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Why do all large companies have an Employee Handbook? A legally sound, well crafted Employee Handbook can potentially save a company tens of thousands of dollars in legal costs while serving to relieve administrative confusion by clarifying key company policies. In this article, we’ll take a look at the three main reasons successful companies today depend on their employee handbooks.

To Define Company Policy

Let’s say you are on the witness stand; you are being sued by a former employee. The plaintiff’s lawyer asks you if you have documentation that you communicated to this employee that “X” could result in termination. “X” could represent any of the following example policies:

* Non compliance to dress code
* Not using the time-clock as directed.
* Accepting gifts from vendors.
* Using a company PC to browsing the internet for personal reasons.

What would you say? Let’s say you reply “yes, I warned him several times; I have the documentation.”

The lawyer then asks “Is this a rule that you have created just for this employee, or do you apply this consistently throughout your entire organization? Do you have an Employee Handbook?”

What your response be? Without preset guidelines, the process of taking corrective action or terminating employees for inappropriate behavior can be a sticky situation.

Some examples of employee handbook chapters that define company policy include:

* Relationships with Competitors
* Relationships with Customers
* Relationships with Other Employees
* Image / Dress Code
* Sexual Harassment Policy
* Code of conduct

To Define ‘Time Off’ Policies

While employers primarily rely on employee handbooks to set ground rules and avoid legal issues, Darin Hanks, president of employee handbook publication company HRIT Inc., says that employees tend to use employee handbooks to determine the amount of time off they are entitled to. Hanks recommends that employers explicitly cover topics such as:

* Employee Vacation Time
* Employee Sick Time
* Employee Personal Time
* Leaves of Absence

To Avoid Litigation

Though most corrective action procedures or terminations are handled smoothly, it only takes one disgruntled employee or ex-employee to file a lawsuit for unfair action to cost your company tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees. A solid employee handbook is one of the most effective ways to combat this scenario.

Some examples of employee handbook chapters that can help you to avoid litigation include:

* Duration of Employment (Employment at Will)
* Insubordination
* Disrupting the work environment
* Excessive absenteeism or unacceptable patterns of absenteeism
* Behavior threatening to the reputation of the Company
* Job performance

Handbook or no handbook, you are never safe from litigation; handbooks are not ‘get out of court free cards,’ but having a legally sound employee handbook that employees can understand is an obvious smart-step toward prevention of litigation.

What not to include in an employee handbook

Hanks says that many companies make the mistake of being too specific with the language in their employee handbooks. He says that an employee handbook should be directive and relating to work-life issues, not a training manual or detailed operations manual. It should answer general questions about being an employee.

Items that don’t apply to every employee equally or that change often should be left out of the employee handbook. Instead of listing specifics in the handbook, employers can refer to documents that do list specifics. For example, if a company has a generous benefits package for full time employees, instead of putting an exhaustive list of benefits that are subject to change, they may want to use verbiage such as: “Full Time Employees are eligible for the current benefit package as published by the Human Resources department.”

Examples of items that are out of scope for an employee handbook include:

* Employee job descriptions
* Specific employee benefits
* Steps to earning promotions that could be binding
* Specific Pay rates

Writing an Employee Handbook

Having your own customized employee handbook doesn’t have to be difficult. There are companies that offer pre-made, customizable legally reviewed sample employee handbooks for less than fifty dollars. Employee handbook publishers like HRIT send their books through a legal review process at least every 6 months and also have specially tailored versions for California, Texas, and Ohio to comply with unique laws in those states.

Although template based employee handbooks eliminate a great deal of time and money from the employee handbook development process, employers should still send their customized employee handbooks through one final legal review. Hanks recommends two sets of eyes before the employee handbook is sent to the printer; one set of Legal Eyes to give a final legal blessing and one set of New Eyes to check for grammar and accuracy.

With the low cost of obtaining legally accurate employee handbooks that are easy to customize, there’s no reason why any company, large or small, should be without an employee handbook. You might be surprised at how integrating an employee handbook into your company’s hiring and employment procedure can not only protect your company legally, but also lead to a smoother running operation.

Christine OKelly is a writer for Human Resources and Information Technology (HRIT), a
publisher of customizable employee handbooks and HR forms. HRIT’s sister company Employee University is a leading producer and distributor of employee training
and development training videos designed to improve workplace success.

