Employers are always told to create handbooks that contain their companies’ policies. What employers are not told is that if they are not careful, their handbook could be considered a contract, binding the employer to certain obligations. Since Massachusetts is an “At-Will” employment state, employers are encouraged to take steps to lessen the likelihood that their employment handbooks will be considered contacts.
Steps to help prevent your handbook from being considered a contract include:
- Retain the right to unilaterally modify the contact
- Do not negotiate any terms of the handbook with the employee
- The handbook should provide only guidance to the employee on its policies
- The handbook should never state a term or length of employment
- Do call special attention to the handbook during the hiring process
- Do not require that the employee sign the handbook
The above is a good start, and there are more, so don’t hesitate to solicit legal review of your new employee training methods.
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