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Free Employee Handbook Template for Small Business

Switch policies on or off, type in your company details, and get a plain-language handbook draft with an acknowledgement page to sign. Your headcount sets which federal laws the draft speaks to, and your state's add-ons are flagged for your lawyer rather than guessed. Copy it or print it. It is a starting point, not legal advice.

Use the tool

Pre-filled with a fictional bakery. Type over it.

Your company

Everyone on payroll, all locations.

Usually the owner or the president.

YYYY-MM-DD or MM/DD/YYYY.

0 if you offer none; empty leaves a blank.

Sections

Effective date, who to ask, how changes are announced.

Either side may end employment; the handbook is not a contract; the usual carve-outs.

Decisions without regard to protected characteristics.

What is not allowed, how to report, no retaliation.

Disability, pregnancy-related limitations, religious practice.

Paydays, recording hours, overtime, pay errors.

Paid time off, legally required leave, the FMLA notice when it applies.

Attendance, safety, conflicts of interest, business information.

Company accounts, monitoring, passwords, social media.

A signature page the employee returns for the file.

Your handbook draft

10 sections

29 CFR 825.300(a)(3); 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(b); 29 U.S.C. § 630(b)

  • Title VII, ADA and PWFA: applies
  • Age Discrimination in Employment Act: applies
  • Family and Medical Leave Act: starts at 50

Flagged for counsel: 2

  • CACalifornia employers with five or more employees train staff every two years: one hour for employees, two hours for supervisors, within six months of hire or promotion. Ask counsel which California policies the handbook must carry. Cal. Gov. Code § 12950.1
  • CACalifornia law may add required policies (paid sick leave, meal and rest breaks, final pay, other leave). The draft does not write them; counsel adds them. State law

Every field is filled.

The rule
The draft applies the federal rules cited on this page as written and flags state add-ons for counsel. It is a starting point, not legal advice, and state law may add required policies.

Harbor Lane Bakery, LLC Employee Handbook

Effective November 2, 2026

  1. 1.Welcome

    Welcome to Harbor Lane Bakery, LLC. This handbook explains how we work together: what you can expect from us, and what we expect from you. It takes effect on November 2, 2026 and replaces any earlier handbook or policy on the same subjects.

    Please read it in your first week. If anything is unclear, or if a situation comes up that it does not cover, ask Dana Ortiz, Operations Manager (people@harborlane.example).

    We may update these policies as the business or the law changes. When we do, we will tell you in writing. Where a law or a written agreement signed by you and Harbor Lane Bakery, LLC says something different from this handbook, the law or the agreement controls.

  2. 2.At-will employment

    Employment with Harbor Lane Bakery, LLC is at will. You may resign at any time, with or without a reason or notice, and Harbor Lane Bakery, LLC may end your employment at any time, with or without a reason or notice, except where the law provides otherwise.

    This handbook is not a contract of employment and does not promise employment for any length of time. Only the owner may change the at-will relationship, and only in a written agreement signed by the owner and by you.

    Nothing in this handbook stops you from talking about your pay, benefits or working conditions with coworkers or anyone else, from acting together with coworkers about them, or from filing a charge, taking part in an investigation, or speaking with a government agency such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board or the Department of Labor.

  3. 3.Equal employment opportunity

    Harbor Lane Bakery, LLC makes hiring, pay, promotion, training, discipline and termination decisions on the basis of the job and the person's ability to do it. We do not make them on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.

    This applies to applicants and employees at every stage of employment, and to everyone who makes or influences those decisions.

  4. 4.Anti-harassment and how to report

    Harbor Lane Bakery, LLC does not allow harassment based on any characteristic listed in the equal employment opportunity policy. That includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, written, visual or physical conduct of a sexual nature, as well as slurs, jokes, threats or images aimed at a protected characteristic. The policy covers managers, coworkers, customers, vendors and visitors, at work and at work-related events, in person and online.

    If you experience or see conduct that may break this policy, report it to Dana Ortiz, Operations Manager or to any manager you are comfortable with. You do not have to report to the person involved. You can report in person, in writing or by email.

    We will look into every report promptly and as confidentially as the investigation allows, and we will take action when we find the policy was broken.

    No one will be punished for making a report in good faith or for taking part in an investigation. Retaliation is itself a violation of this policy.

    For counsel

    California. Employers with five or more employees train staff every two years under Cal. Gov. Code § 12950.1 (one hour for employees, two for supervisors). Add the California policy wording and training plan here.

  5. 5.Reasonable accommodation

    Harbor Lane Bakery, LLC makes reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities, for known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, and for sincerely held religious beliefs and practices, unless an accommodation would cause undue hardship to the business.

