Employee Handbook Replace Signature For Free

Although you're not legally obligated to obtain signatures, doing so provides proof you informed employees of your company policies (including those requiring notification by law). This can reduce legal risk if there's ever a dispute about whether or not an employee was aware of a policy.

What is an Employee Handbook? It is not a contract, but in California, it comes close. The employee handbook is legally binding, so employers want to be careful of their wording.

Though there are many laws requiring employers to notify employees of certain workplace rights, there are actually no federal or state laws specifically requiring an employer to have an employee handbookand plenty of employers choose not to have one.

Courts in the United States find that the employee handbooks and various papers signed by the employee constitute an implied contract between the worker and employer. Without a waiver, the guidelines and policies that the company enacts do not create contractual rights.

The bottom line is that most company policies can be changed. With clear communication, proper consideration of any required notice period, and evaluation of how the previous policy was applied, such changes need not cause undue morale and/or liability issues.

Though not required by law, employers should make every effort to receive signed handbook acknowledgments from all employees when first hired and at any time the handbook is updated.An employer cannot force an employee to sign the handbook acknowledgment.

Unless the text of an employee handbook clearly indicates otherwise, an employee handbook can be considered a legally binding document between an employer and its employees.In most cases, courts consider an employee handbook to be an extension of the employee contract.