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All-in-one HR platform · v2.0
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All-in-one HR platform · v2.0
14-day free trial · No credit cardhello@HrMagix.com
An employee handbook is not a new set of rules. It is the existing rules, the policies you already have, organised so an employee can find the answer to a question without asking HR. If the handbook says something different from the policy, you have created a dispute.
This guide treats the handbook as an index and a plain-language guide to your policies, not a replacement for them. That single decision keeps it shorter, easier to update and less likely to contradict itself.
01
There are two workable models. In the first, the handbook summarises each policy in plain language and links to the full policy, which governs if they differ. In the second, the handbook contains the full text of every policy. The first is easier to keep current; the second is a single document but goes out of date as soon as one policy changes.
Whichever you choose, state it at the front: which document governs, and how the employee can find the current version.
Watch for itMake clear whether the handbook forms part of the employment contract. Advisers often recommend that it does not, so policies can be updated; take advice on the wording.
02
List every policy, process and practice currently in force, including those that exist only by habit. For each, note the owner, the last review date and whether it is written down.
You will find gaps, overlaps and contradictions. Resolve them in the policies first; the handbook should not be where a disagreement between two policies is settled.
03
Organise by the moments in employment rather than by policy name. An employee looking for how to apply for leave should not need to know that the answer is in the 'Time Away from Work Policy v3'.
04
Write to the employee as 'you'. Use short sentences, concrete examples and the words employees use. 'You need your manager's approval before taking leave' is better than 'Leave is subject to prior sanction by the competent authority.'
Where a policy has a number, say the number. Where it has a process, list the steps. Where a decision is discretionary, say who makes it. For a multilingual workforce, decide which languages the handbook will be available in and which version governs.
05
Before publishing, have it read by a few managers and a few employees from different roles. Ask them to find the answer to five common questions. Where they cannot, fix the structure, not just the wording.
Have legal review the sections that deal with statutory entitlements, discipline, termination and harassment.
06
Publish the handbook where employees can always find the current version, collect an acknowledgement, and include it in onboarding. Give it a version number and a change log at the front.
Set an annual review, and update the relevant section whenever a policy changes. A handbook that is a year out of date teaches employees not to trust it.
Every guide ends here rather than in a summary. If a line below is not true yet, that is the next thing to do.
There is no general requirement for a handbook as such, though several laws require specific policies, rules or displays. A handbook is a practical way to bring them together.
Many employers state that it is not, so policies can be updated without renegotiating contracts. Take advice on the exact wording.
Long enough to answer common questions and point to the full policies, no longer. Summarising policies and linking to them keeps it much shorter than reproducing every policy in full.
Review it at least annually and update the relevant section whenever a policy changes, with a version number and change log.
The checklist above is generic by necessity. Bring your own structures, states and rota and we will tell you which lines are already true and which are not.
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