attorney, the Plaintiff, and the Plaintiff’s attorney, they will settle and move on.
4) The company’s position on these types of cases. Some employees don’t realize that some companies take a DIE HARD position against law suits. They don’t care if you’re fighting for $300 or $300,000, they will fight everyone “TOOTH and NAIL”!
So many times, plaintiffs believe what their peers tell them about a company. They compare their case with others who have been successful and get excited by the possibility of getting a quick settlement from a supposedly “Soft” employer. Just remember, with the employer, it’s ALL about BUSINESS, Baby, so NEVER take for granted that an employer will just simply ROLL OVER for no reason!
The great mystery: Your Personnel File
One of the greatest mysteries that seem to have people confused on a regular base is the personnel file. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that it is some mystical spell that is meant to cause you doom and destruction.
However, the simple fact is that most employers maintain a personnel file on their employees. The file can contain things such as new employee orientation, sick leave information, request for leave, educational information, resumes, and, of course, your disciplinary actions.
The mysterious thing about the file is that it is information that is maintained for the benefit of the employer. So many times, employees have this misguided thought that their personnel file belongs to THEM!
And how does this usually come up? You find yourself in a position where you leave your job and you want your personnel file and for some ODD reason, your employer is not being cooperative in returning the file to you. Or even better, you leave your job under difficult conditions and you now feel that the secrets to all of your issues can be found RIGHT in the heart of what??? That’s right. YOUR Personnel File!!
But the simple fact of the matter is this: You don’t know WHAT’s in your personnel file. It’s tough but I have to remind people on a regular basis. Just like your computer at work is NOT your computer. It’s the computer that belongs to the employer that the employer assigns to you. Well, the same thing applies to your personnel file.
Now, before you run off and say “I can’t see my personnel file”, make sure you check the laws of your state or (if you’re in a union shop) the collective bargaining agreement to see what the provisions are regarding access to your personnel records. I just want you to be aware that the information that is maintained in your personnel file is for the benefit of the employer and NOT you!
Be careful with your work e-mail
The one thing that constantly amazes me is the number of people who use their work e-mail for personal uses. Unfortunately, in this technological age, we sometimes forget that when we are at work that we are at WORK!
For instance, how many times do you forward cute little chain e-mails to all of your friends all over the world from your job?? How many times have you had long indepth conversation between a friend through e-mail where you are talking about relationships, after hour activities, or even the troubles in your life??? More importantly, how many of you have sent e-mails that you THOUGHT were private?
Come on now, I’m sure that each of you have done this, at least, once in your life. I’m not trying to give you a hard time but you gotta realize that you have NO expectation of privacy when you are using the company e-mail. What this means is that you can’t expect any e-mail that you send through the job to remain personal. You can’t expect that people will respect your right to privacy when it comes to your e-mail.
So what does that mean?? You better not say anything in your e-mail that you wouldn’t say in public. More importantly, if you intend for something that you want to be kept private, you better say it to the person to their face. The work e-mail is exactly that, the WORK e-mail.
Oh, and don’t think that by logging off and going to hotmail or yahoo or gmail on your work computer that you’re doing something. Mind you, some of these sites are protected from invasion of privacy. HOWEVER, your employer can still tell if you WENT to those sites and how long you were on those sites.
Remember this point, when you’re at work, treat it like that, that you are AT WORK! Don’t get so comfortable with using the company computer or more importantly, the COMPANY e-mail that you have to the point that you forget that somebody can ALWAYS monitor what you’re doing.
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