A 43-page editable Word employee handbook for a US non-medical home care agency to give every caregiver and office staff member: how you work, what you expect, and what employees can expect from you.

For home care agency owners, administrators and HR staff who want one plain-language handbook they can adapt to their own state. Plus 2 agency instructions pages to remove before use (45 pages in the file).

What’s included

1. Cover page, Important Contacts page, and a 3-page table of contents
2. Section 1, Welcome (mission, vision and values; what the Agency offers you)
3. Section 2, How to Use This Handbook (which document controls, not a contract, state-varies notes, key words, non-medical services)
4. Section 3, At-Will Employment and Starting Work (work eligibility, post-offer background checks, orientation and training, supervision, personnel file)
5. Section 4, Introductory Period
6. Section 5, Employment Categories
7. Section 6, Equal Opportunity, Harassment and Speaking Up (accommodation, reporting, no retaliation, harassment by clients or family)
8. Section 7, Conduct, Dress and Attendance (on-duty rules, phones, calling off, no-answer visits, keys)
9. Section 8, Drug- and Alcohol-Free Workplace
10. Section 9, Non-Medical Scope and Client Boundaries (medication reminders, meals, driving, client money, gifts and tips)
11. Section 10, Pay, Timekeeping and Overtime (workweek, work time with examples, breaks, mileage)
12. Section 11, Electronic Visit Verification
13. Section 12, Leave and Benefits
14. Section 13, Documentation
15. Section 14, Safety and Infection Control (standard precautions, work injuries, safe lifting, violence and your right to leave, emergencies)
16. Section 15, Incidents, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation
17. Section 16, Confidentiality and Privacy
18. Section 17, Phones, Recording and Social Media
19. Section 18, Discipline
20. Section 19, Leaving the Agency
21. Section 20, Signed Acknowledgments, with 3 sign-off forms: Employee Handbook Acknowledgment, Confidentiality Agreement, and Client Boundaries and Scope Acknowledgment
22. 2 agency instructions pages, to remove before use

The handbook cites policy numbers from our Home Care Agency Policy and Procedure Manual (sold separately), so the two can be kept in step. If you don’t use that manual, replace or delete the policy numbers.

How to customize

1. Open the Word file and replace the Logo box on the cover with your logo, then edit the Agency Name text in the page header.
2. Use Find & Replace to change [Agency Name] to your agency’s name, and fill in the Important Contacts page.
3. Use Find & Replace to change [State] to your state, then work through each “State-varies note” and blank line using your state and local employment rules, including the at-will and introductory-period wording.
4. Delete the 2 instructions pages, update the table of contents, and have each employee sign the 3 sign-off forms.

Customizable template, not legal advice; have an attorney review for your state. Employment law varies by state and city. Not state-approved, no guarantee that your agency meets any law, license rule or payer contract, not a license to operate, not HIPAA software, and no medical claims.