team-handbook

---
name: team-handbook
description: Turns the rules you already run the place by into a handbook your team can actually read, split into what the law says you must hand over, what is contractual, and what is a house rule you can change. Use when new starters keep asking the same questions, when nobody can find the rules, or when you have never written them down at all.
---

# The rules everyone already half-knows, written down in a form your team will read

You give me whatever exists now: a contract template from 2019, a laminated sheet by the pass, a WhatsApp group where the rules get restated every few months, and the things you say out loud on somebody's first shift. You get back a handbook split into three clearly labelled parts, written in short lines a seventeen-year-old on their first job and a chef whose English is their third language can both follow, a day-one pack list checked against what the law says you must hand over, an acknowledgement sheet with a version number on it, and a register saying which sections are contractual and which you can change with notice.

## What it does

1. **Split everything into three piles before a word is written.** Pile one is what you must give people anyway. GOV.UK is precise about this: "An employer must give employees and workers a document stating the main conditions of employment when they start work. This is known as a 'written statement of employment particulars'. It is not an employment contract." The principal statement is due "on the first day of employment" and the wider written statement "within 2 months of the start of employment", and the wider one must cover "disciplinary and grievance procedures". Pile two is contractual: pay, hours, holiday, notice, anything you promised. Pile three is house rules you can change with reasonable notice. The three piles behave completely differently when you want to change something, and a handbook that mixes them is how an owner discovers they cannot change a break policy without everyone's agreement.

2. **Check the day-one pack against the list, item by item.** The principal statement must include at least the employer's name, the person's name and job title or description of work and start date, "how much and how often an employee or worker will get paid", "hours and days of work and if and how they may vary", holiday entitlement and whether that includes public holidays, where they will be working, how long the job is expected to last, "how long any probation period is and what its conditions are", other benefits, and "obligatory training, whether or not this is paid for by the employer". On day one you must also give information about "sick pay and procedures", other paid leave, and notice periods. GOV.UK allows that to sit in a separate document, with one condition: "this must be something that the employee or worker has reasonable access to". A handbook in a drawer nobody has been shown does not meet that.

3. **Decide what the rules cover, starting from the Acas list and adding the hospitality ones nobody else has.** The Acas guide says rules "often cover such matters as: timekeeping; absence; health and safety; use of organisation facilities; discrimination, bullying and harassment; personal appearance; the types of conduct that might be considered as 'gross misconduct'." That is the spine. On top of it go the ones that actually cause arguments in a restaurant: how tips and service charge are shared and who decides, what staff may eat and drink and when, drinking on shift and drinking in the building after close, phones on the floor and in the kitchen, what to do when a customer asks about allergens, keys and cash and who counts the drawer, uniform and jewellery and nail varnish, and whether anyone may post photographs of the place or the customers. Write the ones you already enforce first. Anything you have never enforced is a new rule and gets announced, not slipped in.

4. **Write the gross misconduct examples out of your own business, not out of somebody else's template.** The Acas Code says at paragraph 24: "Disciplinary rules should give examples of acts which the employer regards as acts of gross misconduct. These may vary according to the nature of the organisation and what it does, but might include things such as theft or fraud, physical violence, gross negligence or serious insubordination." The Acas guide's own checklist for small organisations adds that "examples may include working dangerously, stealing or fighting - although much will depend on the circumstances of each offence." In a kitchen the specific ones matter: serving a dish to a customer who has declared an allergy without checking the recipe, turning off a fridge alarm, coming on shift unfit to work. Write four to eight, each in one line, and carry the Acas caveat about circumstances underneath, because a list that reads as automatic dismissal is worse than no list.

5. **Write it in the words your team uses, then test it on the person least likely to read it.** This is the part Acas is unusually direct about: "Special attention should be paid to ensure that rules are understood by any employees without recent experience of working life (for instance young people new to the workld of work, or those returning to work after a lengthy break), and by employees whose English or reading ability is limited, or who have a disability such as visual impairment." In practice that means one rule per line, present tense, no sentence over twenty-five words, and the name of the job rather than a department that does not exist in a twelve-person business. Say "tell the duty manager", not "notify line management". Get the three sections that can end someone's job translated into every language spoken in the team, or record by name who read them aloud and when. Print one copy in large type.

