Operations & Staffing
Restaurant Employee Handbook Template
Thirteen pre-written policy sections, from at-will employment and tip pooling to alcohol service and progressive discipline. Edit every word, then print a handbook with a cover page and a signature page. Pairs with the SOP template and interview questions for a complete hiring kit.
Pre-filled with 13 policy sections for a full-service restaurant. Click any section to edit the text. Print gives you a cover page and a signature page.
Employee Handbook
Harvest Table
Austin, TX
Effective September 1, 2026
Prepared by Maria Santos, Owner
Contents
- 1.Welcome & Mission
- 2.Employment Basics
- 3.Scheduling & Attendance
- 4.Pay, Tips & Overtime
- 5.Conduct, Appearance & Cash Handling
- 6.Food Safety & Sanitation Duties
- 7.Alcohol Service Policy
- 8.Workplace Safety & Accidents
- 9.Harassment, Discrimination & Complaints
- 10.Meals & Breaks
- 11.Progressive Discipline
- 12.Leave & Time Off
- 13.Handbook Acknowledgment
This handbook is a summary of current policies and is not a contract. Policies may change with written notice. Where this handbook conflicts with applicable law, the law controls.
Who you are, what you stand for, and what a guest should feel when they walk in. Keep it to a page.
1.Welcome & Mission
Welcome to the team. This handbook explains how we work, what we expect from you, and what you can expect from us. Read it, ask questions, and sign the acknowledgment on the last page. Our mission: serve honest, seasonal food with warm, unhurried hospitality. Every guest should leave feeling looked after, and every team member should leave a shift feeling respected. What we value: - Hospitality first. Guests before tasks, always. - Clean as you go. A clean station is a safe station. - Own your mistakes. Tell a manager fast; problems shrink when they are shared early. - Respect the team. No one is above running food, bussing a table, or taking out trash. This handbook is not a contract. Policies may change, and we will tell you in writing when they do. Where this handbook conflicts with federal, state, or local law, the law wins.
2.Employment Basics
At-will employment: Your employment is at-will. You may leave at any time, and we may end employment at any time, with or without cause or notice, as permitted by law. Nothing in this handbook or any verbal statement changes that. Only the owner can change your at-will status, and only in a signed written agreement. Equal opportunity: We hire, schedule, promote, and pay based on skill and performance. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other status protected by law. Classifications: - Full-time: regularly scheduled 30 or more hours per week. - Part-time: regularly scheduled fewer than 30 hours per week. - Non-exempt: paid hourly and eligible for overtime. This covers all servers, bartenders, cooks, dishwashers, hosts, and bussers. - Exempt: salaried managers who meet the legal tests for exemption. Introductory period: The first 90 days are an introductory period. We will check in at 30 and 90 days. Completing this period does not change your at-will status. Required documents: Form I-9 with acceptable ID, W-4, direct deposit form, state tax form, signed handbook acknowledgment, and a valid food handler card within 30 days of hire (sooner where local law requires).
3.Scheduling & Attendance
Schedule posting: Schedules are posted every Thursday by 5 PM for the week starting the following Monday. Check the schedule yourself. Not seeing it is not an excuse. Availability: Submit availability changes and time-off requests through the scheduling app at least 14 days in advance. Requests are approved in the order received. Holiday weekends and major event dates require 30 days notice. Shift swaps: You may trade shifts with a coworker in the same role and with the same certifications (a bartender may not cover a shift with a host). The swap must be entered in the app and approved by a manager before the shift starts. Until a manager approves it, the original person owns the shift. Call-out procedure: If you cannot work, call (do not text) the manager on duty at least 4 hours before a lunch shift and 6 hours before a dinner shift. If you are calling out sick with vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, sore throat with fever, or a diagnosed foodborne illness, say so. We are required by the food code to keep you off the line, and you will not be penalized for reporting. Clocking in: Clock in no more than 5 minutes before your shift and clock out when your closing duties are done and checked by a manager. Never clock in or out for another person. Lateness: You are late if you are not clocked in and in uniform at your scheduled start time. Three late arrivals in a 30-day period count as one unexcused absence. No-show: Missing a shift without following the call-out procedure is a no-call/no-show. The first no-call/no-show earns a final written warning. A second within 12 months is treated as a voluntary resignation.
