Building an Employee Handbook from Scratch
An employee handbook is the single document that answers "how do things work here?", working hours, leave, conduct, pay schedules, who to talk to about what. M
Read guide →Hiring, onboarding, performance, warnings, leave and everything people-related, practical guidance and templates for managing employees fairly and consistently.
13 guides · 33 templates
An employee handbook is the single document that answers "how do things work here?", working hours, leave, conduct, pay schedules, who to talk to about what. M
Read guide →When someone leaves, resignation, parental leave, internal transfer, long sick leave, their undocumented knowledge walks out with them. The passwords in their
Read guide →Leave administration sounds trivial until it isn't: the team that's always short-staffed in August, the employee who "didn't know" they were out of days, the ma
Read guide →A warning letter is the most consequential document most managers will ever write. Done right, it's a clear, fair record that gives an employee a genuine chance
Read guide →Training records are the unglamorous backbone of workforce competence. When a regulator asks who was trained on the new safety procedure, when a client wants ev
Read guide →A bad first week is expensive. The new hire is deciding whether they made the right choice, their team is deciding whether the hire was a good one, and every da
Read guide →Performance reviews have a bad reputation because most of them are bad: a rushed form filled in the night before, a vague conversation, and a rating nobody beli
Read guide →The probation period is the only time in employment where both sides can walk away relatively easily, and the only time you get a structured excuse to ask "is
Read guide →Someone is leaving. Whether they're resigning, retiring, or being made redundant, they know things about your company right now that nobody else will tell you,
Read guide →Remote work fails not because people can't work from home, but because nobody agreed on what "working from home" actually means. Is 9-to-5 expected or is it out
Read guide →A job description does three jobs: it attracts the right candidates, it sets expectations for the person you hire, and it protects you if the role ever becomes
Read guide →A probation period is the trial phase at the start of employment, a defined window, usually three to six months, during which both the employer and the employe
Read guide →Few things make managers more uncomfortable than disciplining an employee. Most small-business owners either avoid it until a problem becomes unbearable, or han
Read guide →Ready-to-use documents from the Human Resources template collection.
A checklist covering everything a new starter needs in their first week.
View template →A structured template for writing clear, consistent job descriptions.
View template →A form for handing over a role cleanly when someone leaves or changes jobs.
View template →A structured form for regular employee performance reviews.
View template →A form for requesting, approving, and recording employee leave.
View template →A monthly attendance grid for recording employee attendance and leave.
View template →A formal template for written warnings about conduct or performance.
View template →A structured form for exit interviews with departing employees.
View template →A sheet for tracking training completed by each employee.
View template →A form for reviewing a new employee at the end of probation.
View template →An agreement template setting out remote working arrangements.
View template →Give employees a clear, confidential way to raise formal workplace complaints.
View template →Handle formal requests to change working patterns with a decision trail.
View template →Request a structured employment reference from a candidate's former employer.
View template →Provide fair, factual references with a built-in legal-safety note.
View template →Hold supportive post-absence conversations and record agreed adjustments.
View template →Explain how staff can report wrongdoing and the protection they receive.
View template →Record employees and their leave in one place, with working days calculated automatically and balances by employee and leave type. Excel workbook.
View template →A form capturing an employee's personal, contact, emergency-contact, bank, education and employment details.
View template →A form for job candidates to apply for a role, covering personal details, education, work history, skills and references.
View template →Score and shortlist CVs against weighted criteria, with an overall score and a shortlist decision. Word and Excel.
View template →Score job candidates at interview against weighted competencies, with an overall rating and a hire recommendation. Word and Excel.
View template →A letter offering a job to a candidate, setting out the role, salary, start date and terms.
View template →A full employment contract covering role, pay, leave, probation, notice, termination, confidentiality and data protection.
View template →A complete staff handbook covering employment basics, pay, leave, conduct, safety, grievance, discipline and leaving.
View template →A letter confirming an employee's promotion, with the new role, salary, effective date and changed terms.
View template →A letter confirming a salary change, with the current and new salary, effective date and reason.
View template →A letter for an employee to resign, giving notice, a last working day and a handover offer.
View template →An exit clearance form with department sign-offs, assets returned and dues settled.
View template →A certificate confirming an employee's role, dates of employment, conduct and performance.
View template →A form to request new staff or headcount, with the role, reason, requirements and approvals.
View template →A running record of disciplinary matters, with incidents, hearings, sanctions and outcomes. Word and Excel.
View template →A table-based organizational chart showing the structure of a business, from the board down through department heads to each team, with a full reporting lines table for every role.
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