A well-written staff handbook is a valuable tool for setting expectations, supporting compliance and shaping your workplace culture. It can also help protect your business and give your team clarity from day one.
This guide is for business owners, HR managers and leadership teams, and will help you create or update a staff handbook that reflects your values, meets legal requirements and works in practice.
We explain what to include, what’s legally essential and how to keep your handbook clear, useful and up to date.
If you’d like help drafting or reviewing your staff handbook, our employment law solicitors can make sure it strikes the right balance between legal protection and practical guidance.
Contents:
What is a staff handbook?
A staff handbook is a document that brings together your business’s workplace policies, procedures and expectations in one place.
It gives employees and other staff practical guidance on how your business operates, covering areas such as managing absences, flexible working, disciplinary procedures, grievances and workplace conduct.
A staff handbook typically sits alongside employment contracts, providing more detailed guidance on matters that don't need to be included in individual contracts.
Most employers choose to make their handbook non-contractual, so they can update policies as laws or business needs change. But it's important to make this distinction clear, as certain policies or provisions may become contractually binding depending on how they're drafted and incorporated.
Your handbook should also reflect the different categories of people working in your business, including employees, workers and apprentices, where appropriate. Their employment rights and the policies that apply to them may differ.
Why create a staff handbook?
A staff handbook gives you, as an employer, a practical way to communicate workplace policies, procedures and expectations in one place.
It helps employees understand how the business operates, what’s expected of them and how workplace issues will be handled.
A handbook can also:
- explain your business's culture and values
- set out the steps involved in procedures such as disciplinary and grievance processes
- provide guidance on matters that individual employment contracts don't need to cover
Having clear, accessible policies can help managers make consistent decisions and reduce the risk of any misunderstandings or disputes arising.
Most employers prefer to keep their staff handbook non-contractual. This generally allows for more flexibility when updating policies in line with changes to employment law or business needs, without having to get every employee’s agreement.
However, simply describing a handbook as non-contractual doesn't guarantee that all its provisions will be treated that way.
Certain policies or terms may still become contractually binding if they're expressly incorporated into employment contracts or become contractual through their wording or established practice. Employers must also comply with their statutory obligations, regardless of whether a policy is contractual.
If you're not sure whether your existing policies are contractual, or need advice on drafting or updating your handbook, our specialist employment law solicitors can help.
Is a staff handbook a legal requirement?
No. But a handbook is recommended as it helps you keep all company policies in one place.
By law, you must give every employee a section 1 statement or employment contract that contains key employment details relating to their working hours, pay and holiday, among other matters.
The law also says that if you have five or more employees, you must provide a written grievance and disciplinary procedure and a written health and safety policy.
It’s wise to make sure you have written evidence that all employees have received a copy of the staff handbook and of correspondence sent to employees relating to any updates.
How do I write a staff handbook? What should I include?
Typically, you should write your staff handbook in language that all staff members will understand. Once you’ve drafted it, you should circulate it around the business and tell all employees how they can access the original and any updated versions.
Your staff handbook should include the following:
Introduction
A brief description of what the staff handbook is for, how to use it and how, when and by whom it will be updated.
Holiday entitlement
This might include how holiday is accrued, carried over, calculated, dealt with on termination of employment, booked and when annual leave must be taken (if you have specific requirements as an employer). It might also cover what constitutes holiday leave and sickness absence.
Sickness absence
You must give every employee a written copy of the terms and conditions relating to sickness or injury, which are generally covered in the section 1 statement or contract of employment.
However, you can provide further detail in this type of policy, which might include how to report absence, what evidence you need to be able to pay company sick pay or Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) and how that pay is calculated.
Disciplinary and capability procedures
Again, you must set out disciplinary rules and procedures in writing and include details of who will deal with disciplinary issues, meetings, timescales, decisions and appeals.
Your disciplinary procedures must comply fully with the Acas code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures (Acas Code) and follow that code’s guidance as best they can.
Grievance procedure
As with the disciplinary procedure, you must have a written grievance procedure, and this should comply with the Acas Code and guidance. This should include, as a minimum:
- how to submit a grievance
- who the grievance should be submitted to
- what steps you’ll follow during the grievance procedure
If you don’t follow the minimum standards of good practice for employers and employees set out in the Acas Code, the employee's grievance could lead to a successful tribunal claim.
In this case, the tribunal may penalise either you or the employee for unreasonably failing to follow the Acas Code and increase or reduce the employee's compensation by up to 25%.
It’s a good idea to involve employees (and, where appropriate, their trade union representatives) when developing and updating your grievance procedure, as this makes sure employees agree to its conditions and keeps the process fair.
Anti-harassment and bullying policy
As an employer, you must do everything you can to protect your staff from harassment in the workplace and avoid claims made under the Equality Act 2010, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 or for breach of contract.
A well drafted anti-harassment and bullying policy can show you recognise this as an important issue and are trying to eradicate (or at least limit) this as much as you can.
Health and safety
This policy helps you fulfil all the statutory and common law duties you hold towards your employees.
If you have five or more people working for you, by law you must have a written health and safety statement or policy and share it with those staff members.
Though not a legal requirement, if you have a workforce of fewer than five people, you should still develop a health and safety policy to inform staff what’s required of them.
Maternity/paternity/adoption/parental policies
It is advisable to have clear, written policies relating to maternity leave and pay as well as antenatal appointments, paternity leave and pay, adoption leave and pay, and shared parental leave and pay (in the case of birth or adoption).
Policies relating to parental leave or time off for dependents can help employers and staff understand what’s required.
Flexible working and home working policy
You should have a clear policy explaining how employees can make statutory flexible working requests and how you’ll consider them.
Since April 2024, employees have had the right to make a statutory flexible working request from their first day of employment and can make up to two requests in any 12-month period, provided they have only one live request at a time.
As an employer, you must consider requests in a reasonable manner and notify employees of your decision within two months, unless you agree an extension. Before rejecting a request, you must consult the employee and consider whether an alternative arrangement could be suitable.
Although there’s no statutory right of appeal, the Acas Code of Practice recommends offering an appeal process and confirming decisions in writing.
A well-drafted flexible working policy can help you handle requests consistently and reduce the risk of any disputes or discrimination claims arising later.
Other policies
You may also consider creating policies on the following:
- Social media
- IT and communications systems
- AI and its use within the business
- Dress code and appearance at work
- Data protection
- Performance and appraisals
- Equal opportunities
- Expenses and other benefits such as bonuses, health insurance and company car policies
- Anti-corruption and anti-bribery
- Compassionate leave policy
- Whistleblowing
- Time off for public duties
How often should we update our staff handbook?
Generally, you should review your staff handbook every six months or every 12 months at the most.
