Anyone who runs a business might have to hire employees. Even if it’s a personal assistant, an employee relies on you to provide a secure working environment. To enforce workplace safety, you should follow all ethics in hiring and retention.
You should also have comprehensive insurance in place to safeguard against employee risks. These practices can protect the company, prospective hires and established employees.
From interview to termination, employees should have protection to back them up. This can come in many different forms. So, get started today by setting up a strong protective structure.
Employment Benefits and Wellness Protection
Multiple laws require businesses to provide certain benefits and services to employees. Everyone deserves a safe place to work, and they have a right to maintain their wellness. Therefore, business owners often must provide a couple of critical elements of insurance
- Health insurance: Many businesses have to offer this coverage. Health insurance helps employees receive covered medical care. Employers can provide this coverage as a group plan. Each employee supports some of the cost by paying a supplementary premium. The employer also contributes towards the payments. Coverage, therefore, often provides multiple cost benefits for employees.
- Life insurance: Some employers offer life insurance policies to their employees. In the event of an employee’s death, coverage provides a settlement to their survivors. Therefore, your employees could find a company-supported plan beneficial.
- Workers’ compensation: This is a type of benefit that most employers have to provide. It can provide supplementary income for workers who get hurt on the job. If an injury occurred in the course of duties, most states recognize employees have a right to protection. Workers’ comp can pay medical bills and rehabilitation costs so employees don’t have to. It can also help both employers and employees avoid litigation and lawsuits.
These types of protection provide considerable safety nets for employees. They might help employees recover from losses, and perform their jobs more successfully. That’s why, often, they don’t come as options for employers. Business owners should check local workplace law to see what benefits to provide. They should also consider offering extra benefits that might prove helpful. Everything from pension accounts to savings on gym memberships might help your employees remain more secure.
At the end of the day, if you can protect your employee, you can go a long way towards protecting yourself. Many businesses that offer benefits see increases in productivity and retention.
Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI Coverage)
Your working environment must provide physical safety for your employees. However, it must also create an ethically-secure workplace.
Businesses today have no room to create hostility, harassment or discrimination against employees. If they do, they might very well face lawsuits or other legal action from the affected parties. Such charges might include
- Sexual harassment
- Discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, disability or religion
- Allegations of verbal or mental abuse by the employer
- Wrongful termination allegations
- Breach of contract
- Improper hiring practices
These allegations might occur during both hiring practices and the course of work. Therefore, employers should take safety precautions to avoid such allegations from the get-go.
- All employers should file a non-discrimination policy, and provide it to both employees and prospective hires.
- Job descriptions should clearly explain duties. Both those who apply and those hired should understand what the employer expects of them.
- Interviews and reviews should follow confidential, ethical and courteous standards. Employers should not discuss private matters with unauthorized parties.
- Employee handbooks should provide a comprehensive, exhaustive guideline for employee practices. Everyone should have a copy of this material. You should refer to these rules when making any decisions involving employees.
- Refer to local employment law regarding any accommodations you must provide workers.
- Respond transparently to any accusations leveled against the company.
You often can’t prevent every allegation of poor employment practices. Therefore, employment practices liability insurance exists to help combat allegations of misconduct.
Policies can usually extend to most employees, managers and executives in the business. It can help employers settle with those who accuse them of unethical practices. Therefore, it’s critical not just for employees, but the business as well. Businesses should work with a commercial insurer to target their coverage to their specific needs.
Keep in mind, EPLI coverage won’t cover everything. For example, it often doesn’t provide coverage for disputes about wages and hours. It also may not cover bodily harm or criminal acts. So, while it might cover allegations of sexual harassment, it won’t often cover charges of sexual assault. That is a criminal act, whose offenders must face the consequences.
As a parting note: You have an obligation to provide an open working environment. Make sure employees they know how to enroll in and file for benefits. Put in place safety practices that will keep employees secure during work. Remember to monitor and educate employees about safe workplaces. The more your employees know, the more comfortable they will feel should a problem arise.
Secure your business by protecting yourself and your employees. With the appropriate coverage, you can safeguard your workers in the safest ways. Don’t wait, talk to your commercial insurance provider today.