Among all the documents that HR in an organization handles –make no mistake, they are innumerable –documentation relating to employment is a very important. Any faulty employment documentation will automatically make it indefensible in a legal claim and can land the organization in a spot of bother. If this is to be prevented, what should HR do?
For employment documentation has to be of high quality, it has to be defensible
In the same way in which there are best practices for almost every other organizational discipline; there are best practices for employment documentation, too. Best practices are about implementing well-established conventions and experiences. So, keeping a document in good shape entails keeping it compliant with regulations relating to its type.
Rests with HR
This is something of an imperative, because non-implementation of employment documentation best practices, when it is discovered during a lawsuit, will push HR into the back foot, and can be highly embarrassing. This is a position no organization’s HR likes to be in, because the blame for not maintaining proper and compliant employment documentation will then directly go to HR.
Indicator of employer’s trustworthiness
Adapting best practices will ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. Its test lies in how these documents are timed, what they contain and what purpose they serve. The presence or otherwise of these factors decides whether or not the HR of the organization is enforcing best practices in employment documentation. Having employment documentation in proper order will show the employer as being credible.
What should go into proper employment documentation?
· First and foremost, it should be defensible
· It should leave no scope for working against the employer
· It should reflect HR’s understanding of what to document, how to document and when to document
· HR should be aware of what is not necessary to document
· It should demonstrate a sound understanding of timing, purpose and content and how they work in tandem
· It should demonstrate retaliation even when it did not
· It should be constructed taking managers into confidence
