Employers, too, can benefit from using an employee handbook In addition to any benefits accrued from having a more committed and loyal workforce, handbooks are tools to educate, inform, and guide employees in the organization. But a word of caution is in order. In our earlier discussion in Chapter 4 on employment-at-will, we addressed the issue of implied contracts. Recall that an implied contract is anything expressed orally or in writing that may be perceived by the individual to mean that she or he can’t be terminated. For example, telling an employee that as long as her performance is satisfactory, she will have a job until retirement could be construed as an implied contract. Over the years, the courts have ruled that various statements made in employee handbooks may be binding on the company. To prevent this from occurring, many legal advocates and HRM researchers recommend a careful choice of words in the handbook, and a disclaimer. We have reproduced a disclaimer from one business in Exhibit 8-2.