    To ask for an accommodation, tell Dana Ortiz, Operations Manager. You do not need to use special words, and a request can be made at any time. We will talk with you about what you need and the options that may work, and we may ask for information that supports the request.

    Medical information you share is kept separate from your personnel file and shared only with people who need it. No one will be punished for asking for an accommodation.

  6. 6.Pay and timekeeping

    Employees are paid every other week. The workweek starts at 12:00 a.m. on Sunday and ends seven days later.

    If your job is non-exempt (paid overtime), record every hour you work, accurately, at the start and end of each shift and each unpaid meal break. Do not work off the clock, and do not record time for anyone else. Overtime is paid at one and one-half times your regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek, or more where state law requires it. Get approval before working overtime; unapproved overtime is still paid.

    Check every pay statement. If you think you were paid the wrong amount, or a deduction looks wrong, tell Dana Ortiz, Operations Manager right away. We will look into it and correct any error, no later than the next regular payday where we can.

  7. 7.Time off and leave

    Full-time employees earn 10 days of paid time off a year for vacation and personal needs. Ask for planned time off at least two weeks ahead; requests are approved in the order received, based on staffing.

    We also give any leave that federal, state or local law requires. Ask Dana Ortiz, Operations Manager which leave applies to you and how to request it. No one will be punished for asking for or taking leave the law protects.

    For counsel

    Add the paid sick leave, family leave and other leave California and its cities require, with accrual and carryover rules.

  8. 8.Conduct at work

    Be on time for your scheduled shifts. If you will be late or absent, tell Dana Ortiz, Operations Manager or your manager before your shift starts, unless an emergency makes that impossible.

    Treat customers, coworkers and visitors with respect. Threats, violence and weapons are not allowed at work. Do not work under the influence of alcohol or drugs that affect your ability to work safely.

    Follow safety rules and report every injury, near miss or unsafe condition to a manager the same day. No one will be punished for reporting a safety concern.

    Tell Dana Ortiz, Operations Manager about any outside job, investment or relationship that could conflict with your work here, so we can talk it through.

    Keep the company's business information (customer lists, pricing, plans and passwords) private, and use it only for your work. This does not limit what you may say about your own pay, benefits or working conditions.

    When conduct falls short, Harbor Lane Bakery, LLC may respond with coaching, a written warning, suspension or termination. The steps we take depend on the situation; this list does not promise any particular step or order.

  9. 9.Technology and devices

    Company computers, phones, email, software and accounts are for Harbor Lane Bakery, LLC business. Brief personal use is fine when it does not get in the way of work or break another policy.

    Harbor Lane Bakery, LLC may monitor and review company devices, accounts and networks where the law allows, so do not expect privacy in them. Never share your passwords, and report a lost device or a suspected security problem to Dana Ortiz, Operations Manager at once.

    Only people we authorize may speak for the company on social media. When you post about work on your own accounts, make clear the views are your own. This policy does not limit your right to talk about pay, benefits or working conditions.

    For counsel

    Some states require written notice to employees before electronic monitoring. Add it here if yours does.

  10. 10.Employee acknowledgement

    I received the Harbor Lane Bakery, LLC employee handbook effective November 2, 2026. I understand that I am responsible for reading it and for asking Dana Ortiz, Operations Manager about anything I do not understand.

    I understand that the company may change its policies and will tell me in writing when it does.

    I understand that my employment is at will and that this handbook is not a contract of employment. Only a written agreement signed by the owner and by me can change that.

    Employee name (print)
    Left blank for the employee
    Employee signature
    Left blank for the employee
    Date
    Left blank for the employee

This handbook draft was assembled with the free template at vettedpad.com. It is a starting point, not legal advice: have an employment lawyer in your state review it before you hand it out.

Coloured pencil drawing of a closed ring binder with a blue spine label and a pen
A plain binder waits on the desk for the new hire's first week.

What it builds

A small-business employee handbook in plain language, assembled from ten sections you switch on or off: welcome, at-will employment, equal employment opportunity, anti-harassment, reasonable accommodation, pay and timekeeping, time off and leave, conduct, technology, and a signed acknowledgement page. Your company name, contact, pay schedule and effective date are written into the text as you type.

From your headcount it reads which federal laws reach you, and from your state it flags the add-ons a lawyer should write. Those flags appear twice: in the result card, and as “For counsel” notes inside the sections they belong to. The builder never drafts state wording itself.

