If you are starting a business, or a new manager at a startup, chances are that you are focusing on how to make the business grow. Indeed, making good decisions about your services and inventory are essential to running a successful business. However, you should not neglect the importance of your employees.
As we have noted in prior posts, happy employees are just as important to the success of a business as having a great product or service. With that, this post will focus on a few important things employers should know when it comes to managing employees.
Know how your employees are supposed to be classified – It cannot be understated how important it is to properly classify your employees. The legal (and financial) penalties that come with improperly paying full time employees as independent contractors. If you have questions about the differences between the two, an experienced attorney can answer your questions.
Keep trade secrets….secret – In order to make legal protections available for trade secrets, an employer must take reasonable steps to ensure that proprietary information is kept out of normal public view. This may include having employees sign confidentiality agreements, or limiting the number of employees who may have access to such information.
Document workplace procedures – While you may not think that an employee handbook is important, it actually is. How extensive you want your handbook is up to you, but it is critical to detail your policies, including sick leave, Internet use and harassment prohibition policies.
The preceding is not legal advice. If you have questions about how to avoid legal issues with your employee an experienced attorney can help