As an architect, labor law is something that I didn't particularly study in school, nor did I have any desire to do so. Nor do I have the stomach to keep up with the subtle differences between state and federal case-law and state and federal legislation that seemingly changes on a daily basis. Especially in my home state of California. I wouldn't expect an HR law expert to know how to design their own building, and I sure wouldn't expect that to be the best use of an architect's time would be to write their own employee manual. I would especially believe that to be the case for an architect who is just starting a new business and needs to focus on business development.
Here are a couple of ideas: 1) Find an HR consultant in your area and have them write one for you and keep it updated on a regular basis. I did this and it cost about $1,500. Prices may have changed since then, but its probably less that you think. 2) Being a small business with new employees, you will also probably need a payroll service to assist in preparing payroll and payroll related reporting to the government. Have your payroll service prepare and maintain an employee manual for you. Many payroll services (Such as ADP or Paychex) offer this service as an add-on your normal payroll processing.
In either of these scenarios (I've done both) you should be given a questionnaire or have a sit-down interview with the people preparing your firm's employee manual. Your answers will then tailor the final product to truly be individualized to your firm - but compliant with the law.
Hope this helps. There are many more important things a new design firm owner can do than write their own employee manual. That would be my advice.
All the best,
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Gordon Rogers AIA
EAS Department Executive
Kitchell CEM, Inc.
Rocklin CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-24-2017 18:43
From: Emma Tucker
Subject: Employee Handbooks: Starting from scratch!
A member contacted me yesterday about employee handbooks. As part of a recently established firm, they were looking for more information about employee handbooks: what to include in them, perhaps some examples.
- If you've recently created a handbook, what resources did you use to write your own?
- If you've had a handbook for a while, what are some of the more recent updates you've made to reflect changes in practice?
- Are there any non-standard policies that you've included in your handbook to great success?
- Do you have any partial or full examples that you'd like to share?
- Any words of wisdom not otherwise prompted by the questions above?
Thanks!
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Emma Tucker
Specialist, Knowledge Communities
The American Institute of Architects
Washington DC
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