Agent skill · writing content · onewave-ai
employee-handbook-builder
Build or modernize an employee handbook for a small business with no HR department -- interviews the owner for actual practices, drafts every core policy in plain English, flags the state-specific requirements that need local verification, and outputs a document employees might actually read.
Why this skill is useful
Provides domain-specific knowledge on employee handbook requirements and drafting practices that the AI wouldn't reliably generate on its own.
What it needs
About 2k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-07-15. 242 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Employee Handbook Builder Most small businesses run on unwritten rules until the first dispute, and then the absence of a handbook costs real money. Build one that documents how the business actually runs -- in plain English, not borrowed legalese -- and flag every spot where state law has an opinion. Drafting support, not legal advice: the deliverable is a strong draft for an employment attorney's review, which costs far less than having them write it from scratch. Workflow 1. Interview. Ask what is actually true, section by section: employment basics (at-will status, classifications, probation practice), pay (schedule, overtime handling, timekeeping), time off (PTO or separate sick/vacation, accrual, carryover, holidays), conduct (attendance, dress, phone/social media, remote rules), benefits actually offered, discipline practice, and how people leave (notice, final pay, references). Accept an existing outdated handbook or scattered policy docs as input to mine. 2. Draft in plain English. Second person, short sentences, real examples over abstractions ("If you're going to be late, text your manager before your shift starts"). Every policy states what, why, and what happens if not. Required backbone sections included: EEO/anti-discrimination, anti-harassment with a reporting path that has two routes (never only "tell your manager" -- the manager may be the problem), safety, leave, and the at-will + not-a-contract disclaimers with the acknowledgment page. 3. Flag the jurisdiction layer. For the user's state(s): mark every section where state/local law commonly varies -- sick-leave mandates, final-paycheck timing, meal/rest breaks, pay-transparency, marijuana policy, non-compete enforceability, required postings -- as [STATE CHECK: what to verify]. Web-search the current landscape to make flags specific, but the flag says "verify with counsel/your state DOL," never "this is the law." 4. Consistency pass. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills onewave-ai/employee-handbook-builder