Hiring · Employee handbook
Employee Handbook Template & AI Generator
An employee handbook tells your team how things work: hours, time off, pay, conduct and who to ask. Describe how you work today and get an outline plus first drafts of the main sections. Anything that depends on the law where you are is marked [check: ...], not guessed.
Example
See what you get back
A sample run: A first handbook for a coffee shop with 12 staff. Your result is written for your own details.
You give it
Business
Harbor Street Coffee, a coffee shop with a small bakery
Location and team
Portland, Oregon, USA. 6 to 15 people
How you work now
Open 6:30am to 4pm, 7 days. Shifts posted in Homebase every Friday for the next 2 weeks. Paid every other Friday. Tips shared equally by hours worked...
Tone
Friendly and relaxed
Employee Handbook Generator
Turns how your team already works into a clear first staff handbook.
Employee Handbook Generator
Turns how your team already works into a clear first staff handbook.
You get back
Handbook outline
11 sections, from Welcome and How we work to Leaving the team and a sign-off page
Welcome
Welcome to Harbor Street Coffee. We are glad you are here. We are a coffee shop with a small bakery, open every day of the week...
Shifts, time off and pay
Share this✓ Swaps count once a manager approves in Homebase ✓ Paid every other Friday by direct deposit
Conduct and safety
Treat teammates with respect. Bullying, harassment and unkind jokes are not OK here...
Policies to check
✓ Minimum wage for your area of Oregon ✓ Rest and meal break rules
Read the full sample resultHide the full sample result
Handbook outline
- Welcome: who we are and how to use this handbook
- How we work: opening hours, shifts, swaps and breaks
- Time off and absence: booking time off, calling in sick, holidays
- Pay and tips: pay days, how tips are shared, overtime
- Conduct and safety: how we treat each other and guests, food safety, raising a concern
- Dress code and appearance: what to wear on shift
- Perks: free drink each shift [decide: any staff discount?]
- Phones, social media and privacy: [decide: your rules]
- Leaving the team: notice, final pay, returning keys and aprons
- Policies to check for Oregon: points to confirm with an HR or legal adviser
- Acknowledgement page: each team member signs to say they have read it
Welcome
Welcome to Harbor Street Coffee. We are glad you are here.
We are a coffee shop with a small bakery, open every day of the week. Our regulars come in early, often at the same time every day, and a good morning for them starts with us. Getting their order right and greeting them by name is a big part of the job.
This handbook explains how we work: shifts, time off, pay, tips and how we look after each other. Read it in your first week and keep it handy. If something is not covered, ask your shift manager.
[owner name]
How we work
- Opening hours: 6:30am to 4pm, 7 days a week.
- Schedules: shifts are posted in Homebase every Friday for the next 2 weeks. Check Homebase before each week starts.
- Swapping shifts: you can swap with a teammate. A manager must approve the swap in Homebase before it counts.
- Breaks: [check: rest and meal break rules for shift workers in Oregon]
- Arriving for your shift: [decide: how early to arrive and how to clock in]
- Who to ask: your shift manager is your first contact for anything on shift.
Time off and absence
- Booking time off: send your request in Homebase at least 2 weeks ahead. A manager will approve or decline it.
- When you are sick: text your shift manager before your shift starts. Do not just leave a message with a teammate.
- Paid sick time: [check: paid sick time employees earn in Oregon and how it builds up]
- Public holidays: we are open 7 days. [decide: are we open on public holidays, and is there extra pay?]
- Other leave: [check: family, medical and other protected leave that applies in Oregon]
Pay and expenses
- Pay day: every other Friday, by direct deposit.
- Tips: tips are shared equally by hours worked. [decide: how often tips are paid out, and how they show on your pay slip]
- Pay rate: set out in your offer letter. [check: current minimum wage for your area of Oregon]
- Overtime: [check: overtime rules in Oregon]
- Perks: one free drink each shift.
- Expenses: [decide: if staff ever buy supplies, how they get paid back]
Conduct and safety
- Guests: greet everyone, keep the counter clean and tell a manager about any complaint you cannot fix.
- Each other: treat teammates with respect. Bullying, harassment and unkind jokes are not OK here.
- Raising a concern: talk to your shift manager. If the concern is about them, talk to [owner name]. You will not get in trouble for raising a concern honestly.
- Food safety: [check: food handler card rules in Oregon] Wash hands often, label and date food, and follow the bakery cleaning list.
- Dress code: black tops. Aprons are provided.
- Phones: [decide: when phones can be used on shift]
- Safety: report any injury, spill or broken equipment to the shift manager straight away.
Policies to check with an HR or legal adviser
For Portland, Oregon, USA, confirm these before you share the handbook:
- Minimum wage: the current rate for your area of Oregon.
- Breaks: rest and meal break rules for your shift lengths.
- Paid sick time: how much staff earn and how they can use it.
- Tip pooling: who can share in tips, including managers.
- Scheduling rules: any notice rules for posting or changing schedules for a business your size.
- Overtime: when overtime pay starts.
- Protected leave: family, medical and other leave your team may have a right to.
- Final pay: when final pay is due when someone leaves.
This handbook is a first draft, not legal advice.
Free template
A free employee handbook template
A table of contents for a small business handbook, with a line on what each section should cover. Copy it and write each part in your own words.
[Business name] Employee Handbook
Last updated: [date] · Questions: [who to ask]
1. Welcome
Who we are, who we serve and what matters here. Keep it to a few lines from [owner name].
2. How we work
Opening hours, shifts or working hours, on-site or remote, how schedules are shared, how to swap a shift, breaks.
