Employee handbook template
An employee handbook template gives a new joiner one document that explains how your company works. The version below is written out in full: seven parts and 29 short sections, each with sample wording you can keep or change. Long policies such as leave and conduct stay separate documents, and the handbook gives a two-line summary and points to them. That keeps it short enough to read in one sitting.
Use it when new joiners start asking the same questions twice, or when your policies live in five different places. Fill in the blanks, rewrite Part A in your own voice, and publish it next to the policies it points at. Anything that differs from person to person, such as pay or notice, belongs in the employment contract, and the handbook says so.
EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK — [COMPANY NAME] Version [VERSION NUMBER] · [PUBLISH DATE] · Owner: [HANDBOOK OWNER] HOW TO READ THIS HANDBOOK This handbook explains how we work. It is not your contract. Where the two say different things, your contract wins. Each full policy is a separate document; this handbook gives the short version and tells you where the full one lives: [POLICY LIBRARY LOCATION]. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- PART A. ABOUT US -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A1 WELCOME [WELCOME FROM THE FOUNDER] A2 HOW THE COMPANY IS ORGANISED We have [NUMBER OF TEAMS] teams: [TEAM NAMES]. Each team has a lead who answers for its work. The current org chart is in [ORG CHART LOCATION]. A3 HOW DECISIONS ARE MADE AND SHARED Day-to-day decisions sit with team leads. Company-wide changes are announced in [ANNOUNCEMENT CHANNEL] and take effect on the date stated. If you missed an announcement, the channel history is the record. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- PART B. YOUR EMPLOYMENT -------------------------------------------------------------------------- B1 YOUR CONTRACT Your contract sets your role, pay, hours and notice. This handbook does not change any of those. Ask [HR CONTACT] for a copy at any time. B2 PROBATION New joiners serve a probation of [PROBATION LENGTH]. You will have check-ins at [CHECK-IN POINTS] and a written decision at the end. Full detail: probation policy. B3 WORKING HOURS Core hours are [CORE HOURS]. Mark your attendance by [ATTENDANCE METHOD]. Full detail: attendance policy. B4 WORKING FROM HOME [STATE WHO MAY WORK FROM HOME, HOW OFTEN, AND HOW TO ASK.] Full detail: work from home policy. B5 PAY DAY AND PAYSLIPS Pay reaches your account on [PAY DAY]. Payslips are sent by [PAYSLIP METHOD]. Questions about a payslip go to [PAYROLL CONTACT]. B6 TIMESHEETS Log your hours in [TIMESHEET SYSTEM] by [TIMESHEET DEADLINE]. Client billing and project plans are built from these entries, so late or missing time shows up in more than one place. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- PART C. TIME OFF -------------------------------------------------------------------------- C1 LEAVE You get [LEAVE SUMMARY, E.G. ANNUAL, CASUAL AND SICK DAYS] each leave year. Request leave in [LEAVE SYSTEM]; your approver answers within [APPROVAL WINDOW] working days. Full detail: leave policy. C2 PUBLIC HOLIDAYS The holiday calendar for the year is published in [HOLIDAY CALENDAR LOCATION] each [CALENDAR MONTH]. Holidays never come out of your leave. C3 LONG ABSENCE If you will be away for more than [LONG ABSENCE DAYS] days in a row, for any reason, tell [HR CONTACT] as soon as you know. We agree a plan for your work and how we keep in touch. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- PART D. HOW WE BEHAVE -------------------------------------------------------------------------- D1 CODE OF CONDUCT We expect you to be honest, to treat people with respect and to protect the company's and our clients' interests. Full detail: code of conduct. D2 HARASSMENT AND BULLYING Harassment and bullying are never acceptable, from anyone, towards anyone. Report it to [REPORTING CONTACT] or [SECOND REPORTING CONTACT]. Full detail: anti-harassment policy. D3 RAISING A CONCERN If something at work is wrong, raise it with your lead first, or with [HR CONTACT] if your lead is part of the problem. You won't be treated worse for raising a concern in good faith. Full detail: grievance procedure. D4 SOCIAL MEDIA AND SPEAKING PUBLICLY Speak for yourself, not for the company, unless [COMMS OWNER] has asked you to. Never post client names or work without permission. Full detail: social media policy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- PART E. TOOLS AND INFORMATION -------------------------------------------------------------------------- E1 EQUIPMENT Equipment issued to you is recorded against your name, with its serial number. Look after it, report damage within [DAMAGE REPORT WINDOW], and return it when you leave. Full detail: IT asset policy. E2 ACCOUNTS AND PASSWORDS Use the accounts we set up for you. Never share a password. If you think an account has been exposed, tell [IT CONTACT] the same day. E3 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION Client data, pricing and anything marked internal stays inside the company. That duty continues after you leave. E4 GETTING HELP Raise HR and IT questions in [HELPDESK LOCATION]. Each request gets a ticket, so you can see who has it and where it stands. E5 EXPENSES Spend on the company's behalf only when approved. Claim within [CLAIM WINDOW] days with a receipt. Full detail: expense reimbursement policy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- PART F. GROWING HERE -------------------------------------------------------------------------- F1 FEEDBACK You get feedback from your lead at least every [FEEDBACK INTERVAL]. You can give feedback on anything, to anyone, through [FEEDBACK CHANNEL]. F2 LEARNING [STATE THE LEARNING BUDGET OR STUDY TIME, OR DELETE THIS SECTION.] F3 INTERNAL MOVES Open roles are posted internally before they go outside. Tell your lead if you want to apply; you don't need their permission to do so. F4 RECOGNITION [DESCRIBE HOW GOOD WORK IS RECOGNISED, E.G. SHOUT-OUTS OR AWARDS.] