Every employer wants to provide its staff with the work-life balance that will boost morale and increase productivity. Offering various leave packages, including vacation and sick leave, is a great place to start. But there’s more to providing your team with a little rest and relaxation than just a number. Leave policies can be complicated, and in order to protect your business, you need to have it in writing. Sentech Services will review key elements of common leave policies and discuss the importance of documenting the details.
Writing a Comprehensive Policy
Asides from writing your leave policy and distributing it to employees, you need to be sure the rules for taking leave are well documented. This protects you as an employer and your staff as well. Cover all possible contingencies and make the written policy as clear as possible so people know what they’re eligibility. Document everything that needs to be included by starting with the obvious areas like total vacation availability and how it accrues.
Add in the more complex details, like whether an employee can use vacation before it has been accrued, what sort of notice is required prior to taking leave, how soon notice needs to be given and what happens if an employee doesn’t use all of their accrued vacation. Other issues that may require clarification include documentation of how a decision to approve or deny a request for leave is made, how rules will be enforced, the priority of leave requests, how much vacation can be banked, roll-over rules and whether the employer has to pay for unused vacation time.
Legal Compliance
Each detail of your leave policy can have a unique impact on your business. For example, the common “use-it-or-lose-it” policy, or one where employers are required to pay employees for leave that they have accrued but have not used. In these cases, you will want to make sure your policy is in compliance with state laws. Some states require employers to pay employees for accrued but unused leave. Vacation time in particular is considered to be a form of financial compensation in these states, and accrued leave must be cashed out when an employee quits or is fired.
The following states have laws which govern the pay for unused vacation time: California, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, West Virginia and Wyoming. If you fall under the jurisdiction of any of these states, it is important to research the relevant laws and make sure your leave policy is in line with state requirements.
Partner with a Leader in Industrial Staffing Services
For more advice on how to attract high-quality talent to your business, consider reaching out to the recruiting experts at Sentech Services today. With staffing agencies in Detroit, Port Huron and Fort Wayne, we can help your company meet any of its industrial staffing needs.