6. **Put the breaks and the night rules in plainly, because these are the two people argue about.** GOV.UK: "Workers have the right to one uninterrupted 20 minute rest break during their working day, if they work more than 6 hours a day", and the sentence every handbook omits: "The break does not have to be paid - it depends on their employment contract." So state which yours is, in words, on the page. For nights: "The night period is 11pm to 6am, unless the worker and employer agree a different night period", and if you agree a different one "It must be agreed in writing." Night workers "must not work more than an average of 8 hours in a 24-hour period", and "Employers must keep records of night workers' working hours to show they are not exceeding the limits. The records must be kept for at least 2 years." Staff aged 16 or 17 "cannot work between midnight and 4am", and usually cannot work between 10pm and 6am, though GOV.UK lists "a hotel or catering" among the exceptions, so if you rely on that exception say so rather than leaving a duty manager to guess. And one line that belongs in every hospitality handbook: "You cannot discriminate against a worker if they do not want to work nights."

7. **Put the privacy page in, because the handbook is where the regulator expects it.** The Information Commissioner's Office lists what you must tell workers: "your purposes for collecting and using their personal information; your lawful basis; your condition for processing (if it includes special category or criminal offence information); your retention periods for the information; who, if anyone, you plan to share their information with; their rights over their information; and details of where you got their personal information, how you are going to use it and who you will disclose it to." It names the handbook as one of the places to put it, "as separate privacy information in a worker handbook", and says it must be "easily accessible to your workers, easy to understand, and in clear and plain language". Add the line most staff never learn, that they can ask for a copy of what you hold: a request "can be made verbally or in writing" and you must respond "without delay and within one month".

8. **Consult on it before you publish it, and mark every section contractual or not.** Acas: "Rules are likely to be more effective if they are accepted as reasonable by those covered by them and those who operate them. It is good practice to develop rules in consultation with employees (and their representatives where appropriate) and those who will have responsibility for applying them." Give the draft to two people who will have to live with it and one duty manager who will have to apply it, and change what comes back or say why not. Acas also says rules should "apply to all employees at all levels in the organisation" unless there is a reason otherwise, and "should not discriminate on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation." Then mark each section C for contractual or H for house rule, and have your adviser check the marks before anyone signs, because a contractual term cannot be changed by reprinting the handbook.

9. **Hand it over so you can prove you did, put it on the wall, and date the next review.** Acas: "Ideally employees should be given their own printed copy of the rules or written information about how to access them. For example, on the organisation's intranet or in their personnel handbook", and for a business this size, "In a small organisation, it may be sufficient for rules to be displayed in a prominent place." The Acas sample procedure assumes exactly that, opening with "The company rules (a copy of which is displayed in the office)". So: version number and date on every page, a signed acknowledgement sheet naming the version, a copy where staff actually stand rather than in the office, and a review date in the diary. If anything in the written statement changes, GOV.UK requires you to tell people "within one month of making the change", so the review date is not decoration.

## Then it checks

1. Every item on the GOV.UK principal statement list is present in the pack, the day-one items on sick pay, other paid leave and notice periods are present, and the first page states that this is not the employment contract.
2. Every section carries a C or an H mark. No section marked H contains a promise of money, hours, a bonus, a benefit or a length of notice.
3. The break section states the twenty minutes, the more-than-six-hours trigger, and whether the break is paid here. The night section states which night period is used, whether it was agreed in writing if it is not 11pm to 6am, and whether anyone aged 16 or 17 works after 10pm and under which exception.
4. The gross misconduct list has at least four examples that could only come from this business, and a line saying each case depends on its circumstances.
5. No sentence is longer than twenty-five words, every rule is on its own line, and the sections on gross misconduct, breaks and absence exist in every language spoken in the team, or a named person is recorded as having read them aloud on a stated date.
6. A signed acknowledgement exists for every current member of staff against the version now in force, a copy is displayed where the team can see it rather than in the office, and a review date is in the diary.

Any check fails: name it, redo that step once. Failed twice: say what is wrong and stop.

## Rules
- Public information only.
- Never invent a fact, a number or a quote.
- Anything sent in someone's name says whose name it is.
- Never copy another business's handbook. Acas says gross misconduct examples "may vary according to the nature of the organisation and what it does", and a borrowed list is why owners end up with rules about company vehicles and none about allergens. An unenforced rule in a handbook is worse than a missing one, because it proves you apply the book selectively.
- Never write a rule you do not apply to everybody, including yourself and the manager. Acas is explicit that rules "should apply to all employees at all levels in the organisation" unless there is a reason otherwise, and consistency is one of the fairness elements the Acas Code lists.
- Never let the handbook become the contract by accident. A promise of pay, hours, a bonus or extra notice, printed in a handbook and handed out, can become a term you cannot then change on your own. Mark every section, and have the marks checked by your adviser rather than deciding this yourself.
- Never write a rule that treats people differently on a protected ground. A dress or appearance rule is the usual place this goes wrong.
- This output is a working document prepared for the owner's HR adviser or solicitor to check before it is issued. It does not set anyone's contractual terms, it does not replace the written statement of employment particulars, and it is not employment law advice.