Guangdong is perhaps China’s leading provincial economy in many ways. It has the largest GDP among all provinces and municipalities, accounting for 11.7 per cent of the national total, and the highest industrial output value among all the provinces and municipalities, accounting for about 13 per cent of the national total.

It also has the largest export value among all provinces and municipalities, accounting for 32.3 per cent of the national total and the largest retail sales value of consumer goods which accounted for about 12 per cent of the national total.

It is reasonably complicated for a foreign firm to set up a business in China. The three typical methods of doing so are through representative offices, wholly foreign owned enterprises and joint ventures.

The regulations, tax treatment, business categories, and requirements for each type of business are different. These differences are not only limited to the types of business, but are also specific to each province, city and sometimes district.

Representative office
As the name suggests, a representative office is set up for representing the parent company in China. It is an easy and cost-effective way of establishing a presence in high profile cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Tianjin.

Representative offices are only permitted to conduct non-profit making activities in China such as liaison with clients, market research and quality control. Applicants for setting up a representative office must show a 12-month plus trading record in their home jurisdiction.

A set of translated corporate documents has to be notarised, apostilled and authenticated by a China embassy then lodged with authorities. Depending on the province, city and/or district, taxation of the representative office is assessed on declared expenses at the rate of seven to 10 per cent. The funds for the representative office must be transferred directly from the parent company.

Wholly foreign owned enterprise
A wholly foreign owned enterprise (WFOE) is the most popular choice for the foreign company seeking to do business in the fields of international trading, manufacturing, processing, assembling or other profit making activities.

A WFOE is a Chinese limited liability company which is established with 100 per cent foreign capital and is therefore totally under the foreign investors’ control. The registered capital may be paid up through a combination of equipment and cash.

A WFOE’s operations are governed by the articles of association. The minimum registered share capital is normally US$140,000 but the registered share capital can be significantly higher for certain heavily regulated areas of business.

The tax rate for WFOEs varies based largely on where it is registered. Generally, a WFOE is subject to a business tax of five per cent for selling goods or services in China. A rate of between 15-33 per cent on profits tax will be charged by the provincial and city governments.

Many cities in China now offer incentives via special economic and free trade zones to WFOEs primarily engaged in exporting and re-exporting. These zones provide tax breaks for FDI and the rates and terms usually differ according to location. Certain areas of business, such as high technology, manufacturing and agriculture are favoured.

For companies seeking to access the local market it is important to know that the Chinese government defines foreign goods and services under three categories: ‘encouraged’, ‘limited’ and ‘prohibited’. Each has its own requirements and regulations that guide the activities of the WFOE.

China’s internal reform of the legal, financial, accounting and tax standards is an ongoing and often confusing process that is evolving to meet World Trade Organisation requirements.

Joint venture
A joint venture is a legal entity in China that is usually composed of foreign investor(s) and Chinese investor(s). T

his business arrangement is usually set up by equity or co-operative methods. The main difference between equity joint ventures and co-operative joint ventures is the allocation of profits.

The co-operative joint venture offers more flexibility than the equity joint venture. The Chinese government favours and encourages this form of arrangement for obtaining advanced technology, modern administration and management skills.

Although China has developed greatly in the past 30 years doing business there can often be confusing, frustrating and damaging to one’s financial well-being should experiences and competent professional advice not be obtained!

The Zetland Financial Group provides the offshore investor with fiduciary Services, investment management and corporate advisory services, offering personal service and professional advice with total confidentiality.

Most organizations are dependent upon their information and business systems, leaving them exposed to critical loss in the aftermath of a security breach. Fortunately, by implementing an information security management system (“ISMS”), as outlined in the only internationally accepted standard/code to address information security, a business can significantly reduce the risk of a security breach.

ISO/IEC 17799:2005 (“ISO 17799″), known as the Code of practice for information security management, was developed by an IT Security Subcommittee of the International Organization for Standardization and was published in June 2005. ISO 17799 is superior to other security standards because it is globally accepted and comprehensive. ISO 17799 has been cleverly crafted to work well across industries and geographies. Also, the International Organization for Standardization has consciously made this standard consistent with most other existing information security audit and control standards, such as those developed by the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). Therefore, ISO 17799 can be the common framework that links to all other standards, regulatory requirements and corporate governance initiatives.

