A handbook sounds like something only big companies need. In California, several of the policies inside it are required in writing from the day you have your first employee, and a few more kick in at five.

The practical reason to write them down is simpler. Policies are the answers to questions you will otherwise answer differently each time somebody asks. How much notice for time off, what happens if someone is late three times, who approves a schedule swap. Written once, they make you consistent, and consistency is both what employees want and what protects you if a decision is ever challenged.

• Your current headcount, because several requirements turn on how many employees you have
• How your sick leave actually works. Accrual or front loaded, and what the carryover is
• Your real schedule, break, and timekeeping practices, not the ones you wish you had
• Any policy document you already use, even a half finished one
• The languages your team actually reads