HR Documentation
Professional HR documents drafted by CIPD-qualified consultants. Employment contracts, policies, handbooks, letters and forms, all tailored to your business and compliant with UK law.
Why Professional HR Documentation Matters
Every employment relationship is built on documentation. The employment contract sets out the terms. The employee handbook explains how your business operates. Policies set the rules and expectations. Letters communicate decisions and actions. Forms capture essential information. When these documents are clear, accurate, and legally compliant, they protect your business, reduce disputes, and give your managers confidence. When they are poorly drafted, out of date, or missing altogether, they create risk at every stage of the employment lifecycle. Under section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, every employee and worker is entitled to a written statement of particulars on or before their first day of employment. This statement must include the employer's name, the employee's start date, job title, pay, hours, holiday entitlement, place of work, and details of any probationary period, among other requirements. Failure to provide a compliant statement can result in a tribunal awarding the employee between two and four weeks' pay, and it can also strengthen an employee's position in other tribunal claims.
Beyond the written statement, employers are expected to have written policies on key topics such as disciplinary and grievance procedures, equal opportunities, data protection, and health and safety. Under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR, employers must provide employees with a privacy notice explaining how their personal data is collected, used, stored, and shared. The ACAS Code of Practice requires employers to set out their disciplinary and grievance procedures in writing. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires employers with five or more employees to have a written health and safety policy. These are not optional extras. They are legal requirements, and the quality of your documentation will be scrutinised if a dispute reaches a tribunal. Generic templates downloaded from the internet may not reflect your specific business practices, may contain terms that are unenforceable, and may not comply with the latest legislation.
At Rebox HR, we do not sell templates. Every document we produce is drafted specifically for your business by a CIPD-qualified HR professional who understands your operations, your culture, and the legal requirements that apply to you. We create employment contracts that protect your interests while being fair and transparent. We draft employee handbooks that employees actually read and understand. We write policies that reflect how your business genuinely operates, not how a generic template assumes it should. We produce letters for every stage of the employment lifecycle, from offer letters and probation review confirmations to disciplinary invitations, outcome letters, and redundancy notifications. And we create the forms your managers need for day-to-day people management, from return-to-work interview forms to self-certification sickness forms and holiday request forms. When employment law changes, we update your documents to keep you compliant.
What We Cover
Practical, expert support across every aspect of hr documentation for your business.
Employment Contracts
We draft bespoke employment contracts tailored to each role and your business needs. Every contract includes all the particulars required under section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and covers important protective clauses such as confidentiality, intellectual property, restrictive covenants, and notice periods. We also draft separate terms for different types of worker, including full-time, part-time, fixed-term, zero-hours, and casual workers, making sure each contract reflects the true nature of the working arrangement.
Employee Handbooks
An employee handbook brings together all your policies, procedures, and expectations in one document that every employee receives. We create handbooks that are well organised, written in plain English, and tailored to how your business actually operates. A good handbook reduces the number of routine questions your managers receive, sets clear expectations from day one, and provides a documented reference point if disputes arise. We also advise on the distinction between contractual and non-contractual policies, so you retain the flexibility to update your handbook as your business evolves.
HR Policies
We draft individual policies on all the core HR topics, including disciplinary and grievance, absence management, equal opportunities and diversity, flexible working, maternity and paternity, data protection, social media use, and more. Each policy is written to comply with current UK employment law and reflects your specific business practices. We also help you prioritise which policies your business needs now and which can be added later, so you are not overwhelmed with documentation that does not serve a purpose.
Letter Templates
Managing people generates a lot of correspondence, and the quality of your letters matters. We create template letters for every common scenario, including offer letters, contract variation letters, disciplinary and grievance invitation letters, hearing outcome letters, appeal acknowledgement letters, redundancy consultation letters, and termination letters. Each template is drafted to comply with legal requirements and best practice, and they are designed to be easy for your managers to personalise and use without needing to involve HR every time.
Forms and Checklists
Good HR administration depends on consistent, well-designed forms. We create practical forms for your managers and employees, including return-to-work interview forms, self-certification sickness forms, holiday request forms, new starter checklists, exit interview questionnaires, and right-to-work record sheets. These forms make sure essential information is captured consistently and create the paper trail you need if questions arise later.
Document Reviews and Updates
If you already have HR documents in place but are not sure whether they are up to date or legally compliant, we carry out a comprehensive review. We check every document against current legislation, identify gaps, flag any terms that could cause problems, and recommend changes. Employment law changes regularly, and documents that were compliant when they were written may no longer reflect the current legal position. We keep your documents current and make sure they continue to protect your business.
How We Help
A clear, structured approach from start to finish.
Audit
We review your existing HR documentation, or identify what you need if you are starting from scratch. We assess each document against current legislation and best practice, and provide a clear report showing what is compliant, what needs updating, and what is missing.
Draft
We draft or update your documents, working closely with you to make sure they accurately reflect your business practices, culture, and operational needs. Every document is tailored to your business. We do not use generic templates or one-size-fits-all wording.
Deliver
We deliver your completed documents in editable formats, walk you through the key content, and advise on how to roll them out to your team. For employee handbooks and new policies, we can help you manage the communication and any required consultation with employees. We are available for questions after delivery and can update your documents as legislation changes or your business evolves.
Frequently Asked Questions
What HR documents does a small business legally need?
