Employee handbook section prompt: free ChatGPT template
Updated · By Robert Breen
Use this when you have a rule everyone "just knows" and it's time to write it down: company vehicles, phones on the job, call-outs, tools. The prompt turns your rules into one clear handbook section that a new hire can follow, written at an easy reading level.
It does one more thing that matters: it lists the gaps in your rules and anything that touches pay, discipline, leave or privacy, because those are the parts where a well-meant rule can break employment law. AI can't tell you what the law requires where you are, so the draft goes to an attorney or HR professional before it goes in the handbook.
Have a professional review it. This prompt helps you draft, not decide. AI can get the law wrong and doesn’t know your jurisdiction or your facts, so have a licensed attorney review anything legal before you send or sign it.
The prompt
Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every [BLANK] with your own details. It uses the four parts from Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task and Format.
Role: You are helping [BUSINESS] write one section of our employee handbook. You draft in plain language; you don't give legal advice. Context: The section is about [POLICY TOPIC] and applies to [WHO IT APPLIES TO]. Our rules: [OUR RULES]. Questions go to [CONTACT]. Use only these rules. Don't add rules, penalties, legal requirements or citations to laws, and don't say the policy complies with any law. Task: Write the handbook section: why the policy exists in one or two sentences, the rules, what to do in the most common situations, and who to ask. Then list (1) situations my rules don't cover and (2) any rule that touches pay, deductions, discipline, leave, monitoring or privacy, each with a note on why a lawyer or HR professional should review it. Format: A heading, a short purpose paragraph, numbered rules of one sentence each, a "What to do if" section, and a contact line. Under 350 words, sixth-grade reading level. Then the two lists under the heading For review.
Fill in the blanks
[BUSINESS]- Your business name.
[POLICY TOPIC]- One topic per section, such as company vehicle use or phones on job sites.
[WHO IT APPLIES TO]- Everyone, or a group such as field techs or office staff.
[OUR RULES]- Your rules as you'd say them out loud, including the ones you've never written down. List them; the AI will tidy them.
[CONTACT]- The role (not just a name) that answers questions about this policy.
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson Build an AI Follow-Up Agent for HVAC Service Calls. Cedar Ridge Heating & Air is the made-up HVAC company in the HVAC lessons. Its techs drive company vans, and the owner wants the van rules written down.
Role: You are helping Cedar Ridge Heating & Air write one section of our employee handbook. You draft in plain language; you don't give legal advice. Context: The section is about company vehicle use and applies to field techs who are assigned a van. Our rules: vans are for work only, but on-call techs may drive them home; no passengers who aren't employees; phones hands-free only while driving; report any accident or damage to the dispatcher right away; techs pay their own parking and speeding tickets; vans have GPS tracking; keep the van clean and stocked at the end of each week. Questions go to the operations manager. Use only these rules. Don't add rules, penalties, legal requirements or citations to laws, and don't say the policy complies with any law. Task: Write the handbook section: why the policy exists in one or two sentences, the rules, what to do in the most common situations, and who to ask. Then list (1) situations my rules don't cover and (2) any rule that touches pay, deductions, discipline, leave, monitoring or privacy, each with a note on why a lawyer or HR professional should review it. Format: A heading, a short purpose paragraph, numbered rules of one sentence each, a "What to do if" section, and a contact line. Under 350 words, sixth-grade reading level. Then the two lists under the heading For review.
What a good answer looks like
- Seven numbered rules that match yours one for one, in plain words a new tech can follow.
- A "What to do if" section that covers an accident: stop, make sure everyone is safe, call the dispatcher.
- A For review list that flags the ticket rule (it touches pay) and the GPS tracking (monitoring and privacy).
- Gaps you hadn't thought of, such as personal errands during an on-call shift.
How to check it before you use it
An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the Reply Faster lesson: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.
- Check every rule against yours. A penalty, deadline or legal phrase you didn't write ("may result in termination," "per state law") gets cut.
- Answer the gaps list yourself, then rerun it with your answers added to the rules.
- Take the For review items seriously. Rules about deductions from pay or tracking employees are the ones most likely to need changes where you operate.
- Have an employment attorney or HR professional review the section before it goes in the handbook or gets signed.
Why this prompt works
Asking for the draft and a review list in one prompt is a small prompt chain in a single message: write, then check its own work for risk. The rule against adding laws or penalties is a guardrail against the confident-sounding legal lines AI tends to invent.
Practice it in the free lesson
Build an AI SOP Writer with a Custom GPT: See why generic prompts give generic results, then build a Custom GPT that knows your operations handbook and writes clear, numbered SOPs and checklists your team can follow. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Also useful: Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format
Terms used here
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