Avoid Getting Burnt: Tips for Updating Your Restaurant’s Employee Handbook

Who has the time (or the money) to put together an employee handbook when you have a busy restaurant to run? Unfortunately, many restaurants skip this step, and doing so can be a legal risk. Just imagine your restaurant has been sued for race discrimination. You fired an employee because of her excessive absenteeism. You did not treat her any differently than others – but she claims you fired her because of her race.

If you don’t have a handbook with a policy outlining your attendance and disciplinary policies, you and your legal counsel will end up scrambling around (and running up legal fees) trying to prove the reason for her termination had nothing to do with her race. With a well-written handbook, however, your restaurant could point to the attendance policy and its consistent application along with the anti-discrimination policy prohibiting such behavior. Though it may not prevent you from facing a lawsuit, it will certainly enable your business to better manage employee…