At a minimum, every employer must provide employees with a written statement of particulars under section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, which must be given on or before the employee's first day. Employers with five or more employees must have a written health and safety policy under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The ACAS Code of Practice recommends that disciplinary and grievance procedures are set out in writing. Under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK GDPR, you must provide employees with a privacy notice. Beyond these legal minimums, we strongly recommend having written policies on absence management, equal opportunities, flexible working, maternity and parental leave, and acceptable use of IT and social media. The specific documents you need depend on your business size, sector, and workforce, and we help you prioritise based on your risk and needs.
What is the difference between a contract of employment and a written statement of particulars?
A written statement of particulars is a statutory document that sets out the key terms of employment as required by section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. It is not itself a contract of employment, although it provides strong evidence of what was agreed. An employment contract is a broader legal agreement between the employer and employee that includes the terms in the written statement plus any additional terms such as restrictive covenants, confidentiality clauses, intellectual property provisions, and deductions from pay provisions. In practice, most employers issue a single employment contract that incorporates all the required particulars, which is the approach we recommend and the format we use when drafting contracts for our clients.
Why should I not use free HR templates from the internet?
Free HR templates are generic by nature. They are not tailored to your business, your sector, or the specific way you operate. A template contract may include terms that are irrelevant to your business, or it may omit important clauses that protect your interests. Template policies may not reflect your actual practices, which creates a gap between what the policy says and what actually happens. This inconsistency can be used against you in a tribunal. Templates may also be out of date. Employment law changes frequently, and a template written two years ago may not reflect the current legal position. When we draft documents for our clients, we make sure every clause serves a purpose, reflects how the business actually operates, and complies with the latest legislation.
How often should I review and update my HR documents?
We recommend reviewing your core HR documents at least once a year to check for legislative changes and to make sure they still reflect how your business operates. You should also review specific documents whenever there is a relevant change in law, a change in your business practices, or after an incident that reveals a gap in your documentation. For example, the written statement of particulars requirements were significantly expanded in April 2020, requiring employers to include additional information such as the days and times of work and any probationary period. Employers who did not update their contracts after this change may be issuing non-compliant statements. We offer an annual documentation review service that keeps your documents current without you having to track every legislative change yourself.
What should an employee handbook include?
A comprehensive employee handbook typically includes a welcome section, company values and culture, employment policies (equal opportunities, anti-harassment, data protection), terms and conditions (hours, pay, holidays, sickness absence), conduct and performance expectations, disciplinary and grievance procedures, health and safety information, IT and social media use, family-friendly policies (maternity, paternity, shared parental leave, flexible working), training and development, and a section on leaving the business (notice periods, exit interviews, return of property). Not every business needs every policy from day one, and the handbook should not contain contractual terms that you want the flexibility to change. We help you decide what to include based on your business needs and structure the handbook so it is practical, readable, and easy to update as your business grows.
Do my HR policies need to be contractual?
Not all of them, and in many cases it is better if they are not. Contractual policies form part of the employment contract, which means you cannot change them without the employee's agreement. Non-contractual policies, which are typically set out in the employee handbook rather than the contract itself, can be updated by the employer after consultation and reasonable notice. We generally recommend that core terms such as pay, hours, and holiday entitlement are contractual, while operational policies such as social media use, dress code, and training are non-contractual. This gives you the flexibility to update your policies as your business evolves or as legislation changes, without needing to formally vary every employee's contract. We clearly distinguish between contractual and non-contractual terms in the documents we draft.
Can you help if I already have documents but they need updating?
Yes. Many of the businesses we work with already have HR documents in place but recognise that they are out of date, inconsistent, or not fully compliant. We carry out a thorough review of your existing documentation, checking each document against current legislation (including the Employment Rights Act 1996, the Equality Act 2010, the Data Protection Act 2018, and the ACAS Code of Practice), identifying any gaps, and highlighting terms that could create problems. We then update or redraft each document as needed, making sure everything is consistent, compliant, and reflects how your business currently operates. This is often more cost-effective than starting from scratch, as we can build on what you already have.
What is a privacy notice and do I need one for employees?
Yes. Under the Data Protection Act 2018 and Article 13 of the UK GDPR, employers must provide employees with a privacy notice that explains what personal data is collected, why it is collected (the lawful basis for processing), how it is used, who it is shared with, how long it is retained, and the employee's rights in relation to their data. The privacy notice should be provided at the start of employment and updated whenever there are material changes to how employee data is processed. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) publishes detailed guidance on employment privacy notices, and failure to provide one is a breach of data protection legislation. We draft employee privacy notices that cover all the required information in clear, plain English and reflect your actual data processing practices.
“Rebox HR are a breath of fresh air and exactly what any SME needs. They provide honest, easy to understand advice, support, documentation, reports and much more. Natalie and her team are all extremely knowledgeable and provide the highest level of support. We would highly recommend their services.”
Related Services
Contracts of Employment
Bespoke employment contracts drafted to protect your business, comply with the Employment Rights Act 1996, and clearly set out the terms of every working relationship.
Contracts of Employment →Policies & Procedures
Individual HR policies drafted for your business, covering everything from absence management and equal opportunities to data protection and flexible working.
Policies & Procedures →HR Health Check
A comprehensive audit of your HR practices, documentation, and compliance, with a clear action plan for closing any gaps and reducing risk.
HR Health Check →Need Professional HR Documentation?
Whether you need a complete set of HR documents from scratch or want to update what you already have, we can help. Book a free, no-obligation consultation and let us create documentation that protects your business and supports your people.
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