ISO 17799 provides practical guidelines for developing organizational security controls and effective security management practices. An ISO 17799 evaluation results in a snapshot of the company’s security infrastructure, in that it provides a high-level view of how well (or how badly) a company implements information security. This standard is a great tool for companies whether establishing or improving information security within their organization.

The information security process traditionally has been based on sound best practices and guidelines, with the goals of preventing, detecting and containing security breaches, as well as restoration of the affected data to its previous state. While this cumulative wisdom of the ages is valid, it is also subject to various interpretations and implementations. ISO 17799 offers an achievable benchmark against which to build organizational information security.

Control Selection based on Risks Identified

ISO 17799 consists of 39 security controls, which can be used as a basis for a security risk assessment. The controls encompass all forms and types of information, whether they are electronic files, paper documents or various forms of communications such as email, fax and spoken conversations. The standard sets out a variety of hardware and software considerations, policies, procedures and organizational structures that protect a company’s information assets from a broad range of modern security threats and vulnerabilities. How organizations shape their information security programs will depend on the unique requirements and risks they face. An organization should only deploy controls that relate to, and are in proportion to, the actual risks it faces.

Controls can also more simply be described as the countermeasures for risks. Apart from knowingly accepting risks considered acceptable, or transferring those risks (through insurance) to others, there are essentially four types of control:

1. Deterrent controls reduce the likelihood of a deliberate attack.
2. Preventative controls protect vulnerabilities and make an attack unsuccessful or reduce its impact.
3. Corrective controls reduce the effect of an attack.
4. Detective controls discover attacks and trigger preventative or corrective controls.

It is essential that any controls that are implemented are cost-effective. The cost of implementing and maintaining a control should be no greater than the identified and quantified cost of the impact of the identified threat (or threats). It is not possible to provide total security against every single risk; the trade-off involves providing effective security against most risks. No board should sign off on any ISMS proposal that seeks to remove all risk from the business – the business does, after all, exist within a risk framework and, since it is impossible to exist risk-free, there is little point in proposing to eliminate every risk.

No organization should invest in information security technology (hardware or software) or implement information security management processes and procedures without having carried out an appropriate risk and control assessment that assures them that:

- The proposed investment (the total cost of the control) is the same as, or less than, the cost of the identified impact;
- The risk classification, which takes into account its probability, is appropriate for the proposed investment; and
- Mitigating the risk is a priority – i.e. all the risks with higher prioritization have already been adequately controlled and, therefore, it is appropriate now to be investing in controlling this one.

Once information security needs and requirements are identified, a suitable set of controls from ISO 17799 can be established, implemented, monitored, reviewed and improved upon in order to ensure that the specific security objectives of the organization are met.

ISO 17799 is a comprehensive information security code of practice that provides enterprises an internationally recognized and structured methodology for information security. In addition to ISO 17799, the International Organization for Standardization also published ISO 27001, which specifies a number of requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving an ISMS using the controls outlined in ISO 17799.

ISO 27001 is the formal standard against which an organization may seek independent certification of their ISMS. While certification is entirely optional, as of January 2007, over 3000 organizations world-wide were ISO 27001 certified, demonstrating their commitment to information security. Organizations may be certified compliant with ISO 27001 by a number of accredited certification bodies worldwide. ISO 27001 certification generally involves a two stage audit process, with a “table top” review of key documentation at the first stage and a more in-depth audit of the ISMS at the second stage. The certified organization would need to be re-assessed periodically by the certification body.

In summary, organizations face threats to their information assets on a daily basis. At the same time, they are becoming increasingly dependent on these assets. Technical solutions are only one portion of a holistic approach to information security. Establishing broad information security requirements in the framework of the organization’s own unique risk environment is essential.

Fazila Nurani is the President and Founder of PrivaTech Consulting (http://www.privatech.ca), based in Toronto, Canada. Visit Fazila Nurani’s bio. Nurani advises organizations on compliance with global privacy laws and managing information security risks. She may be reached at +1.905.886.0751 or fazilanurani@rogers.com.

The Bay Area in San Francisco is the central point of San Francisco’s skyline and its business district. It is an outstanding sight with a unique architectural style that symbolizes the ultimate location, tenant coziness, great services as well as excellent materials and finishes. The Bay Area has many signature buildings in the landscape that offer great appeal for office space.

