Employee Handbook (US)
Comprehensive employee handbook template for United States jurisdictions with state-specific supplements.
EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK
United States
Note: This Handbook is a set of workplace policies. It is not an employment contract, and it does not set compensation, equity, benefit levels or restrictive covenants: those live in the offer letter, the plan documents and the confidentiality and invention assignment agreement. Each Section is written to stand alone so that any single policy can be published on its own, and Section 1.5 sets out what has to travel with an extract. Complete every yellow field, choose one Option in each Option block and delete the others, then complete Exhibit A. Exhibit B lists the topics on which a state supplement is required before rollout. Federal law is the floor throughout: state and local law is frequently more generous and sometimes prescribes the exact wording, so complete Exhibit B before this Handbook is issued to anyone.
1. ABOUT THIS HANDBOOK
1.1 Purpose. This Handbook describes how [full legal name of the company] (the "Company") operates and what it expects of employees. It applies to all employees in the United States.
1.2 Not a contract. This Handbook is not a contract of employment, express or implied. It does not guarantee employment for any period, and it does not create any contractual right to any procedure, benefit or payment. Except for the at-will statement in Section 2.1, which may be changed only in a signed writing as described there, the Company may amend, suspend or withdraw any part of this Handbook at any time. Where this Handbook conflicts with a signed agreement between you and the Company, or with a benefit plan document, that agreement or plan document controls.
Note: The carve-out for the at-will statement is the point of this paragraph. A handbook that reserves the right to change everything, including at-will status, undercuts the at-will provision it is trying to protect. Reserve broad amendment rights over the policies and a narrow, signature-controlled route for changing at-will status. Note also that Montana operates differently: see Section 2.2, where a written personnel policy is not just evidence, it is a source of enforceable obligation.
1.3 Who is covered. This Handbook applies to employees. Independent contractors, consultants and agency personnel are not employees of the Company and are covered only by Sections 4, 10, 11, 12 and 13, and by the terms of their own agreements.
1.4 Version control. The version, effective date, owner and next review date for this Handbook are recorded in Exhibit A. Superseded versions are archived and retained.
1.5 Publishing a Section as a standalone policy. Any Section may be issued on its own. If it is, the extract must carry with it:
(a) the not-a-contract statement in Section 1.2;
(b) the protected rights statement in Section 16;
(c) the version, owner and effective date from Exhibit A; and
(d) any state supplement from Exhibit B that applies to the subject matter of the extract.
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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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