One Page of Team Rules for a Small Business: What to Write Before You Need It

A café with six staff runs happily for two years on good will. Then one barista starts arriving fifteen minutes late most mornings. The owner says nothing for a month, then loses patience and speaks sharply. The barista points out, accurately, that another colleague swaps shifts without asking and nobody minds. There is no rule about either. Within a week, two people are not speaking to each other and the owner is refereeing. Every small team reaches this moment. A page of team rules, written while everyone is still getting on, is what makes it pass quickly.

Why write anything down

• Fairness. The same standard for everyone, visible to everyone.
• Fewer decisions for the owner. Routine questions are answered by the page.
• Easier conversations. "We agreed this" is less personal than "I think you should".
• Faster starts for new staff. One page to read on day one.
• Protection for staff too. They know what they are entitled to and how to ask.

What this page is, and is not

It is a short, practical statement of how the team works day to day.

It is not an employment contract, and it does not replace anything the law requires. Labour rules on working hours, overtime, leave, pay and termination differ by country, and some require formal company regulations above a certain number of employees. Have someone qualified check that your page is consistent with the law where you operate. Rules cannot give less than the law gives.

Ten things worth agreeing

1. Working hours and breaks

• Opening and closing times, shift times.
• When "on time" means: ready to work, not arriving at the door.
• Breaks: how long, and how they are taken so the floor is covered.

2. Lateness and absence

• Who to tell, how, and by when. "Message the shift lead before 07:00", not "let someone know".
• What happens with repeated lateness.
• Sickness: when a note is needed.

3. Leave and shift swaps

• How to request leave, how far ahead, and who approves.
• How many people may be off at once.
• Shift swaps: allowed if both agree and the lead approves in advance.
• Busy periods when leave is limited, stated at the start of the year.

4. Pay day and what is on the payslip

• The date of payment.
• How overtime is recorded and approved before it is worked.
• How advances are requested and repaid.

5. Handling money

• Every sale recorded.
• Nothing taken from the till without a slip.
• Who counts, who deposits.
• What to do about a cash difference.
• No personal use of business money, however temporarily.

6. Customers

• The standard: greeting, response time, tone.
• Who may give discounts or refunds, and up to how much.
• What to do with a complaint, and when to call the owner.
• Never argue with a customer in front of others.

7. Business tools and information

• Customer contacts and conversations belong to the business and stay in its systems.
• Business accounts and passwords are not shared outside the team.
• Personal phones: when they may be used during work.
• What may and may not be posted about the business online.

8. Stock, equipment and the workplace

• Take care of equipment and report damage straight away.
• Staff purchases and staff meals: what is allowed and how it is recorded.
• Cleaning and closing duties, by rota.
• Safety basics relevant to your work.

9. How we treat each other

• Respect, in words and in messages.
• No harassment or bullying, of anyone.
• Disagreements raised directly and privately, or with the owner.
• No gossip about colleagues to customers.

10. When something goes wrong

• Mistakes are reported at once, not hidden. A reported mistake is treated very differently from a concealed one.
• The steps for repeated problems: a conversation, a written reminder, and then what the contract and law provide.
• What is serious enough to skip the steps: theft, violence, harassment, endangering others.
• How a member of staff can raise a concern about the owner or a manager.

How to write it

• Plain words. If a fifteen-year-old would not understand it, rewrite it.
• Specific. "Tell the shift lead by message before 07:00" beats "inform management in a timely manner".
• Short. One page, two at most. A rule nobody remembers does not exist.
• Positive where possible. "Record every sale" reads better than a list of prohibitions.
• With the reason. "Leave requests two weeks ahead, so the rota can be planned." People follow rules they understand.
• Only rules you will enforce. Every unenforced rule weakens the rest.

Write it with the team

A page handed down is resisted. A page built together is defended.

1. Start with the problems. Ask: what causes friction here? What is unclear? What feels unfair?
2. Draft together in a meeting, or draft yourself and invite changes.
3. Listen to objections. Staff often know why a rule will not work in practice.
4. Decide what is not negotiable, such as handling money and safety, and say so honestly.
5. Agree a start date. Not retroactively.

You will usually find that staff want clearer rules more than the owner does. The people who follow them resent those who do not.

Introducing it

• Go through it together, point by point, with examples.
• Give everyone a copy and put one on the wall.
• Ask each person to sign that they have read it.
• Include it in the first-day routine for new staff.
• Start clean. Past habits are forgiven. The page applies from today.

The owner goes first

Nothing kills a rule faster than the owner breaking it. If the page says sales are always recorded, the owner does not take cash from the till without a slip. If it says messages are respectful, so are the owner's at 23:00.

Apply it evenly. The long-serving favourite and the newest hire get the same response to the same lateness. Staff watch this more closely than anything else.

When a rule is broken

• Act early and privately. The first time, a short calm conversation. "I noticed you came in at 07:15 three times this week. Is something making mornings difficult?"
• Ask before judging. There may be a reason you can help with.
• Be clear about what is expected from now on.
• Note the date and what was said, briefly.
• Follow through if it continues.

Most problems end at the first conversation, because it happened in week one and not month three.

Review yearly

Once a year, with the team:

• Which rules are unclear?
• Which are ignored, and should they be changed or enforced?
• What new situations came up that the page does not cover?

A page that changes with the business stays useful. One written once and forgotten becomes a wall decoration.

Common mistakes

• Waiting for a conflict before writing anything.
• Copying a corporate handbook of forty pages.
• Vague wording.
• Rules that contradict the law or the contract.
• Rules the owner does not follow.
• Enforcing with some people and not others.
• Too many rules.
• No way for staff to raise a concern.
• Writing it alone and announcing it.

Tools

Several of the rules depend on records: attendance, leave requests, shift swaps, advances. Kept in one place, they stop being a matter of memory. Polynusa includes attendance, leave and payroll alongside the team's other work, so a request and its approval are recorded where both sides can see them. See the pricing page.

Summary

Write one page while relations are good. Cover hours, lateness, leave, pay, money, customers, tools, the workplace, conduct and what happens when things go wrong. Use plain, specific words with the reason for each rule, and include only what you will enforce. Build it with the team, check it against the law, introduce it from a clean start, follow it yourself and apply it evenly. Handle the first breach early and privately, and review the page every year.

FAQ

Does a business with five employees need written rules?

Yes, a short version. With five people, one misunderstanding about lateness, leave or handling money affects the whole team, and the owner ends up deciding case by case, which looks like favouritism. One clear page prevents most of these arguments and makes it easier to be fair.

What is the difference between team rules and an employment contract?

The contract sets the legal terms between employer and employee: pay, position, duration and statutory rights. Team rules describe how daily work is done: hours, requesting leave, handling customers and money, communication. Rules must stay within the law and the contract. Where the law requires a formal document, such as company regulations above a certain size, this page does not replace it.

How do we get staff to actually follow the rules?

Involve them in writing the page, explain the reason behind each point, keep it short enough to remember, and apply it to everyone, starting with the owner. Rules imposed without explanation and enforced unevenly are ignored. Review the page together once a year.