Employment Law Solicitor

For more information contact
Sarah Cruice
0114 253 6547 | email Sarah
View Sarah's profile

Ironmonger Curtis LLP
Registered office:
Edmund House,
233 Edmund Road,
Sheffield,
S2 4EL

0845 225 2635
0114 253 6559
info@ironmongercurtis.com

VAT number 852641622

Ironmonger Curtis LLP
SRA number 417712
Authorised and regulated by the
Solicitors Regulation Authority
Partnership number: OC310963
Members: Trevor Ironmonger, Jonathan Curtis, Simon Smith

Company handbooks

A Company Handbook is a document in which many employers set out those ‘rules’, policies and procedures which do not appear in the contract of employment. They are a good way of passing on all sorts of important information to staff about their rights, obligations and their employers expectations of them.

Examples of the types of policies / procedures contained in company handbooks are:

Disciplinary procedures
Grievance procedures
Equal opportunities
Bullying and harassment
Performance
Attendance
Long term ill health
Retirement policies
Health and safety
Smoking
Alcohol and drugs
Email and internet use
Car use policy
Maternity, paternity and adoption leave
Time off for dependents
Flexible working
Whistleblowing

Company handbooks and policies / procedures contained within them may be contractual or non-contractual, depending upon how they are worded and whether they confer any rights onto the employees.

If a document is “contractual” then it forms part of the contract of employment and cannot easily be changed.

From an employer’s point of view, it is preferable that the handbook is non-contractual, because they are able to withdraw or amend particular parts of the handbook as and when they see fit. On the other hand, if the policies / procedures are contractual and confer rights on the employees, the employer will not be able to amend or withdraw the policies / procedures without the consent of the employees. This can prove very restrictive in practice.

It may be possible to phase out contractual handbooks, policies or procedures and replace them with non-contractual ones. However, this is very risky for employers and advice should be sought before any action is taken.

If you are an employer and do not currently have a company handbook in place, or if you think that your policies may be contractual and need advice on how to deal with this, please contact Sarah Cruice, employment solicitor, on 0114 253 6547 who will be happy to help you.

If you are an employee and are concerned that your contractual rights are not being honoured, please contact us on 0114 253 6559 for assistance.