Tips & Tricks for Up-to-Date and Effective Employment Policies

Hiring employees involves a lot of work. One of the first steps is drafting a solid employee handbook. But what should you include in the employee handbook—what is useful , and what is required by law ? The employment regulations are a legally required document . Every employer with at least one employee must draft this document and update it regularly. To be valid, the employment regulations must contain all legally required information , be implemented according to the proper procedure, and be kept on file at the workplace. The mandatory legal content alone is quite a lot to cover: work schedules, rules regarding wage payments, all kinds of information about the performance and termination of the employment contract, practical details about the employer, … The reason for this is that the employment regulations comprehensively describe the rights and obligations of both the employer and the employees, so that everyone knows what to expect. Apart from the legal obligations, the employment regulations are, above all, a very useful document within your organization . Once you’ve worked through the administrative formalities , it offers many benefits. For example, it allows you to easily establish company guidelines collectively , without having to reach an agreement with each individual employee separately. In addition, the document can serve as a useful tool for optimizing and simplifying work (and work-time) organization, raising employee awareness, reducing absenteeism, achieving a better work-life balance, and more. Since labor law and your organization are constantly evolving, it is important to regularly review the employment regulations and keep them up to date. As a result of a number of recent legislative changes , such as the so-called “labor deal ,” there is a real chance that your company’s employment regulations no longer comply with current labor regulations . Consider, for example: the recent changes regarding flexible work schedules , the right to disconnect , the new work arrangements such as the 4-day workweek or alternating workweek , the right to training , the rules regarding the submission of a certificate of incapacity for work , etc. If the employment regulations are not in order or were not implemented in accordance with the legal procedure, you risk a penalty (a criminal fine of 400 to 4,000 euros, or an administrative fine of 200 to 2,000 euros). We recommend implementing all necessary changes at once and taking this opportunity to conduct a comprehensive review of the employment regulations, especially if it has been a while since the last review. This way, you’ll truly get the most out of your employment regulations. Crauwels Advocaten is happy to help companies update and optimize their employment policies. Together, we’ll examine how your organization can function even more effectively and supplement that with our legal knowledge and experience. This way, you can be sure that your policies include everything that’s required and useful.