Employee handbook in India: HR policies to include

An employee handbook in India is the single reference that sets out how the company works and what it expects: code of conduct, working hours and attendance, leave, pay, POSH, data privacy, grievance, discipline, travel and expenses, and exit. Some of its contents are required by law, such as a POSH policy and, for larger industrial establishments, standing orders; the rest is good practice that prevents disputes. A handbook only works if employees acknowledge it, it is versioned, and it stays consistent with offer letters and payroll.

This guide covers what to include, what the law requires and how to run the handbook as a living document. For the documents issued at joining, see offer letter vs appointment letter and our employee onboarding checklist.

What should an employee handbook contain?

A mid-sized Indian company usually needs the following policies. Keep each one short, and link to detailed procedures rather than putting everything into the handbook.

Policy	What it covers	Where it connects
Welcome and company overview	Values, structure, who to contact	Org chart, HR contacts
Code of conduct	Ethics, conflicts of interest, gifts, confidentiality, social media	Disciplinary policy
POSH policy	Definition of sexual harassment, Internal Committee members, complaint process, timelines	Internal Committee, training
Equal opportunity and anti-discrimination	Fair treatment, accessibility, reasonable accommodation	Recruitment, grievance
Working hours and attendance	Shift timings, grace, punching, regularisation, overtime	Attendance system, payroll
Leave and holidays	Leave types, accrual, carry-forward, encashment, holiday list	Leave system, state law
Hybrid and remote work	Eligibility, office days, core hours	Attendance
Compensation and payroll	Pay date, salary structure, deductions, investment declarations	Payroll, payslips
Benefits	Insurance, PF, ESI, gratuity, maternity and paternity	Statutory schemes
IT and acceptable use	Devices, passwords, email, software, monitoring	IT security
Data privacy notice	What personal data HR collects, why, retention, rights under the DPDP Act	Privacy, consent records
Travel and expenses	Entitlements, approvals, claim deadlines	Expense system
Loans and advances	Eligibility, limits, recovery	Payroll
Grievance redressal	How to raise a concern, escalation, timelines	Helpdesk, Grievance Redressal Committee
Disciplinary procedure	Misconduct categories, show-cause, inquiry, penalties	Standing orders, code of conduct
Whistle-blower policy	Reporting wrongdoing, protection from retaliation	Audit committee or ethics officer
Health, safety and welfare	Safety rules, first aid, emergency contacts	OSH Code obligations
Exit	Resignation, notice period, clearance, full and final settlement	Exit process

Which HR policies are legally required in India?

Few laws say "you must have a handbook", but several require specific policies, notices or rules. The applicability depends on headcount, the type of establishment and the state.

Requirement	Source	Applies to
Internal policy on sexual harassment and an Internal Committee	Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013	Policy: all employers; Internal Committee: workplaces with 10 or more employees
Standing orders on conditions of service	Industrial Relations Code, 2020	Industrial establishments with 300 or more workers, or a number the appropriate government notifies
Grievance Redressal Committee	Industrial Relations Code, 2020	Industrial establishments with 20 or more workers
Equal opportunity policy	Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016	Establishments as the Act and rules define
Information on maternity benefits at appointment	Maternity benefit provisions, now in the Code on Social Security, 2020	Covered establishments
Notice of personal data processing	Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023	Every employer processing employee personal data, as obligations come into force
Display of statutory notices and abstracts	Labour Codes and state Shops and Establishments Acts	Varies by law and state

Two notes. First, the Labour Codes came into force on 21 November 2025 and state rules are being notified progressively, so how standing orders, model rules and state Shops and Establishments Acts fit together is still settling in places. Check the current position with the Ministry of Labour and Employment and your state labour department. Second, non-compliance has real cost: under the POSH Act, failing to constitute an Internal Committee or to comply with the Act can attract a fine of up to ₹50,000, with higher penalties for repeat contravention. See our POSH Act compliance guide for the full set of employer duties.

Standing orders vs the employee handbook

Standing orders are a statutory instrument, and a handbook is a company document. They overlap but are not the same.

Aspect	Standing orders	Employee handbook
Legal basis	Industrial Relations Code, 2020, for establishments at or above the threshold	Company policy, supported by the appointment letter
Who it covers	"Workers" as defined in the Code	Usually all employees
Content	Classification of workers, working hours, attendance, leave, misconduct, suspension, termination	Everything in the policy table above
Changing it	Follows the process in the Code and rules, often with notice	Company process, with communication and acknowledgement
Model version	Model standing orders notified by the government apply where none are certified or adopted	No model version

If your establishment is covered, the handbook's disciplinary, attendance and leave sections must not contradict the standing orders. A common approach is a handbook for all employees that refers workers to the standing orders on the topics they govern.

Is a handbook legally binding?