4.Pay, Tips & Overtime
Pay periods: We pay biweekly, every other Friday, by direct deposit. Pay stubs are available in the payroll app. Review every stub; report errors to a manager within 5 days so we can fix them on the next run. Minimum wage and tip credit: Tipped team members are paid a direct cash wage plus tips. If we take a tip credit, your direct wage plus tips will always equal at least the applicable minimum wage for every hour worked. If it ever does not, we make up the difference. Where state or city law sets a higher tipped wage or bans the tip credit, we follow that law. Tip pooling: Servers and bartenders contribute a percentage of net sales (currently 3% of food sales to bussers and food runners, 1% of bar sales to barbacks) at the end of each shift. Pool shares are calculated by hours worked on the shift and paid out on the regular paycheck. Owners, managers, and shift supervisors never take any part of the tip pool. This includes managers who also work a bar or floor shift. Credit card tips: Paid on your paycheck. We do not deduct processing fees from tips where law prohibits it. Tip reporting: All cash tips must be declared at clock-out. Under-reporting tips is a tax problem for you and a legal problem for us. Overtime: Hourly team members earn 1.5x their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek (Monday through Sunday), and more where state law requires daily overtime. All overtime must be approved by a manager in advance. Unapproved overtime is still paid, but it is a policy violation. Meal periods and short breaks: See Meals & Breaks. Short breaks of 20 minutes or less are paid.
5.Conduct, Appearance & Cash Handling
Dress code, front of house: Black non-slip shoes, clean pressed black pants or knee-length skirt, black button-down or house T-shirt, apron provided. Hair tied back if past the shoulders. No strong fragrance. Minimal jewelry: a watch, stud earrings, one ring. Dress code, kitchen: Non-slip closed-toe shoes, chef pants or black work pants, house chef coat or T-shirt, hair fully restrained under a cap or hairnet, beard net if facial hair is longer than a quarter inch. No jewelry on hands or wrists except a plain band. No artificial nails or nail polish. Phones: Phones stay in your locker or bag during service. Check them on breaks. A manager may allow a phone on you for an emergency if told before the shift. Guests: Greet every table within 60 seconds of seating. Never argue with a guest. If a guest is upset, get a manager. Do not discuss a guest's bill, behavior, or allergy in front of other guests. POS and cash handling: Log in only under your own POS code and log out when you step away. Count your bank at the start and end of every shift with a manager. Voids, comps, and discounts require manager approval on the POS. Never take cash off the table for a bill without ringing it in. Cash variances over $5 are reviewed with a manager; repeated shortages are grounds for discipline. Social media: Do not post photos of guests, kitchen tickets, schedules, or back-of-house areas without owner approval. Do not respond to online reviews on the restaurant's behalf. Speak for yourself online, not for the restaurant. Drugs and alcohol: Working under the influence of alcohol or drugs is grounds for immediate termination. Shift drinks, if offered, are served only after clock-out and only to team members of legal drinking age.
6.Food Safety & Sanitation Duties
Illness reporting: Tell the manager on duty before your shift if you have vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, sore throat with fever, or an infected cut on your hands. Tell us immediately if you are diagnosed with norovirus, hepatitis A, Shigella, Salmonella (including typhoid), or Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. These are reportable under the FDA Food Code, and you will be excluded or restricted from food work until cleared. You will not be disciplined for reporting. Handwashing: Wash for 20 seconds at a handwash sink (never a prep or dish sink) when you arrive, after the restroom, after touching your face or phone, after handling raw protein, after taking out trash, and before putting on new gloves. Temperatures: Cold holding at 41°F or below. Hot holding at 135°F or above. Cook poultry to 165°F, ground meat to 155°F, whole cuts of beef and fish to 145°F. Line cooks log walk-in and reach-in temps at open, mid-shift, and close. The closing cook signs the log. Allergens: Every server must know the 9 major allergens (milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, sesame) and where they appear on the menu. When a guest declares an allergy, write ALLERGY on the ticket, tell the expediter verbally, and the kitchen uses a clean board, knife, and gloves. A manager runs the plate. Date labels and FIFO: Label everything with product, date made, and use-by date. Rotate oldest to the front. Discard prepped TCS food after 7 days. Sanitation duties: Each station owns its own sidework and closing list. A manager checks the list before you clock out.
