It is wiser to choose what you say than say what you choose. -- Anonymous

An at-will employment relationship allows either the employer or the employee to end the employment relationship at any time and for any or no reason. Courts will closely scrutinize your handbook and/or policy manual if an employee claims that the document implicitly formed an employment contract and altered the at-will relationship. Requiring employees to sign an acknowledgment form upon receipt of a handbook or manual can help reduce those claims.

Why require an acknowledgment form?

You should require employees to sign an "acknowledgment" form whenever you issue a handbook or manual.

A carefully crafted acknowledgment form can provide potentially useful written evidence showing that the employee received, read, and understood the handbook or manual. It also could help refute any later employee claims that the handbook or manual formed a binding contract.

Form''s substance

Among its contents, an acknowledgment form should state the following:

·        The employee received, read, and understood the contents of the handbook or manual.

·        The employee may meet with her supervisor or the human resources manager if she has a question regarding any of the company''s policies, practices, or procedures.

·        The handbook or manual replaces and/or supersedes all such previous documents.

·        The handbook or manual merely serves as a guideline, and the company retains complete discretion to interpret, amend, or replace the document at any time and in any manner it deems appropriate.

·        The employee understands that his employment is at will and that only the company''s president, via a signed written contract, is authorized to alter the at-will relationship.

·        The handbook or manual does not constitute either an implied or express employment contract.

Final word

You should conspicuously (bold, italicized, and large typeface) define the at-will relationship in a disclaimer at the bottom of the form, affix a date, and require the employee to sign the form.

If the employee refuses to sign the form, you can discipline him or her (up to and including termination of employment) or simply note on the form that he or she received the handbook but refused to sign the acknowledgment form. You then should place the form in the employee''s personnel file.

Copyright 2000 M. Lee Smith Publishers LLC.

This article is an excerpt from South Carolina Employment Law Letter, written by the Columbia-based McNair Law Firm. South Carolina Employment Law Letter is not intended to provide legal advice, which can be given only after consideration of the facts of a specific situation.

Your State Employment Law May Be Different