A staff handbook is one of the most important communication tools a company has to help manage its employees. All employers need a range of carefully drafted policies to ensure employees understand how they are expected to conduct themselves at work and the sanctions that can be imposed if they fall foul of your rules.

It may seem daunting or even excessive to establish formal boundaries and state your company's commitment to the fair and consistent treatment of all employees if you have only a few members of staff; but if brought before a tribunal, you will need to demonstrate that you took all possible steps to prevent problems arising, and dealt with employment issues in a professional and consistent manner. Written policies which are correctly enforced will help reduce the likelihood of a disgruntled employee successfully bringing a tribunal claim against you.

Written guidelines on equal opportunities, drug and alcohol restrictions and workable procedures for dealing with maternity, paternity and adoption rights should be key elements in every staff handbook. Additionally, no company should risk employing staff without investing in well drafted disciplinary and grievance policies. Following the introduction of the statutory dispute and disciplinary procedures back in 2004, failing to set out what constitutes an act of misconduct or dispensing with the three step procedure when disciplining staff could see any compensatory award for unfair dismissal increased by 50%.

By combining all the necessary policies and procedures your company needs into a staff handbook, you will be providing each employee with an authoritative and comprehensive reference tool, capable of answering many of their common enquiries. But most important of all, you will help to ensure that everybody fully understands their responsibilities.