7.Alcohol Service Policy
Certification: Anyone who serves, pours, or checks IDs must hold a valid responsible-alcohol-service certificate (your state's program or an approved equivalent) within 30 days of hire, or before their first bar shift where the state requires it. Keep a copy in your file. ID checks: Ask for ID from anyone who looks under 40. Accept only a valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID: driver's license, state ID, passport, or military ID. Check the photo, the birth date, the expiration, and the feel of the card. If you have any doubt, decline the sale and get a manager. You are never wrong to refuse. Signs of intoxication: Slurred speech, loss of balance, loud or aggressive behavior, spilling drinks, or difficulty focusing. Slow service, offer water and food, and tell a manager. Do not serve another drink. If a guest arrives already intoxicated, do not serve them at all. Cutting someone off: Only a manager cuts off a guest, but any team member can and should stop serving and get a manager. Offer to call a rideshare. Never let a visibly intoxicated guest drive. Limits: No drink specials that encourage rapid drinking. No serving more than two drinks to one guest at a time. No serving to anyone under 21, ever, including family members and staff. Incident log: Every refusal, cut-off, fake ID, or alcohol-related incident goes in the manager log the same night. This log is our protection if we are ever sued.
8.Workplace Safety & Accidents
Report every injury: Tell a manager right away about any injury, no matter how small, and before you go home. We complete an incident report the same shift. Workers' compensation insurance covers work injuries, but the claim must be filed on time. Cuts and burns: First aid kit is at the host stand and the kitchen office. Any cut needing more than a bandage, any burn larger than a quarter, and any injury to the eyes goes to urgent care with a manager's sign-off. Slips and falls: Wear non-slip shoes. Clean spills immediately and stand a wet-floor sign. Say "behind" and "corner" when moving through the kitchen. Never run. Lifting: Lift with your legs, keep the load close, and ask for help with anything over 50 pounds or above shoulder height. Use the hand truck for deliveries. Knives and equipment: Only trained team members operate the slicer, mixer, and fryer. Keep knives in the knife rack, never in a sink of water. Lock out equipment before cleaning. Fire: Know where the extinguishers are (one at each end of the line, one at the bar, one by the back door). For a grease fire, cover the pan or use the Class K extinguisher. Never use water. If the hood suppression system fires, evacuate and call 911. Robbery or threats: Cooperate. Do not resist or chase. Note what you can and call 911 once safe. Right to a safe workplace: You may report safety concerns to a manager or directly to OSHA without retaliation.
9.Harassment, Discrimination & Complaints
Our commitment: We do not tolerate harassment or discrimination of any kind, from anyone, including owners, managers, coworkers, vendors, or guests. What harassment looks like here: Unwanted touching, sexual comments or jokes about a coworker's body, sharing explicit images, comments about someone's race, religion, or accent, mocking a disability, or repeated unwelcome advances after a coworker has said no. Guest behavior counts too. If a guest harasses you, step away and get a manager. We will move you off the table, and we will ask the guest to leave if needed. How to report: Tell any manager, or the owner directly, in person, by text, by email, or in writing. You can report something that happened to you or something you witnessed. You do not have to report to the person you are complaining about. What happens next: The owner or a designated manager will speak with you within 2 business days, interview those involved, and keep the matter as confidential as a fair investigation allows. You will hear back on the outcome. Anyone found to have harassed a team member will face discipline up to and including termination. No retaliation: You will not be scheduled less, moved to worse sections, or treated differently for making a good-faith complaint or taking part in an investigation. Retaliation is itself a fireable offense. Outside options: You may also file with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or your state's civil rights agency.
10.Meals & Breaks
Breaks: Team members working 6 hours or more receive one unpaid 30-minute meal period, scheduled by the manager on duty outside of peak service. You must be completely relieved of duty during that time; if you are asked to work, the break is paid. Shifts of 4 hours or more also get a paid 10-minute rest break. Where state law requires more, we follow state law. When to take it: Confirm break timing with the manager before the rush. Do not take a break during the push without a manager's OK. Clock out and back in for the meal period. Employee meals: One staff meal per shift from the family-meal menu or the discounted employee menu. Employee menu items are 50% off when eaten before or after your shift, paid at the POS under your own name, and rung in before you eat. Food taken without being rung in is theft. Where to eat: The back patio table or the office. Not on the line, not at the bar, and not at a guest table during service. Drinks: Water, coffee, tea, and fountain soda are free during your shift. Keep drinks in a lidded cup below the line, never on a prep surface.
