Staff handbook for a hospitality business

Hospitality has rules of its own on top of the ordinary employment law: a written tips policy that the tips Act requires, licensing conditions that staff must observe, food safety procedures that the handbook should carry, cash and stock controls with deductions limited by the minimum wage, and rotas that are about to be regulated. The handbook has to put the sector's rules alongside the core policies in a form that shift staff will read and managers will apply. I draft that handbook for the employer for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Restaurants, bars, pubs, hotels, cafes and catering businesses in England and Wales employing front of house, bar, kitchen and housekeeping staff, with or without an existing handbook.

What matters in a hospitality handbook

Tips, service charges and the written policy the law requires

The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 requires an employer that receives tips more than occasionally to have a written policy on how they are allocated, made available to staff, with tips passed on in full by the end of the following month, allocated fairly (by reference to the statutory code of practice), and recorded so that workers can request the records; the handbook should contain the tips policy, say how card tips and service charges are allocated between front of house and kitchen, how a tronc operates where there is one, and that tips are not used to make up the minimum wage or to cover shortages.

Rotas, shift changes and the notice staff are entitled to

The handbook should set the rota policy (publication in advance, the notice for changes and cancellations, swaps, the handling of split shifts and double shifts, rest breaks and daily and weekly rest under the Working Time Regulations 1998, the forty-eight hour opt-out signed separately and never required), and should anticipate the rights the Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces to reasonable notice of shifts, payment for shifts cancelled or curtailed at short notice, and guaranteed hours for zero and low-hours workers, on a timetable the regulations set; a hospitality handbook drafted now should be written to those expectations.

Cash, stock and the deductions that are lawful

The handbook should contain the cash handling and till procedures, stock controls and wastage recording, the policy on staff meals and drinks, and the deductions policy: deductions for shortages, breakages and walk-outs only with the written consent section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 requires, never from tips, and never below the minimum wage because deductions for items the employer requires reduce pay under the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015; a handbook that authorises deducting walk-outs from the server's wages is the breach the policy should prevent.

Alcohol, licensing and conduct with customers

The handbook should set the licensing rules staff must follow under the Licensing Act 2003 and the premises licence conditions (age verification, refusal of service to drunk customers, the designated premises supervisor's authority, the hours), the position of staff under eighteen, the conduct expected with customers, the handling of complaints and incidents, the policy on drinking on duty, and the duty to prevent sexual harassment of staff by customers under the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, with the right to refuse service to abusive customers and the support the employer provides; the premises licence is the business, and the handbook is how staff are told what protects it.

Food safety, allergens and hygiene in the handbook

The handbook should refer to the food safety management system and require compliance with the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 and the allergen information requirements of the Food Information Regulations 2014, with the reporting of illness and fitness to work, personal hygiene, uniform and jewellery rules in food areas, and the training staff must complete, so that the food safety procedures sit alongside the employment policies rather than in a separate folder nobody reads; the environmental health officer will ask to see both.

Uniforms, appearance, breaks and the policies staff ask about

The handbook should state what uniform the employer provides and the rules on appearance drafted within the Equality Act 2010, the break policy and where breaks are taken, the policy on mobile phones on shift, holiday booking around trading peaks with the notice regulation 15 of the Working Time Regulations 1998 requires, sickness reporting for shift staff, accommodation where provided and the offset, and the core policies (disciplinary and grievance under the Acas Code, equal opportunities, data protection, health and safety under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 for kitchens and bars) in a form shift staff will read, with the handbook non-contractual and acknowledged on issue.

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

Do we have to have a written tips policy?

A written policy is required where tips are received more than occasionally, available to staff, with fair allocation and records. The handbook contains it.

Can we deduct walk-outs from staff pay?

Only with written consent and never below the minimum wage, and never from tips. The policy sets what is lawful, which is less than many hospitality businesses assume.

Does the handbook need to cover food safety?

It should refer to the food safety system and carry the hygiene, fitness-to-work and allergen rules staff must follow, so that the environmental health officer sees one set of procedures staff have signed for.

Related guidance and services

• Employment contracts and handbooks, £995, the service this page describes
• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595
• Employment contract for restaurant and hospitality staff

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.