Creating your manuals and staff training.
You need to give employees information about how your business works and what you expect of them. This is where a workplace manual comes into the picture. The entire workplace manual is all policies and procedures and all official documents that are used to run and govern your business as an employer.
Employees will need a guide and reference so they know clearly some of the main policies and procedures that govern their employment, conduct, and required tasks, and have access to a reference for general understanding of others that relate to them also as required.
How you design your over all final manual is up to you. It may have multiple specific manuals that come together like chapters to make one document , it could be an extensive employment agreement with a separate procedure guide or a very simple point lists, however you intend to communicate your working relationship structure with your workers it should cover the fundamentals and refer to the related laws that form the legalities of employment, and what you want from people working with you.
The fundamentals are a base line they are the five areas of law all employers are governed by and it is considered best practice to have them referred to and included in your manual. They are –
- Industrial relations (Awards that detail work terms/conditions with min pay rates and break guides, with holidays and entitlements details etc)
- Tax
- Superannuation
- Workers Compensation
- Work Health and Safety
Manuals can be added to as you go, or as matters arise for which you need further clarity or understanding. The details can be established for you and your workers as a guide. You can look into the related laws and explain in a policy you write how you want the area of concerned to be addressed or conducted in your working environment.
Employment terms and conditions manual, this part of your manual enables you to find and reference the details for multiple types of working arrangements you might have. It helps puts things in an easy to find place. You tend to include part of this information in an employee agreement but with so many types of working arrangements this part of your manual is a go to for clarity based on the legal governance for your industry.
Employees will need to know what is expected of them in work hours or when representing yourself, your loved one or your business. Again this can be covered in the employee agreement or a more extensive Code of Conduct and Ethics Manual
A Work Health and Safety Manual can define areas of caution and explains a procedure and care that relates to tasks or behaviours required in working environments.
When there is so much to cover when a new worker starts a selection of the most important material can be put together as an induction manual. This can include all your initial office required paperwork but should also contain some of the most important safety and conduct matters too.
Ensure a receipt of the induction manual is signed, dated and witnessed. This declaration is filed with other human resource materials, and every opportunity for clarity or discussion should be granted to employees before both people sign this agreement and working shifts start.