11.Progressive Discipline
We use progressive discipline so that problems get fixed, not just punished. The steps are: 1. Verbal warning. A manager explains what happened and what needs to change. It is noted in your file with the date. 2. Written warning. A signed form describing the issue, the expected behavior, and the date. You may add your own comments. 3. Final written warning. A last notice that the next incident may end employment. Usually paired with a written improvement plan. 4. Termination. Warnings for the same category of issue stay active for 12 months. Steps may be skipped depending on the seriousness of the conduct. Immediate termination offenses include: theft (including unrung food or drink), working under the influence, violence or threats, harassment, serving alcohol to a minor, falsifying time records or temperature logs, deliberately ignoring an allergy notice, and a second no-call/no-show. Your side: You will have the chance to explain before a final warning or termination. Ask to add a written statement to your file if you disagree with a warning. Nothing in this policy changes the at-will nature of employment.
12.Leave & Time Off
Paid time off: Full-time team members accrue 1 hour of PTO for every 30 hours worked (about 9 days a year at 40 hours per week), starting on day 91. PTO requests follow the scheduling rules above. Unused PTO carries over up to 40 hours. PTO payout at separation follows state law. Sick leave: Where state or local law requires paid sick leave, we provide it at the required rate and it can be used for your own illness or a family member's, with no doctor's note for absences under 3 days. Where the law does not require it, PTO covers sick days. Come in sick and you will be sent home; see Food Safety. Holidays: We are open on most holidays. Team members who work Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or New Year's Eve are paid 1.5x their base rate for those hours. Holiday shifts are assigned by rotation. Jury duty and voting: We will schedule around jury duty and give you time to vote as required by law. Bring the summons to a manager. Bereavement: Up to 3 scheduled shifts off for the death of an immediate family member. Ask a manager; no documentation is required. Family and medical leave: If you are eligible under the federal FMLA or a state family leave law, we will provide that leave. Ask the owner, who will walk you through the paperwork. Returning to work: Tell a manager your return date at least 7 days before you come back so you get on the schedule.
13.Handbook Acknowledgment
I acknowledge that I have received a copy of the Employee Handbook and that I have read it, or had it read to me, and understand its contents. I understand that the handbook describes current policies and that the restaurant may change, add, or remove policies at any time, with written notice. I understand that nothing in this handbook creates a contract of employment for any specific length of time, and that my employment is at-will. I understand that I am required to report food-safety symptoms and illnesses, workplace injuries, and any harassment I experience or witness, and that I will not be retaliated against for doing so. I agree to follow the policies in this handbook and to ask a manager whenever I am unsure about a policy.
Harvest Table Employee Handbook, effective September 1, 2026
Employee name (print)
Position
Employee signature
Date
Manager signature
Date
Keep the signed original in the employee's personnel file. Give the employee a copy. Re-sign whenever a revised edition is issued.
What Is a Restaurant Employee Handbook?
A restaurant employee handbook is the written set of rules every team member agrees to when they are hired: how scheduling works, how tips are split, what to wear, what happens when someone is late, and how to report a problem. It is different from an SOP document. The handbook says what the rules are; the SOP manual says how to do each task.
A useful test: if a policy would change how a manager writes someone up, it belongs in the handbook. If it would change how a cook holds a knife, it belongs in the SOP.
Why Every Restaurant Needs One
Restaurants run on part-time staff, tipped wages, alcohol, knives, and hot oil. That is more legal exposure per square foot than almost any other small business. A handbook does four jobs at once.
It is your first defense in a dispute
When a former server files a wage claim or a harassment complaint, the first thing an investigator asks for is your written policy and the signed acknowledgment. No handbook means you are arguing from memory.
Every manager enforces the same rules
Without a handbook, your Tuesday manager forgives a no-show and your Friday manager writes someone up for it. Inconsistent enforcement is how discrimination claims start.
Food code and alcohol law require written policies
The FDA Food Code expects operators to have an employee health policy covering illness reporting. State alcohol boards look for written service rules after an incident. The handbook holds both.
Training starts on day one, not week three
A new hire who reads the call-out procedure, the tip pool split, and the dress code before their first shift needs far less hand-holding. Pair it with a signed job description.
How to Use This Template
- 1Fill in the cover fields: restaurant name, city and state, effective date, and who prepared it.
- 2Open each of the 13 sections and replace the example numbers (tip pool percentages, call-out windows, PTO accrual) with your own.
- 3Delete anything you do not actually enforce. A policy you ignore is worse than no policy.
- 4Have an employment lawyer in your state review the pay, tips, breaks, leave, and discipline sections.
- 5Print it. Have every employee sign the last page, file the original, and hand them a copy.
