One handbook for everyone, covering terms of employment, time off, wellbeing, company policies and procedures, plus the part each person plays in the management system.

Effective Staff Handbooks

This staff handbook is supplied in fully editable MS Word format and can be easily customised and edited. The document uses pre-defined style formatting throughout, with all text in Calibri font for improved readability.
The following document labelling is included in the footer:

• Handbook number and title
• Information-classification
• Version
• Page number / total pages

alphaZ documents - beautifully designed, tried and tested staff handbooks. No junk, jargon or unnecessary content. Simple and usable staff handbooks developed over 25 years through practical use in the real world.

Further Reading

Further guidance on managing staff:

• Induction of New Starters
• Awareness of the Management System
• Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures
• Managing Staff and Workers knowledge base

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How to Download

To get access to this file please click on Add to Cart to purchase for immediate download. If you have an alphaZ Subscription just click on Download Files to view all the files available to download. This handbook is also included in the ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 27001, ISO 22301 and ISO 37001 toolkits, including the integrated toolkits that combine them, so the toolkit route gives you this file plus everything else you need in one download.

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If you'd like hands-on help setting up your management system and staff documents, our remote support services provide direct expert input from our team, by the day, by project, or on an ongoing basis.

General Staff Handbook Template

The General Staff Handbook is a Word template that brings your employment terms, rules and procedures together with your management system in one handbook for staff. It covers terms of employment, time off, health and wellbeing, training and appraisal, summaries of company policies, the grievance and disciplinary procedures and leaving the company, followed by a full section on the management system.

The management system part explains each person's role in it, then sets out the staff rules for quality, health and safety, environment, information security and anti-bribery, with references to the IMS1 manual. Its awareness points follow clause 7.3 of the ISO standards, including quality culture and ethical behaviour.

What's Included in this Handbook

• Welcome, How to Use this Handbook and Key Contacts - how the handbook relates to the contract of employment, and a contacts table for roles from human resources and the IMS Lead to data protection, reporting sexual harassment and the anti-bribery function
• Terms of Employment - recruitment and pre-employment checks, contract and probation, induction, hours of work, flexible, hybrid and home working, appearance and conduct, pay and expenses, company equipment and systems including the use of AI, and confidentiality
• Time Off Work - holidays, sickness absence and return to work, and other time off including medical appointments, family leave and compassionate leave
• Health and Wellbeing - mental health, wellbeing and stress, health conditions and reasonable adjustments, and new and expectant mothers
• Training and Appraisal - competence and training, the annual review and sharing knowledge
• Company Policies - summaries of equal opportunities, bullying and harassment, sexual harassment, whistleblowing, anti-bribery, drugs and alcohol, smoking and vaping, social media, vehicles and driving, lone working, data protection and cyber security, each naming the full policy
• Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures - informal and formal grievance stages with appeal, and the disciplinary procedure from informal action through investigation, hearing, warning stages and gross misconduct to appeals
• Leaving the Company - notice, handover, return of company property, exit interview and references
• Our Management System - your part in the management system, responsibilities and objectives, quality culture, reporting problems, communication, risk assessments, emergencies and disruption, and audits and management review
• Quality, Health and Safety, Environment, Information Security and Anti-Bribery - the staff rules for ISO 9001, ISO 45001, ISO 14001, ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO 37001

Built for Staff Awareness

• Covers the awareness points of clause 7.3: policies, objectives, how each person contributes, what happens if the requirements are not followed, and quality culture and ethical behaviour
• Names the full policy behind each policy summary, so staff know where to find it
• Square-bracketed prompts for contacts, warning periods and other company details
• Lets you delete any ISO standard your management system does not cover

Who Needs a General Staff Handbook?

Any employer that wants one handbook covering both employment matters and the management system, rather than a separate employee handbook and management system briefing. It suits small and medium-sized businesses with an integrated management system covering one or more ISO standards, and gives new starters a single document to read at induction.

Included in the ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 27001, ISO 22301 and ISO 37001 Toolkits

This handbook is part of the ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 27001, ISO 22301 and ISO 37001 toolkits, including the integrated toolkits that combine them.

Using the Handbook

Complete the key contacts and the bracketed periods for warnings and appeals, delete any standard or section that does not apply, and check the handbook against your contracts of employment. Issue it at induction and record it with F-Q4 Staff Induction Record. F-Q6 Staff Annual Review supports the annual review and F-Q20 Staff Leaving Checklist the steps when someone leaves.

Policies Named in the Handbook

Each policy summary names the full policy, including P-14 Whistleblowing Policy, P-10 Anti Bribery and Corruption Policy and P-25 Data Protection Policy. The health and safety, environment and information security sections are also available as separate handbooks: OHS1-1 Health and Safety Staff Handbook, ENV1-1 Environmental Staff Handbook and INF1-1 Information Security Staff Handbook.