  1. Type your company details over the example and pick the state where your people work.
  2. Switch off any section you already cover elsewhere, such as a separate leave policy.
  3. Read the flags, then copy the draft into your own document or print it.
  4. Send it to counsel with the flags, then hand it out at onboarding with the acknowledgement page.

The handbook is one item on the first-day list; the new hire checklist puts it in order with Form I-9 and the rest of the file.

Worked example

The builder loads with a fictional bakery in California with 22 employees. Change the headcount or the state and the coverage lines and flags change with it:

SettingSectionsFederal coverageFlags
The example as loaded: CA, 22 employees10Title VII, ADA, PWFA, ADEA2: CA training, CA add-ons
NY, 60 employees10All of the above + FMLA3: FMLA notice, NY policy, NY add-ons
TX, exactly 50 employees10All of the above + FMLA2: FMLA notice, TX add-ons
MT, 8 employees, conduct and technology off8None yet (EEO starts at 15)3: EEO under 15, MT at-will, MT add-ons
CA, 4 employees10None yet3: EEO under 15, CA below five, CA add-ons
Fictional employers. Thresholds: 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(b), 29 U.S.C. § 630(b), 29 CFR 825.104(a).

In the 60-employee case the leave section gains a marked place for the Department of Labor's FMLA notice. In the Montana case the at-will section carries a note that it needs Montana wording before anyone signs.

What federal law asks a handbook to say

Most federal employment laws set rules, not handbook wording. One rule speaks to the handbook directly: the FMLA general notice.

The rule

An FMLA-covered employer with any eligible employee must give each employee the general notice “by including the notice in employee handbooks or other written guidance to employees concerning employee benefits or leave rights, if such written materials exist,” or by handing it to each new hire. You may copy the text of the Department of Labor's prototype notice, WHD Publication 1420, or use your own format if it holds all of that notice's information.

29 CFR 825.300(a)(3)–(4)

The FMLA covers a private employer with 50 or more employees for each working day in 20 or more calendar workweeks this year or last (29 CFR 825.104(a)). An employee is eligible after 12 months with you, 1,250 hours in the last 12 months, and at a worksite with 50 employees within 75 miles (29 CFR 825.110(a)). The builder uses your headcount as a stand-in for the workweek test, so check the count across the year.

LawReaches employers withCite
Title VII (EEO)15 or more employees42 U.S.C. § 2000e(b)
ADA (disability)15 or more employees42 U.S.C. § 12111(5)(A)
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act15 or more employees42 U.S.C. § 2000gg(2)(B)(i)
Age Discrimination in Employment Act20 or more employees29 U.S.C. § 630(b)
FMLA50 or more employees29 CFR 825.104(a)
Each count is for each working day in 20 or more calendar weeks of the current or preceding year.

The pay section follows the Fair Labor Standards Act: overtime at “not less than one and one-half times the regular rate” past 40 hours in a workweek (29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1)), hours recorded each workday (29 CFR 516.2(a)(7)), and payroll records kept at least three years (29 CFR 516.5(a)). The at-will section keeps employees' right to act together about pay and working conditions, which Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act protects (29 U.S.C. § 157). The posters that sit beside the handbook are in labor law poster requirements.

What to do

  1. Count employees across the year before you decide the FMLA notice is not yours to give.
  2. If it is, paste the full WHD Publication 1420 text where the draft marks it.
  3. Keep the carve-outs that leave staff free to discuss pay and working conditions (29 U.S.C. § 157).

State notes

  • Federal
  • CA
  • NY
  • MT

The draft is federal-baseline wording. Every state you pick gets a flag for the policies its own law adds, and three states get a specific note because they change a section you would otherwise hand out as written.

California

Employers with five or more employees train staff on sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention every two years: one hour for non-supervisory employees and two hours for supervisors, within six months of hire or of becoming a supervisor.

Cal. Gov. Code § 12950.1

New York

Every employer adopts a sexual harassment prevention policy that meets the state model and gives it to employees in writing at hire and at every annual training, in English and in the language each employee names as their primary language. Training is interactive and every year.

N.Y. Labor Law § 201-g

Montana

A discharge is wrongful when it “was not for good cause and the employee had completed the employer's probationary period of employment.” A plain at-will statement does not fit; counsel writes that section.

Mont. Code Ann. § 39-2-904(1)(b)

For the policies other states require in writing, see employee handbook requirements by state. If you would rather keep policies, acknowledgements and updates in software, the HR compliance software compared page lists the tools that do it, and HR software for small business covers the wider HR systems. Job-posting pay rules are in pay transparency laws by state, and the rest of the year-round list is in the HR compliance checklist.

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