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- PART G. LEAVING -------------------------------------------------------------------------- G1 NOTICE Your notice period is set in your contract. Give notice in writing to your lead and [HR CONTACT]. G2 HANDOVER In your last [HANDOVER PERIOD], hand over open work, documents and client contacts to the person your lead names. Full detail: offboarding checklist. G3 RETURNING EQUIPMENT AND ACCESS Return everything issued to you by your last day. Your accounts close at [ACCESS CLOSE TIME] on that day. Full detail: device handover form. G4 REFERENCES References are written by [REFERENCE WRITER] and confirm your dates and role. [STATE WHETHER THEY SAY MORE.] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- APPENDIX 1. POLICY REGISTER -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Policy Owner Last reviewed Leave policy [OWNER] [DATE] Attendance policy [OWNER] [DATE] Work from home policy [OWNER] [DATE] Code of conduct [OWNER] [DATE] Anti-harassment policy [OWNER] [DATE] Grievance procedure [OWNER] [DATE] IT asset policy [OWNER] [DATE] Expense policy [OWNER] [DATE] Social media policy [OWNER] [DATE] APPENDIX 2. VERSION HISTORY Version Date What changed Approved by [1.0] [DATE] First issue [APPROVER] APPENDIX 3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I have received and read the [COMPANY NAME] employee handbook, version [VERSION NUMBER]. Name: ____________________ Signature: ____________ Date: __________
What to put in each blank
- [WELCOME FROM THE FOUNDER]
- Two or three sentences: what you do, who for, and why it matters to them. Have the founder write it in their own words. New joiners remember this part.
- [POLICY LIBRARY LOCATION]
- Give one place, not three. Every line that says full detail sends the reader here, so it has to be the current copy.
- [PROBATION LENGTH]
- Copy the length from your contracts word for word. A handbook that states a different length starts an argument at confirmation time.
- [LEAVE SUMMARY, E.G. ANNUAL, CASUAL AND SICK DAYS]
- Name the leave types and the day counts in one line. The full rules stay in the leave policy, so this line never needs more detail.
- [REPORTING CONTACT]
- Give two people, one of them outside the reporting line. Someone who is being harassed by their lead needs a second door.
- [HELPDESK LOCATION]
- Point to the tool where requests are tracked, not a personal inbox. A question that lands in one person's email is lost when that person is away.
- [VERSION NUMBER]
- Start at 1.0 and raise it with every approved change. The acknowledgement form quotes it, so you can tell who has read which version.
Before you send it
- Keep the full detail lines. The moment a whole policy gets pasted into the handbook, you have two copies, and they'll disagree within a year.
- Never restate contract terms such as pay, notice or benefits as numbers. A handbook that contradicts a contract causes a real dispute, so point at the contract instead.
- Delete any section you have nothing for. An empty learning budget line reads worse than no section at all.
- Employment rules differ by country and by contract type. Have someone who knows your local rules read the finished handbook before it goes out.
- Keep the policy register in Appendix 1 current. It is the only page that shows which policies have gone stale.
- The PeopleMuster policy library holds each policy with a slug, a summary, a category and a status. It shows who edited it last and when, which is Appendix 1 kept for you. Policies are indexed on publish, so HashBot answers staff questions from the current text.
PeopleMuster keeps every policy the handbook points at, with owner and edit history
Questions people ask about this letter
What should an employee handbook include?
Seven parts cover most companies: about us, your employment, time off, how we behave, tools and information, growing here, and leaving. Add a policy register and an acknowledgement form at the back. Keep each full policy separate and summarise it in two lines.
Should the handbook restate the contract?
No. Keep pay, notice and benefits in the contract and have the handbook point at them. Two documents saying slightly different things about notice is a problem you only find in an argument.
How long should an employee handbook be?
Short enough to read in one sitting. This template runs to under 1,000 words before you fill it in, because the long policies stay separate and the handbook only summarises them.
How often should a handbook be reviewed?
Once a year is the common rhythm, plus whenever a policy it links to changes. Record each change in the version history and ask staff to sign the acknowledgement again for any big change.