HR-13 Employee Handbook/Code of Conduct

What is this control about?

An Employee Handbook / code of conduct communicates the company’s values and ethics. It lets employees know the acceptable code of conduct. It is a must to document an employee handbook with a code of conduct and update it every year.

Available tools in the marketplace

Available templates

TrustCloud has a curated list of templates internally or externally sourced to help you get started. Click on the link for a downloadable version:

• Employee Handbook template available

Control implementation

The action required here is to document an employee handbook  that include a mission statement and purpose and ensure that the following components are also taken into account:

• At will relationship
• Equal employment opportunities
• Acceptable conduct
• Compensation and Performance
• Benefits and Leaves
• Health and Safety
• Workplace Guidelines
• Disciplinary actions
• Annual review
• Communicated to all employees

What evidence do auditors look for?

Most auditors, at a minimum are looking for the below suggested action:

• Provide the most recently updated handbook

Evidence example

From the suggested action above, an example is provided below

1. Provide the most recently updated handbook.

TrustCloud employee handbook