6 Policies Restaurant Handbooks Most Often Miss
Generic handbook templates are written for offices. These six policies are where restaurant owners get burned, and every one is already drafted in the template above.
01Tip pool terms in writing
Who contributes, what percentage, who receives, and how shares are calculated. Under the federal FLSA, owners, managers, and supervisors may not take any share of a mandatory tip pool. The U.S. Department of Labor restated this in Opinion Letter FLSA2025-1 (January 14, 2025): a manager who bartends a shift still cannot keep pooled tips. Write the split down so nobody has to guess.
02Sidework expectations
Servers assume sidework is optional when it is not in writing. State that closing sidework is part of the job, that a manager checks it before clock-out, and that it is paid time. Tie the actual task list to your cleaning checklist.
03Social media rules
One photo of a kitchen ticket with a guest's name, or a TikTok of the walk-in, can cost you a health inspection or a guest. Say what staff may not post and who speaks for the restaurant online. Keep it narrow so it does not chill legally protected talk about wages and conditions.
04Employee meal policy
Free meal, discounted meal, family meal, or nothing? When, where, and how it is rung in? Unrung staff food is the most common form of inventory shrink in independent restaurants, and most of it comes from policies that were never written down.
05Shift-swap rules
Who can cover whom (a barback cannot cover a certified bartender), where the swap is recorded, and who owns the shift until a manager approves. Without this, a no-show turns into two people each blaming the other.
06Allergen duty
The handbook should say every server must know the nine major allergens, how an allergy is flagged on the ticket, and that ignoring a declared allergy is a termination offense. This backs up your kitchen SOP and shows due diligence if a reaction ever happens.
This is a starting template, not legal advice
Employment law is mostly state and city law, and it changes every year. Tipped minimum wages, meal and rest break requirements, paid sick leave, predictive scheduling, and final-paycheck timing all vary by state. The federal baseline is a $7.25 minimum wage, a $2.13 tipped cash wage, no required meal breaks, and paid short breaks of 5 to 20 minutes (per DOL Fact Sheets #15 and #22), but many states go well beyond that. Have an employment lawyer licensed in your state review the pay, breaks, leave, and discipline sections before you hand this to staff. RestOps does not provide legal advice.
What to Include vs. What to Keep Out
The handbook is the rulebook. Procedures live in your SOP document, and task lists live in the cleaning checklist. Keeping them separate means you can update a procedure without re-signing every employee.
Include
- At-will statement and equal-opportunity statement
- Attendance, call-out, and no-show consequences
- Pay schedule, tip pool split, overtime rule
- Illness reporting under the FDA Food Code
- Harassment definition, reporting path, no retaliation
- Progressive discipline steps and what skips them
- Leave policies that match your state
Keep out
- Step-by-step opening and closing procedures (SOP document)
- Recipes, plating specs, and portion sizes (recipe cards)
- Manager-only procedures: bank drops, deposits, safe codes
- Promises of hours, raises, or continued employment
- Anything you do not intend to enforce every time
- Vendor names, alarm codes, or passwords
Rolling It Out
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| Read-and-sign | Give every current employee a printed copy and 7 days to read it. Collect signed acknowledgments. No signature, no next schedule. |
| New hires | Handbook, job description, and I-9 on day one, before the first shift. Pair it with the interview and onboarding checklist. |
| Pre-shift walkthrough | Spend one pre-shift on the three policies most likely to bite: call-outs, tip pool, allergies. Do not read the whole book aloud. |
| Revisions log | Keep a dated list of every change on the inside cover. When a section changes, staff sign a one-page addendum, not the whole book. |
| Annual review | Every January, check state minimum wage, sick leave, and break laws against sections 4, 10, and 12. Re-issue if anything moved. |
Hand new hires the handbook together with their signed job description, whether that is a server, line cook, or bartender. The scheduling section only works if your schedule actually posts on the day the handbook promises. And if you serve alcohol, read up on dram shop liability before finalizing section 7.
Related Tools & Guides
Restaurant SOP Template
Step-by-step procedures for kitchen, FOH, bar, and cleaning that sit alongside this handbook
Restaurant Interview Questions
Hire people who will actually follow the policies you just wrote
Employee Schedule Template
Put the scheduling policy into practice with a weekly shift grid
Restaurant Manager Job Description
Define who enforces the handbook and what they are accountable for
Restaurant Cleaning Checklist
The sanitation duties your handbook references, broken out by station