It is not essential to have a staff handbook, and some organisations do only have a Contract of Employment or a Written Statement, however a handbook is a fantastic opportunity to set the standards within your business as well as your opportunity to put in place sensible protection for your business e.g. through including a frequent sickness absence policy or a customer service policy.
A good handbook will usually reflect the culture and style of the organisation, reiterating its values and beliefs. It acts a point of reference for employees on all employment issues as well as complimenting induction training and ensuring that you fulfil all the statutory requirements.
How long is a typical handbook?
We see 100's of handbooks. Some are fairly thin at around 20 A4 pages, lots come in around the 30-40 page mark whilst a few are so extensive they fill two lever arch files! It's your choice.
Would you recommend issuing the handbook to all staff once a year (or when its been updated) or just to keep it on display somewhere?
We would recommend that if you have made some major changes, then it might be sensible to reissue it to everyone and for them to sign to say they have received it. However if you are just updating a few policies with no significant impact on staff then it is fine just to tell staff the new version is on display and available for all to read.
Is everything in the handbook contractual?
No, we would recommend you make the majority of the handbook non contractual and be clear about that in the introduction, but it is sensible to make some policies contractual in which case they should be clearly marked as such.
Should we update our handbook every time there is new case law?
No, that is impractical and likely to cause greater confusion. We recommend you review and update your handbook once a year and ensure that all staff always know how to access the most current version.
How much does it cost for Jaluch to review and update a handbook?
We usually do this in conjunction with the contract as the two documents are so interlinked and costs vary from anything between 4 hours of our time to many days of our time for those who have a handbook which is 2 lever arch files long! The average though is 3-4 hours for a handbook we have worked on before, around 6-8 hours for a new handbook and around 10-15 hours to produce new documents from scratch. If you would like a quote, call us initially for our hourly rates and email or send through your documents so we can make an estimate of time. No obligation!
How do I find out more about handbooks?
Either call us (we charge advice by the 5 minutes for our 'ad hoc' clients, no lengthy contract required) or otherwise try the ACAS free employers/employees website www.acas.org.uk.
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