Staff handbook for a business with five employees

A business with five employees does not need a seventy-page handbook, but it does need a few policies the law expects to exist by then (a written health and safety policy, identified disciplinary and grievance procedures, a way of handling personal data) and a few more that save the owner from making it up when something goes wrong. The handbook has to contain what the law requires, what a small business needs, nothing it will not follow, and a statement that it is not part of the contract. I draft that handbook for the employer for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Owners of small businesses in England and Wales with a few employees, from a shop or a practice to a start-up making its first hires, who want the policies in one short document.

What matters in a small business handbook

The policies the law requires at five employees

An employer with five or more employees must have a written health and safety policy under section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and bring it to the staff's attention; every employer must identify in the written particulars under section 3 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 the disciplinary rules and the disciplinary and grievance procedures that apply, which may be in a reasonably accessible document such as the handbook; every employer processing staff data must comply with the UK GDPR and give staff a privacy notice; and every employer must have the arrangements the duty to prevent sexual harassment under the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 requires; the handbook contains each, which is most of what a small business needs.

The policies worth having at any size

Beyond the required ones, a small business benefits from a short absence and sickness policy (reporting, fit notes, return to work), a holiday policy (the holiday year, requests, carry-over, bank holidays), an equal opportunities and anti-harassment policy that satisfies the Equality Act 2010 and the 2023 duty, an IT and social media policy (what staff may do on the business's systems and say about it online), an expenses policy, and a flexible working policy reflecting the right from the first day under section 80F of the Employment Rights Act 1996; each can be a page, and the handbook should contain nothing the owner will not apply.

Keeping the handbook non-contractual and why it matters

The handbook should state that its policies are not part of the employment contract (except where the contract says a policy is contractual), that the employer may change them, and that they are guidance on how the business operates; a contractual handbook gives staff a claim for breach when the employer departs from a procedure and requires agreement to change, while a non-contractual one can be updated as the law changes, which it will; the contract and the handbook should cross-refer consistently, with the contract stating the terms (pay, hours, holiday entitlement) and the handbook the process (how to book holiday).

The Acas Code and the procedures the contract must identify

The disciplinary and grievance procedures should follow the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures, because a tribunal can adjust compensation by up to a quarter for an unreasonable failure to follow it under section 207A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, and should provide for the right to be accompanied under section 10 of the Employment Relations Act 1999; in a business of five the procedures should be written for a business of five, with the owner conducting hearings and an alternative decision-maker identified for appeals where one exists, rather than copied from a corporate template with committees the business does not have.

Data protection for a workforce of five

The handbook should contain a data protection policy for staff (how they must handle customer and colleague data, security, breach reporting) and should be accompanied by a staff privacy notice explaining what the business does with employees' own data under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, including monitoring of email and systems where the business does it; the business should be registered with the Information Commissioner's Office where the fee applies, and the handbook should name the person responsible for data protection even where that person is the owner.

Keeping a short handbook current

A short handbook is easier to keep current than a long one, and the handbook should be dated, reviewed when the law changes (the Employment Rights Act 2025 provisions on sick pay, family leave, unfair dismissal and zero-hours workers come in on a timetable the regulations set, and the handbook should track them), reissued with the changes identified, and acknowledged by staff on issue and on each update; a handbook nobody has read since the business had three employees is evidence against the employer in the dispute it was meant to prevent.

What it costs

Staff handbook and core policies, £995. Five working days.

Employment contract, £595. One template you can reuse for a grade of staff. Five working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the employment contracts and handbooks page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A bespoke contract drafted for how you employ people
• Restrictive covenants drafted at a scope a court will uphold
• Confidentiality and intellectual property provisions that put ownership where it belongs
• The statutory particulars, so the document does the job section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 requires it to do
• Flexibility clauses where you genuinely need them, drafted to survive challenge
• Core policies: disciplinary, grievance, sickness absence, equal opportunities, data protection and, increasingly, AI use
• One round of amendments

What is not included

• Acting for employees
• Employment tribunal representation
• Payroll, pensions auto-enrolment and tax
• Immigration and sponsor licence work
• Day to day HR handling, disciplinaries, grievances and redundancy processes

Questions I am often asked

We have four staff. Do we need a handbook at all?

You need identified disciplinary and grievance procedures, a privacy notice and harassment arrangements at any size, and a written health and safety policy from five employees. A short handbook holds all of them in one place.

Should the handbook be part of the contract?

It should not be, except for any policy the contract expressly makes contractual. A non-contractual handbook can be updated as the law changes without renegotiating every term.

Can we use a handbook we found online?

The risk is a corporate template with procedures a small business cannot follow, which a tribunal will hold against you. The handbook is drafted for the business's size and for what the owner will apply.

Related guidance and services

• Employment contracts and handbooks, £995, the service this page describes
• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595
• Staff handbook for a business with twenty employees
• Employment contract for your first employee

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: October 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.