A handbook becomes part of the employment terms when the appointment letter refers to it, the employee has acknowledged it, and the policies are applied consistently. Write the appointment letter so that it incorporates "policies as amended from time to time", and keep acknowledgement records. Even so, a policy cannot take away a statutory right. If a leave policy gives fewer days than the state law, the law prevails, and if a disciplinary clause skips a show-cause notice, the action is open to challenge.

Worked example: what a missing policy costs

Consider a 1,200-employee services company that deducts a recovery from an employee's final pay for an unreturned laptop. The appointment letter does not mention asset recovery, the IT policy was never acknowledged, and the deduction of ₹48,000 is challenged.

• Without a clear, acknowledged policy, the company may have to refund the ₹48,000 and absorb the time of HR, IT and legal on the dispute.
• With an asset policy acknowledged at onboarding, a signed asset issue record and a clause in the exit policy on recovery at book value, the same deduction is far easier to defend, subject to the deduction rules in wage law.

The same pattern applies to notice period recovery, training bonds and loan recovery. See wage payment deadlines and deductions for the limits on what can be deducted from wages, and notice period and buyout for exit-related recoveries.

Acknowledgement: proving employees received the policy

An unacknowledged policy is hard to rely on. Build acknowledgement into the process:

1. At joining: the full handbook is acknowledged during onboarding, before system access is granted.
2. On change: each changed policy is re-acknowledged, with a deadline and reminders.
3. Annually: code of conduct and POSH are re-acknowledged each year, often alongside mandatory training.
4. Record: keep the employee, policy version, date and method of acknowledgement.

Track the acknowledgement rate by department. A policy with 70% acknowledgement after a month is a communication problem, not a compliance success.

Versioning and keeping the handbook current

• Version number and effective date on every policy, such as "Leave Policy v3.2, effective 01 Apr 2026".
• Change log listing what changed and why.
• Owner for each policy, usually an HR lead, with legal or finance review where needed.
• Review cycle: annually, plus whenever law changes. The Labour Codes, the Income-tax Act, 2025 and the DPDP Act have all changed the ground in the last two years, so many handbooks written before 2025 need review.
• Archive every old version. Disputes are decided on the policy in force at the time, not today's version.
• Consistency checks: leave rules in the handbook must match the leave system, and pay dates must match payroll practice.

Bilingual handbooks

For workforces where many employees are more comfortable in Hindi or a regional language, a handbook only in English is weak evidence that the policy was understood. Statutory notices and standing orders are commonly required to be displayed in English and in a language understood by the majority of workers; check the rules that apply to your establishment. Good practice is a translated version of at least the code of conduct, POSH, attendance, leave and disciplinary policies, with the English version stated as authoritative if there is a conflict.

Common mistakes

• Copying a handbook from another company that cites repealed laws or another state's rules.
• Leave or attendance rules in the handbook that differ from what the HRMS and payroll actually apply.
• No acknowledgement record, or acknowledgement only at joining and never after changes.
• Overwriting old versions so nobody can prove what applied in a past year.
• Missing a DPDP privacy notice for employee data.
• Disciplinary clauses with no show-cause or hearing step.
• A POSH policy that names Internal Committee members who left the company.

FAQs

Is an employee handbook mandatory in India? Not as a single document. But several policies within it are required, such as a POSH policy, and industrial establishments above the threshold need standing orders.

What is the difference between standing orders and an HR policy? Standing orders are a statutory document under the Industrial Relations Code governing workers' conditions of service. HR policies are company rules that can cover all employees and topics beyond the standing orders.

How often should an employee handbook be updated? Review it at least once a year and whenever a relevant law changes, and re-acknowledge each changed policy.

Can an employer change policies without consent? Most policies can be updated by the employer with notice, if the appointment letter incorporates policies as amended. Changes to conditions of service for workers may need the notice process in the Industrial Relations Code. Take advice for significant changes.

Should the handbook include the privacy notice? Include it or link to it. Employees should know what personal data HR processes, why, and how to exercise their rights under the DPDP Act.

Does the handbook need to be in Hindi? There is no general rule for the whole handbook, but translated key policies help prove understanding, and some statutory notices must be displayed in a language workers understand.

How NeevHR helps

NeevHR documents includes a policy library where HR publishes policies that employees read and acknowledge, with an acknowledgement status report. Onboarding asks new joiners to read and acknowledge the policies you mark as required, recorded for audit, and learning tracks completion of POSH, DPDP and code-of-conduct training by department. Leave, attendance and pay rules are configured in the HRMS itself, so what the handbook says can match what the system applies. A Hindi interface is planned. To see the policy library, book a demo.

This article provides general information for educational purposes. Statutory rules, thresholds, rates and filing requirements may change; verify with the relevant authority or a qualified professional. Last reviewed: 17 Oct 2026.