by
Ryan Clement
We have all seen it: a beautiful Employee or Staff Handbook (the one that is referred to in the contract of employment, which staff confirm that they read and understood!) that sits untouched while the actual office culture plays by its own set of rules. While policies are often written with the best intentions—to keep us safe and treated fairly—they don’t mean much if they aren’t lived out in our daily routines.
When a gap grows between what an organisation says it does and what it actually does, it can feel a bit discouraging for staff and workers. It’s not just about ‘following rules,’ it’s about building a workplace where everyone feels they can rely on a consistent experience.
At the end of the day, the heart of a great organisation isn’t found in a PDF—it’s found in the integrity of practising what the organisation reasonable says it does, will do and or does not tolerate etc – discrimination, harassment, bullying, victimisation… In other words, it does what it says it does in the ‘beautiful employee or staff handbook.’
Recently, Dawn H. Jones, HR Specialist | Author | Helping Organisations and individuals Navigate Workplace Challenges, and I launched a series of podcast videos in which we discuss a range of workplace topics, regarding, amongst other things, the implications and consequences of organisations’ failure to follow their own policies and procedures and how such is viewed and dealt with by employment tribunals.
Copyright © Ryan Clement 2026
Ryan Clement 