3. Time off and absence
How to ask for time off and how far ahead, who approves, what to do when sick and who to tell, public holidays, other leave. [check: legal minimums for leave and sick time in your location]
4. Pay and expenses
Pay day and how pay is paid, overtime, tips if any, how to claim expenses. [check: minimum wage and overtime rules in your location]
5. Benefits and perks
Only what you really offer: [staff discount], [free meals], [training], [other].
6. Conduct
How we treat customers and each other, what is not OK (bullying, harassment), dress code, phone use.
7. Health and safety
The basics for your type of work, how to report an accident or hazard, who holds the first aid kit.
8. Raising a concern
Who to talk to first, who to go to if the concern is about that person, a promise that honest concerns are welcome.
9. Privacy and equipment
Customer information, passwords, company phones and laptops, social media about work.
10. Leaving the team
Notice you ask for, final pay, returning keys, uniforms and equipment. [check: final pay rules in your location]
11. Acknowledgement
I have read this handbook. Name: [ ] · Signature: [ ] · Date: [ ]
The outline is the easy part. Describe how your team works in the tool above and it writes first drafts of each section for your business. Fill it in with AI
How it works
Three steps, about a minute
01
Describe how you work
Add your business, where you are, your team size and how things work today: hours, pay, time off and anything you already do.
02
Get a first draft
You get a handbook outline and drafts of the welcome, how we work, time off, pay, conduct and the policies to check for your location.
03
Check, decide and share
Fill each [check: ...] with an HR or legal adviser, make each [decide: ...] call, then share it with your team.
Who it is for
Who uses an employee handbook generator
Small businesses that have started hiring but have no HR team. Most rules live in the owner's head, and a handbook puts them in one place.
Restaurants and cafes
Write down shifts, swaps, tips, breaks and food safety so every new hire hears the same rules.
Clinics and salons
Explain booking rules, time off, dress code and how to handle client information.
Trades and home services
Cover start times, vans and tools, site safety and how overtime works.
Shops
Set out opening and closing duties, staff discounts and what to do about a difficult customer.
Agencies and professional firms
Explain remote work, working hours, expenses and how client work stays private.
Owners making their first hire
Start with a short handbook now, so the rules are clear before the team grows.
Guide
How to write an employee handbook for a small business
A handbook does not need to be long. It needs to answer the questions your team asks every week, and be honest about the rules you already have. Here is how to write one that people read.
1.
Start with what you already do
You already have rules, even if they are not written down. How people book time off, when they get paid, what they wear. Write those first, in plain words. A short handbook that matches how the business really runs is better than a long one copied from a big company. If a rule in the handbook is not what happens on the floor, people stop trusting the rest of it.
2.
Write it to the employee
Use "you" and "we". "Text your shift manager before your shift if you are sick" is clear. "Employees are required to notify management of absence" is not. Short sentences and lists make it easy to find an answer during a busy day.
3.
Cover the questions people ask most
Most handbook questions are about time off, pay and shifts. Put those sections near the front and make them specific: how far ahead to book, who approves, which day is pay day. A useful way to find what to include: list the questions new staff asked you in their first month.
4.
Check the legal parts for your location
Minimum wage, overtime, breaks, sick pay, holiday and final pay are set by law, and the rules change between countries and states. Do not copy a number from another handbook or the internet. Mark each one to check, and confirm it with an HR or legal adviser who knows your location. They change often, so check them again each year.
5.
Only promise what you will do
Once something is in the handbook, staff will expect it. Do not list a perk, bonus or process you are not sure you will keep. It is better to add something later than to take it away. If you are not sure yet, leave it out and add it when you have decided.
6.
Say how to raise a concern
Every handbook should say who to talk to when something is wrong, and who to go to if the problem is with that person. In a small team this is often the owner. Saying it clearly makes it more likely that problems come to you early, while they are still small.
7.
Get it signed and keep it updated
Ask each team member to sign a page saying they have read it, and keep that page on file. Put the date at the top of the handbook. When a rule changes, update the handbook and tell the team what changed. A handbook that is two years out of date can cause more problems than having none.
What a pack buys
How many runs each pack gives you
Tokens are the only thing you buy, and they work on every tool here. This is what they turn into on this one — pick a model down the side, read across to the pack.
Questions
Before you start
It is free to try. Your first handbook draft needs no account. After that, a free account gives you free tokens, with no card needed. When those run out, you can buy a token pack. There is no subscription.
No tool can promise that. The draft does not state legal minimums like wage rates or leave days unless you gave them. It marks each one [check: ...] and lists the policies to confirm with an HR or legal adviser for your location. It is a first draft, not legal advice.
Yes. Enter your country and state or province. The draft is written the same way, and the list of policies to check is for that location. The details still need checking with someone who knows the local rules.
No. It uses only what you write about how you work. Where a common policy is missing, it adds a [decide: ...] note so you can choose, instead of inventing one.
We save what you typed and the result with your run so you can see it again and so we can fix problems. We do not sell it or share it with other users. The text is sent to an AI model provider to write the handbook.
For a small team, 5 to 15 pages is usually enough. Cover what people ask about most, and leave out anything you do not really do.
What we actually do
This tool is the small version. We build the whole thing.
The employee handbook generator does one job, for free, for anyone. Our actual work is building AI systems that run inside a business — the automations, the internal tools your team uses every day, and the parts that talk to the software you already have.
Not sure what is worth automating?
Write one paragraph about your business. We read it, ask a few questions, and show you which work a computer can do for you — and which work it should not touch. Free, and there is nothing to install.
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