Employment and HR

As a business owner, this distinctions are how much oversight you're allowed and what taxes you're obligated to pay. Independent contractors are often self-employed or small business owners themselves. They pay their own taxes and determine their own workload. They also usually bring their own materials. If you hire an employee, you have to pay their taxes and you can dictate how and when they work.

Employment agreements are often best kept simple. You should include basic information such as salary information, payment schedules and benefit information. If you operate in an "at-will" state, you should explain in the document what that means. Many employers often include a Confidentiality Agreement (often called an NDA) as well. In most situations, you will not include information about raises or how long their employment may last.

An interview with a prospective new hire is your opportunity to discover relevant information; however, there are strict limits to what you can legally ask. While you can ask if someone is legally eligible to work for your company, you can't inquire into residency status or anything involving race, religion, family status, mental or physical health, or age. If a candidate offers information that may be a topic best avoided, do not pursue more information. For example, if they say they just recently added a child to their family, don't ask them about daycare or whether they might need time-off to accommodate their family's needs.

You can easily write an Employee Handbook using our document builder. An Employee Handbook helps your employers understand our basic employee policies. Before you make your Employee Handbook, consider the following questions:

• What will be considered full-time employment? 30, 35 or 40 hours per week? Which employees earn benefits?
• What behavior or action could result in termination? What are your discrimination policies?
• Will you need to implement a dress code policy? What are your hygiene standards?
• Will employees be required to sign a Nondisclosure Agreement?
• What rules will you have about mobile phone and internet usage?
• What are your day-off and holiday policies? Will you offer PTO, PTO and sick time, unlimited PTO, or other?