Are HR Policies Contractual?

The one time when employees can be sure to consult their handbook is when things go wrong. It can be an uncomfortable time for HR practitioners when they are being held to account for conformity with policy statements and something of an unpleasant surprise when clauses are cited during litigation.

Determining the legal status of HR policies and their relationship with employment contracts or agreements will be one of the issues addressed at FedEE’s forthcoming conference in London, UK on January 28th 2016. The problems and pitfalls are numerous – especially across international operations. These are compounded by the fact that over half of employers use a standard template as the basis for all non-board level contracts. There is also an obligation in some jurisdictions to have workplace rules – which adds another dimension to the contractual dilemma.

Further details of the conference can be found here. This is sure to be a very useful and illuminating experience for us all.

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