Employee Handbook (UK) by OLL
Comprehensive employee handbook and modular policy suite for UK-based employers
EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK (UK)
England and Wales
Employer: [full legal name of the employer]
Version: [handbook version number] Effective from: [handbook effective date]
Note: This handbook is a modular policy suite. Each Part is drafted to stand on its own so it can be published as an individual policy and updated without reopening the whole document. Delete any Part that does not apply to your organisation and renumber. Complete every yellow field and complete the Summary of Key Terms at the end.
Note: Employment law in the UK is changing substantially between now and the end of 2027 under the Employment Rights Act 2025. The Parts affected carry a note explaining what is in force now and what changes. Set a diary reminder to review this handbook in December 2026, because a significant group of changes takes effect on 1 January 2027.
1. INTRODUCTION AND STATUS OF THIS HANDBOOK
1.1 This handbook explains how we work and what we expect from each other. It applies to all employees and, where stated, to workers and contractors.
1.2 Status. Except where a policy says otherwise, this handbook is not contractual and does not form part of any contract of employment. We may amend, withdraw, or replace any policy in it at any time. Where this handbook conflicts with your contract of employment, your contract takes precedence.
1.3 Contractual entitlements. Your pay, holiday entitlement, and notice periods are contractual and are set by your contract of employment. Where Parts 3, 4, and 12 describe those entitlements, they summarise your contract for convenience and do not replace or vary it. If the summary and your contract differ, your contract applies.
Note: Keeping the handbook non-contractual is what allows policies to be updated without needing every employee's agreement. A handbook that sets out pay, holiday, or notice without distinguishing them from policy risks the whole document being treated as contractual, which removes that flexibility. Clause 1.3 draws the line: those Parts summarise the contract rather than creating the entitlement. If a policy is intended to be contractual, say so expressly in that policy, because a tribunal will look at what the document says and at how it has been applied in practice, not just at a general disclaimer.
Note: The line drawn in Clause 1.3 matters more from 1 January 2027. Under section 28 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 it becomes automatically unfair to dismiss an employee for refusing a restricted variation of their contract, and restricted variations cover pay, pensions, hours, shift timing, and time off entitlements. The exception for employers in financial difficulty is drafted narrowly and the compensatory award is uncapped. Keeping those entitlements in the contract, and this handbook in policy, means routine policy updates do not touch the terms that attract that protection.
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England & Wales note
This version is drafted for England & Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland differ on some points — for example notice periods and tribunal procedure. Tell GitLaw where you hire and it adjusts the draft.
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