Stupid HR Stuff: If You Don't Want Employees To See The Handbook, You're Doing It Wrong

I hear this all the time: "I was required to sign a paper saying I received the handbook. As soon as I signed, the HR folks snatched up the handbook and didn't let me keep a copy." Or, "I was required to sign saying I received the handbook, but I never actually saw it."

What the heck was the point of that? The whole point of having a handbook is to let employees know what their responsibilities are, where to report issues, how to put in for vacations and sick time, all the stuff you actually want them to do and not do.

If you don't want your employees to see your employee handbook, you're doing it wrong.

I think you'll have a hard time proving some key employment law defenses if you don't actually let employees have a copy of the handbook.

Plus, once you have an employee sign a document that you know and they know is a lie, you lose all credibility with them. Everything you do from then on is a joke. A sham. They won't believe you anymore.

To employees who are asked to sign a document saying they received something they never got, I suggest signing with a notation like, “I was allowed to look at it once but was prohibited from getting a copy.” Or maybe, "I am required to sign this but I have never actually seen the handbook." Having to make a notation like that is probably a bad start to new employment, but it's better than signing something you know is not true.

Whether or not employees got a copy of their handbook comes up in almost all employment litigation. Employers who make a mockery of their handbooks look pretty stupid in court. Not only is your credibility lost with your employees, but you could lose credibility with a judge or jury too.