What goes in an employee handbook

A handbook has two jobs. It tells people what to expect, and it shows that you told them. A long one does neither, because nobody reads it.

This is an outline of what handbooks usually contain. It is not legal advice. What you must include depends on where you are and how big you are, so have the final wording checked by someone qualified.

Start with a page of welcome

Say why people work here and what the handbook is for, in your own voice. Add your mission and a few values in a line each. One page. It sets the tone for everything that follows.

The practical pages

• Working here. Standard hours, breaks, pay days, how people record their time, remote or flexible work, and the holidays you observe.
• Time off. Vacation, sick leave, family and medical leave, and anything else the law or your policy provides. Say how to ask and who to tell.
• Pay and benefits. What is offered, when it starts and how to enroll. Name a person to ask.
• How we treat each other. Respect, safety, confidentiality, conflicts of interest. State clearly how to report a concern, to whom, and that raising one will not be held against anyone.

End with an acknowledgment

A closing page where the reader confirms they received and read it. It should say the handbook describes expectations, is not a contract and may be updated. Wording matters here, so this is the page to have reviewed.

Keep it short on purpose

• Link to detail instead of pasting it. A benefits plan document belongs in its own place. Link to it from the page.
• Write for someone on their first day. Short sentences, plain words, no clauses that only a lawyer would write.
• Put dates on it. "Effective January 1, 2027, version 1.0" tells people which handbook this is.

Publishing it as a flipbook

A flipbook gives the handbook one link that is always current. When a policy changes, update the flipbook and publish a new version. The link stays the same, so there is no old copy to chase.

Switch on Read and acknowledge and each reader confirms with their name and email. You see who has confirmed, and when. The rest of the time readers are not tracked.

There is an employee handbook template in the Studio with every page above as an outline. Replace the placeholder text, delete what does not apply, and check it against what applies to you before you publish.