Establishing Workplace Rules

One of the great things about running your own business is that you make the rules. The trick is to make good ones. Here are some general guidelines that apply to every business.

One of the great things about running your own business is that you make the rules. The trick is to make good ones.

Bad rules can be oppressive, confining and inefficient, whereas good rules can help you and your employees avoid confusion and conflict. The right rules for your business depend in part on the type of work you do. But some general guidelines apply to every business:

• Salaries and benefits. The rules of your company should include a clear and precise description of salary guidelines, including information about how and when workers receive pay hikes. You should also have clear rules about benefits - what they are and who is entitled to them. Warning: Your rules shouldn't prohibit employees from discussing their salaries with one another. Labor laws protect a worker's right to discuss such job-related issues with colleagues.
• Work week. Your rules should define the company's work week as the full seven-day period within which you calculate overtime. Reason: If the rules limit the work week to 40 hours Monday through Friday, employees could refuse to work before nine, after five or on weekends. Never require that overtime be sanctioned in advance. Wage laws require that overtime be paid for any labor over 40 hours regardless of whether it's authorized by the employer.
• Vacation time. Establish a rule that says you must approve the timing and duration of employee vacations. That way you can keep the necessary help on hand during peak seasons and give people time off when they aren't needed as badly.
• Sexual harassment. Prohibit sexually explicit comments and jokes, unwanted physical contact and the display of sexually suggestive objects or pictures. Your rules should designate more than one person with whom an employee can register a complaint.
• Drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. Regulate the use of alcohol, prohibiting its consumption outside of designated times (Christmas parties, for example). Note that you expect employees to show up in appropriate mental and physical condition for work. Prohibit drug use on the premises. Specify exactly where and when employees may smoke cigarettes. See What Are the Rules for Drug Testing?
• E-mail and Internet use. Create a policy regarding whether e-mail and the Internet can be employed for personal reasons. Require that all e-mail be professional and courteous. (You might remind employees that even deleted messages can be retrieved from the company system.)
• Performance reviews. Make a rule that employee performance will be reviewed annually.

Also read Effective Training Programs for Managers.

Find additional employment law information and tips on OSHA regulations at AllBusiness.com.

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