In San Francisco, the trend of the future is the innovation of shared office space. Offering a new approach to office space leasing in San Francisco, shared office space is interesting because clients only have to pay for the time they use the office. Executives that work at home, people that travel a lot and directors that have just started a business can find office space rentals more suited to their needs. Shared space is very useful when you have to meet with clients or if you simply look for a quiet place to work for a few hours.

For someone who needs a part time office paying a year round lease simply makes no sense, thus shared space offer the best solution. Depending on the client’s needs, a shared workplace can be equipped with a phone, voice mail, fax, conference facilities, computers connected to the internet, copying machines and other office hardware. This means both a personalized and suitable solution for any business executive looking to save money without compromising anything else.

Shared office space could offer the convenience of a location near to the center of the Financial District, near where your clients may be situated, more affordably than a full-time rental. One of the most important reasons why individuals rent office space is saving money that can actually be used to expand their business. This innovative workplace idea has been put into place almost anywhere in San Francisco from Chinatown to the Financial District.

Many executive shared office situations offer complete services and facilities including an appropriately staffed office, part time telephone personnel, administrative and secretarial services, high speed internet access, consulting, fully equipped conference rooms, parking space and much more.

Also available are virtual offices, which are designed for those who require admission to office space and business services for a short time only. Virtual office service provides some of the best facilities, assistance and advantages for your business. The main benefit of a virtual office space is the possibility to take advantage of an office at only at a fraction of the cost of actually owning a traditional one.

Virtual offices can offer a business executive a mailing address (mailing receiving and distribution) a personalized reception service, phone number with voicemail access to offices and conference rooms and a completely operational kitchen. You can also profit from a virtual office specialist that can help you create a program that will fulfill all your needs. Some virtual office packages include communications systems. Some communications systems offer a notification system that will alert customers when they receive an email or will redirect their calls to a designated number. This can be a great benefit when you are off-site.

For more information about Bay Area Executive Offices, Office Space, office space innovations and unique office space, visit Bay Area Executive Offices at
http://www.bayareaoffices.com

Every successful office manager knows that the office, furniture or equipment is not necessarily the key to prosperity in the workplace, but the people working with them are more important. That is why many office suppliers are now aiming to provide much more than a nicely furnished office space, they also aim to provide the necessary services to accommodate and maintain office space.

Many companies now offer full service and affordable solutions for different businesses. In addition, they may provide space for executive offices with stunning views that are suitable for board meetings and client updates. Having an office located in a modern contemporary building with many hotels, restaurants and car rentals agencies in vicinity can turn out to be very convenient for clients, employees and co-workers.

Indisputably, the internet has an increasingly greater effect on the way people around the world live, think, and most important work in different businesses. More people are doing business with the help of the internet; therefore virtual office software is frequently the best tool to help them satisfy their desires and requests.

In the San Francisco area, those who work in a virtual office environment have a unique office space opportunity. There is a business package that usually provides individuals with many advantages such as: mailing address and a mailbox, kitchen facilities, access to a conference room or private office for different periods of time (for example 8 hours) per mouth, a phone number and your company’s name on the Directory Board.

Taking all this in consideration, this innovative office space opportunity in San Francisco can be the ideal solution for anyone who works from home, a person that spends most of his/hers time on the road, or simply someone who needs a part-time office. This is a great way to cut costs and maintain a business identity at the same time.

In San Francisco, you can find these executive office space opportunities at a great number of executive suite centers both in the city and the surrounding areas. The fastest and easiest way to find executive office space in San Francisco is to surf the internet. There is a considerably large number of websites that offer exact information about each executive suite center together with detailed location maps, indicators, pricing, and photos along with information on the different services that are provided. With such a large number of executive centers all you have to do is chose the one that best fits your needs.

These new office space innovations in San Francisco may just be the best solution for your business. You can benefit from appropriately staffed office space on full time as well as part time, or you can take advantage of distinct services including telephone, administrative and secretarial services, T1 internet access, consulting, conference rooms and many others.

If a professional appearance is important for your business, but the synchronization is not right to rent an office you can look for business identity packages. With prices varying between different amounts of money depending on the services provided; you can have that professional office you’ve always dreamed about, without the costs that usually go along with it.

For more information about Bay Area Executive Offices, Office Space, office space innovations and unique office space, visit Bay Area Executive Offices at
http://www.bayareaoffices.com