## Built from
- GOV.UK, "Employment contracts: Written statement of employment particulars", https://www.gov.uk/employment-contracts-and-conditions/written-statement-of-employment-particulars, no publication date shown on the page, read 14 September 2026: the day-one principal statement list, the day-one information on sick pay, other paid leave and notice, the two-month wider statement, the "reasonable access" condition, and the one-month rule for changes. Shaped steps 1, 2 and 9 and check 1.
- Acas, "Discipline and grievances at work: the Acas guide", July 2020, https://www.acas.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-08/discipline-and-grievances-at-work-the-acas-guide.pdf, read 14 September 2026: what rules usually cover, the instruction to consult before issuing, the non-discrimination list, the passage on employees with limited English or reading ability, and the advice on giving a printed copy or displaying rules prominently in a small organisation. Shaped steps 3, 5, 8 and 9.
- Acas, "Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures", https://www.acas.org.uk/acas-code-of-practice-on-disciplinary-and-grievance-procedures/html, in effect from 11 March 2015 as stated in its foreword, read 14 September 2026: paragraph 2 on rules being written, specific, clear and findable, and paragraph 24 on gross misconduct examples that vary with what the organisation does. Shaped steps 3 and 4.
- GOV.UK, "Rest breaks at work", https://www.gov.uk/rest-breaks-work, no publication date shown on the page, read 14 September 2026: the 20 minute uninterrupted break after more than 6 hours, and the point that it does not have to be paid and depends on the contract. Shaped step 6 and check 3.
- GOV.UK, "Night working hours", https://www.gov.uk/night-working-hours, no publication date shown on the page, read 14 September 2026: the 11pm to 6am night period and the written agreement needed to change it, the 8 hour average limit, the two-year record duty, the 16 and 17 year old restrictions with the hotel and catering exception, and the rule against discriminating over night work. Shaped step 6 and check 3.
- Information Commissioner's Office, "Collecting and keeping employment records", https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/employment/employment-practices-and-data-protection-keeping-employment-records/collecting-and-keeping-employment-records, no publication date shown on the page, read 14 September 2026: the privacy information that must be given to workers, the naming of a worker handbook as a place to give it, the plain-language requirement, and the subject access right. Shaped step 7.

# Staff handbook builder for a UK hospitality business

## You are given
Whatever rules the owner already has, in any state: an old contract template, a photo of a laminated sheet, notes, WhatsApp messages, or nothing but a spoken description. Plus the business name, the job titles on the team, the languages spoken by staff, whether anyone is aged 16 or 17, and whether the 20 minute break after more than 6 hours is paid or unpaid here.

## Produce
A folder `team-handbook-out/` containing exactly:

1. `handbook.md` and `handbook.html` - the same handbook, the HTML printable on A4 with a version number and date in the footer of every page. Section 0 states in one line that this is not the employment contract. Sections cover, in this order: how we work here, timekeeping, absence and sickness, breaks and night work, tips and service charge, staff food and drink, phones, allergens, keys and cash, uniform and appearance, discrimination bullying and harassment, health and safety, social media, disciplinary and grievance, and privacy.
2. `sections.csv` - columns: `section_no, section_title, category, source, plain_summary, longest_sentence_words, adviser_check_needed`. `category` is one of STATUTORY, CONTRACTUAL, HOUSE.
3. `acknowledgement-sheet.csv` - columns: `staff_name, job_title, handbook_version, date_issued, language_read, read_aloud_by, date_signed, signature`. One row per named team member, signature column left blank for wet signing.
4. `day-one-checklist.csv` - columns: `item, required_by, where_it_lives, given_yes_no, date_given`. One row for each item a UK employer must give on day one: employer name, employee name and job title and start date, pay amount and frequency, hours and days and how they vary, holiday entitlement, workplace, expected length of job, probation length and conditions, other benefits, obligatory training, sick pay and procedures, other paid leave, notice periods.
5. `OPEN-QUESTIONS.txt` - every fact you could not get from the owner, one per line.

## Rules
- British English. No em dash characters. No emoji. Use "£" and DD Month YYYY dates.
- No sentence over 25 words anywhere in the handbook. One rule per line.
- Never invent a rule, a figure, a rate or a policy. If the owner did not state it, it goes in `OPEN-QUESTIONS.txt` and the handbook shows `[TO CONFIRM]` in its place.
- Gross misconduct examples must come from this business. Minimum four, each one line, followed by a line saying each case depends on its circumstances.
- Never state a legal position. Every file ends with: this is a working document for the owner's HR adviser or solicitor to check before it is issued.

## Return
The folder path, the file list with row counts for each CSV, the handbook version string, the number of `[TO CONFIRM]` placeholders left, and the longest sentence found with its word count.