A plain-English guide for employers on staff handbooks. It outlines key rules, common risks and typical steps so you can understand the issues before deciding what to do next.

A staff handbook gathers your workplace policies in one place and should be issued to all staff. Keep it non-contractual, align it with your contracts of employment , and make sure it follows the ACAS Code for disciplinary and grievances. Roll it out, train managers, and review it at least annually.

Key takeaways

• Use the handbook to set clear rules and standards, but keep it non-contractual unless you deliberately decide otherwise.

• Make sure disciplinary and grievance procedures reflect the ACAS Code to help avoid employment tribunal uplifts.

• Signpost statutory rights (for example holiday and family leave).

• Issue the latest version to everyone, get acknowledgements, and train managers to follow it.

• Schedule an annual review or a review after major legal changes.

What is a staff handbook — and how is it different from the contract?

Your employment contract is the legally binding agreement that sets out the contractual terms and conditions between you and your employees. The staff handbook is a practical guide to your policies, procedures and standards. Most employers keep the handbook non-contractual so policies can be updated without the need to vary contracts of employment.

Occasionally, wording or practice can make a policy contractual. To reduce risk, say clearly at the front of the handbook that it’s non-contractual (unless you choose specific policies to be contractual) and keep a clean version-control trail.

Legal duties and key frameworks for employers

Employment Rights Act 1996 (section 1): written particulars

You must give workers a ‘written statement of employment particulars’ on or before day one. Your handbook should complement, not contradict, those particulars. Avoid duplicating essential terms in both places as it creates version-control risk. We advise you issue contracts of employment that protect your business, rather than just comply with section 1 ERA as this is designed for employees’ protection. 

ACAS Code of Practice: disciplinary and grievance

Your disciplinary and grievance procedures should follow the ACAS Code. If a case goes to an employment tribunal, any compensatory award can be adjusted by up to 25% you (or the employee) fails to follow the ACAS Code. Make sure your step-by-step process, time limits and right of appeal are clear.

The ACAS Code combines issues of misconduct and poor performance (capability) in the disciplinary part. However, we advocate having a separate policy dealing with poor performance, as often the issues are different to misconduct and require a different approach to be seen as treadling employees fairly.

Equality Act 2010: equality, harassment and reasonable adjustments

Include a clear equality, diversity and inclusion policy, anti-harassment statement and routes to raise concerns. Make managers responsible for identifying and preventing discrimination and for handling complaints promptly, fairly and in line with policy.

Family friendly policies and statutory time off: set rules clearly

Explain how statutory time off (maternity, adoption etc) works and the process to follow. These rules are complex and overlap, so ensure each type of leave is explained and the policies are kept up to date as the law changes, which it often does in this area, such as, the introduction of cares leave and ne-natal leave. 

GDPR and personal data: employee data and monitoring

Link to your employee privacy notice and monitoring policy (for example, email and internet). Be transparent about what you monitor, why, and the lawful basis. Make it easy for staff to find who to contact with concerns.

Set out your rules relating to the use of personal data to show compliance with GDPR.

Process you must follow to create or update a handbook

1. Decide scope and status: confirm which policies are non-contractual and whether any will be contractual by choice.

2. Map legal touchpoints: align with section 1 particulars, the ACAS Code, equality duties and your privacy notice.

3. Draft core policies: discipline, grievance, poor performance, whistleblowing, attendance/fitness for work, family leave, equality/anti-harassment, recruitment, Information (IT, social media), AI, expenses and adverse weather.

4. Check for conflicts: compare every policy against the contract and each other to remove inconsistent rules.

5. Equality and accessibility check: plain language, readable layout, and reasonable adjustments for disabled staff.

6. Consult and sense-check: involve HR, managers and, where relevant, staff representatives or your legal team.

7. Rollout and training: publish the latest version, record acknowledgements, train managers on what ‘good’ looks like.

8. Review and version control: schedule an annual review and update quickly after legal changes or organisational shifts.

Common pitfalls for employers

• Accidentally making the handbook contractual with phrases like “this forms part of your contract”.

• Copy-pasting from templates so policies clash with your contracts or with each other, or are not suitable for your business.

• Not following your own procedures, exposing the business to unfair-dismissal or discrimination risk.

• Letting versions drift: some teams use old PDFs while HR updates the intranet.

• Gaps on modern work patterns (remote, hybrid, flexible hours, AI) and on monitoring transparency.

Two short examples

Sick pay confusion: An employer stated in the contract but not in the handbook that there was no contractual sick pay. The handbook referred to contractual sick pay. Managers thought there was such a benefit and told staff accordingly. After a complaint, HR aligned the handbook with the contract and set a clear contractual rules regarding sick pay.

Grievance uplift: A grievance appeal stage was missing and timescales were vague. An employee later claimed unfair dismissal. Because the employer’s procedure departed from the ACAS Code, the employment tribunal uplifted compensation. Afterwards the employer rebuilt the procedure with clear steps, time limits and an appeal stage.

FAQs for employers

Do we have to have a staff handbook by law?

There’s no single law mandating a handbook, but some procedures and information are strongly expected in practice. A clear, accessible handbook reduces risk and helps you evidence fair process. You are legally required to have and make available disciplinary and grievance procedures.

Are handbook policies contractual?

Not by default. Keep the handbook non-contractual unless you intentionally want to make a specific policy contractual. Say so on the front page and avoid ‘contract-sounding’ wording.

How often should we review it?

Annually as a minimum, and whenever there’s a material legal or business change.

Do employees need to sign it?

Get acknowledgment of receipt and updates. It’s not a legal requirement in itself, but it helps you prove communication and training.

Can we host it online only?

Yes, if every worker can access it easily. Provide printed or accessible formats where needed.

What should we train managers on?

How to run disciplinaries, manage poor performance and handle grievances; all under the ACAS Code. Absence management, equality/harassment handling, data and monitoring rules, and when to escalate to HR/legal. All employees should receive DE&I training.

When to get advice and what to do next

1. Audit your current handbook against your contracts and the ACAS Code.

2. Decide non-contractual vs contractual status and fix the front-page wording.

3. Update priority policies (discipline, grievance, poor performance, equality, absence, GDPR, IT and AI).

4. Roll out with manager training and acknowledgements, then set your next review date.

Speak to our team about staff handbooks.

0800 915 7777 or hello@kilgannonlaw.co.uk

This page provides general information only, based on UK employment law as at the date of publication. It is not legal advice and must not be relied on as such. Outcomes depend on your circumstances. Reading this page or contacting us does not create a solicitor-client relationship. Please do not include confidential information in your first message.