Struggling through tax season? Start this year fresh with an Employee Policy Handbook
Share this article
Tax filing season is a busy time for many business owners*. Not only is it business as usual, but it’s also the time for checking and re-checking those year-to-dates, EI and CPP contributions, processing tax forms, and getting them into the hands of employees. And as a result, there are likely a lot of questions percolating!
Questions about hours of work and overtime…
Statutory and other holidays…
Annual vacation accruals, flex leave and sick leave…
Maternity or parental leave and funeral or bereavement leave…
Compensation…
Group benefits and pension plans…
How employees receive their tax forms and when…
Wouldn’t it be nice if those questions were already answered somewhere? Or if a basic outline was available to employees to reduce questions during an already busy time? Spoiler alert: you can do all this and more with your business’ Employee Policy Handbook!
Don’t have one? Payworks has a simple solution to streamline the process of creating and implementing an Employee Policy Handbook for your business.
What is it?
Through HR Advisory Services, Payworks clients can access a comprehensive template that’s ideal for small to medium-sized Canadian businesses in developing an Employee Policy Handbook for their organization. Offered in partnership with Arete, this document can outlines your business’ key information, code of conduct, employment, employee benefits, health and safety, hours of operation, time off, leave or vacation time, and more.
But while the template is handy, we also understand that one size doesn’t fit all. To ensure that your Employee Policy Handbook reflects your unique structure and needs, you’re offered two hours of professional consultation and support in developing the content from one of Arete’s HR professionals, resulting in a tailored guide that best represents exactly how you operate.
How much time are we talkin’ here?
Policy development from scratch sounds like it takes a long time – and typically it does! However, thanks to our Employee Policy Handbook template, your organization can develop and implement this in exponentially less time than it would otherwise take to develop policies that keep your business compliant.
How does it work?
How is that possible? Here’s what you can expect:
- Receive template
- Customize
- Edit on an ongoing basis as needed
- Follow instruction sheet to rollout the handbook to your teams
You’ll receive a copy of the Employee Policy Handbook template with several highlighted areas that require you to review and input information that reflects your business and/or specific legislative requirements within your jurisdiction. Not to worry; you’ve been answering these one-off questions for years! It’s just time to put it down on paper.
You can customize changes to the Handbook yourself, or lean on Arete’s HR professionals...
Once finalized, your Employee Policy Handbook will be sent to you in an editable Microsoft Word format. Why is this important? At any point in the future, you can ensure your documented policies and procedures evolve alongside your organization. You don’t have to start from scratch; you don’t have to retype an already lengthy document; and you don’t have to pay to do this all over again.
Plus, with access to Arete’s resource website (also known as the Healthy Business Bookmark) through HR Advisory Services, you can stay up-to-date on compliance issues and update your Employee Policy Handbook accordingly.
To wrap up the initial development process, you’ll receive an instruction sheet that includes the steps needed to get your Employee Policy Handbook out to your workforce as soon as it’s ready.
What if you have questions in the future as you’re updating your Employee Policy Handbook? Take advantage of the unlimited HR guidance provided through HR Advisory Services and ask away. We’re with you every step of the way!
How much does it cost?
Through Payworks’ HR Advisory Services, the Employee Policy Handbook is offered to Canadian businesses at a one-time fee. It’s designed to be affordable for today’s workforce while taking the legwork out of policy development. It’s more affordable than you likely think… especially in comparison to the legal fees a company might incur if a labour law is called into question. Most of all, we love wowing our customers by going “sticker shock free!”
Take this as the sign you need to start a process that you know is important, but keep putting off. You may feel like there’s never enough time in the day to prioritize this project, but having a completed Employee Policy Handbook at the ready prepares your business well should an employee-related legal issue come up.
*Sigh of relief – tax filing season is over! Start your business’ “New Year” off fresh with an Employee Policy Handbook. Your future self will thank you later! Contact sales@payworks.ca to learn more or visit: https://www.payworks.ca/quote.
