01
The handbook
The short version staff actually read: how things work here, what we expect, and where to find the full rules.
Guide · Employee handbook
Building an employee handbook for an Australian workplace
An employee handbook template for Australian employers: what usually goes in a staff handbook, and how to put one together from the policy templates in our Workplace Policy Pack.
02
The policies
The full rules behind each part of the handbook. A handbook that tries to hold them all gets long, and then nobody reads it.
03
The sign-off
A signed acknowledgement for each person, so you can show they were given the handbook and the policies.
04
The upkeep
One register of what is in force, and a review every year or after a serious incident or a change in the law.
What usually goes in an employee handbook
Each part of the handbook can be a few plain sentences, with a pointer to the full policy. These are the sections most Australian handbooks cover, and the Policy Pack templates that sit behind each one.
Welcome
What the organisation does, how the place runs day to day, and who to go to for what. You write this part yourself, in your own words. One or two pages is plenty.
Types of work
Full-time, part-time and casual work, and how probation runs. In the Policy Pack: 24 Probation; 30 Casual Employment and Conversion.
Hours
Ordinary hours, rosters, breaks, overtime, contact out of hours and flexible work. In the Policy Pack: 31 Hours of Work, Rostering and Overtime; 32 Right to Disconnect; 33 Flexible Work and Hybrid Working.
Leave
How to ask for leave, and the types of leave people can take. In the Policy Pack: 34 Leave; 35 Parental Leave; 06 Domestic and Family Violence Support.
Pay and super
Pay cycles, payslips, superannuation, and what happens if a pay mistake is found. In the Policy Pack: 37 Pay, Superannuation and Wage Compliance.
Conduct
How people are expected to treat each other, and what isn’t accepted. In the Policy Pack: 01 Code of Conduct; 02 Equal Opportunity and Anti-Discrimination; 03 Workplace Bullying Prevention; 04 Sexual Harassment Prevention and Respect at Work.
Safety
Everyone’s part in keeping the workplace safe, and how to report a hazard or an incident. In the Policy Pack: 11 Work Health and Safety; 17 Incident, Hazard and Near-Miss Reporting.
Privacy and technology
How personal information is handled, and the rules for devices, accounts and social media. In the Policy Pack: 38 Privacy; 40 Acceptable Use of Technology; 41 Social Media.
Problems at work
How to raise a concern, and how alleged misconduct is dealt with. In the Policy Pack: 07 Grievance and Dispute Resolution; 27 Disciplinary Action.
Leaving
Resigning, notice and the exit process. In the Policy Pack: 28 Ending Employment.
Sign-off
A page each person signs to say they were given the handbook and the policies behind it. In the Policy Pack: the one-page staff acknowledgement form.
Putting it together from the Policy Pack
- Write down the modern award or enterprise agreement that covers your people. A policy can’t give less than that, or less than the National Employment Standards.
- Write the welcome section yourself.
- Fill in the square brackets in the 13 policies the pack’s guide suggests a small business adopts first.
- For each section of the handbook, write two or three sentences in your own words and point to the full policy.
- Before you publish, get legal advice on the higher-risk policies: Respect at Work, WHS, surveillance, any drug testing, casual conversion, redundancy, whistleblowing, and child safety if children are part of your work.
- Hand the handbook out at induction. Every new employee must also be given the Fair Work Information Statement, and new casual employees the Casual Employment Information Statement too.
- Collect the signed acknowledgements and keep them with the policy register.
- Diary a review in 12 months.
What we sell
We don’t sell a single handbook file. The Workplace Policy Pack ($199) gives you the 50 policy templates, a 5-page guide, a policy register and a staff acknowledgement form, which is everything above except the welcome section. The Policies and Forms Bundle ($249) adds the 32 matching forms, such as the leave application, timesheet and grievance form.
If you’d rather we wrote it with you, our policies & procedures service writes policies and staff handbooks for your organisation. A single policy starts at $490, and packs are quoted.
We supply these files as templates, not legal advice.