Organise Policies into Groups

Structure your handbook for easy navigation and professional presentation

3 min readUpdated 11 January 2026Reviewed for UK law

What are Policy Groups?

Groups are chapters or sections in your employee handbook. Instead of a long list of policies, groups organise them into logical categories that follow the employee lifecycle — from joining the company to leaving.

Why Use Groups?

  • Better Navigation: Employees can quickly find what they need
  • Professional Look: Published handbooks have clear chapter structure
  • Logical Flow: Policies appear in a sensible order, not alphabetically
  • Gap Visibility: See which groups are complete vs. missing policies

Default Group Structure

Bounda provides 10 default groups based on the employee lifecycle. These cover most handbook structures and can be customised or extended:

1

Introduction

Welcome and company overview

2

Starting Work

Onboarding, checks, probation

3

Employment Terms

Hours, flexibility, working arrangements

4

Pay & Benefits

Compensation, pension, expenses

5

Leave & Time Off

All leave entitlements

6

Health, Safety & Wellbeing

H&S duties, emergency procedures

7

Conduct & Standards

Behaviour, equality, policies

8

Performance

Reviews, development, appraisals

9

Problems at Work

Disciplinary, grievance, whistleblowing

10

Leaving the Company

Notice, redundancy, exit

Managing Groups

Go to Groups in the sidebar to view and manage your handbook structure.

Create a New Group

Click "Add Group" to create a custom group. You'll need to provide:

  • Code: A unique identifier (lowercase, e.g., company_info)
  • Name: Display name (e.g., "Company Information")
  • Description: Optional brief description

Tip: Custom groups appear at the end by default. Use the reorder buttons to move them to the right position.

Reorder Groups

Use the and buttons to move groups up or down. The order here determines the chapter order in your published handbook.

Edit or Delete Groups

Click the icon to edit a group's name or description. Click to delete a group.

Note: You can only delete empty groups. Move policies to another group first if you want to delete one.

Assign Policies to Groups

Click "Assign Policy" on any group to add a policy to it. You'll see a list of ungrouped policies — select one to assign it.

Policies can also be moved between groups by unassigning from one and assigning to another.

Ungrouped Policies

At the bottom of the Groups page, you'll see any policy types that haven't been assigned to a group. These appear in an "Other Policies" section in your published handbook.

Best Practice: Try to assign all policies to groups for a cleaner handbook structure. If a policy doesn't fit existing groups, create a new custom group for it.

Example Handbook Structure

Here's how a well-organised handbook might look when published:

1. Introduction

Welcome Message • Company Values • Professional Conduct

2. Starting Work

Background Checks • Probation • Personal Information

3. Employment Terms

Working Hours • Flexible Working • Remote Work

4. Pay & Benefits

Pension • Expenses • Referral Bonus

5. Leave & Time Off

Annual Leave • Sick Leave • Maternity • Paternity • Carers Leave...

... and so on through to Leaving the Company

Tips for Organising Groups

Follow the Employee Journey

Start with joining (onboarding, probation) and end with leaving (notice, redundancy, exit).

Keep Groups Balanced

Aim for 3-8 policies per group. Too few feels sparse; too many is hard to navigate.

Use Descriptive Names

"Leave & Time Off" is clearer than just "Leave". Think about what employees would search for.

Don't Over-Customise

The default groups work for most organisations. Only create custom groups if you have a genuine need (e.g., industry-specific policies).

Remember

Groups organise your handbook's structure, but they don't change which policies are legally required. Use Gap Analysis to see which core policies you still need to create.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are policy groups in Bounda?

Policy groups are logical categories that organise your handbook policies into sections. For example, 'Leave & Time Off' might contain your annual leave, sick leave, and parental leave policies. Groups appear as chapters in your published handbook and help employees find relevant policies.

What default groups does Bounda provide?

Bounda provides 10 default groups: Introduction, Starting Work, Employment Terms, Pay & Benefits, Leave & Time Off, Health Safety & Wellbeing, Conduct & Standards, Performance, Problems at Work, and Leaving the Company. You can use these as-is, modify them, or create your own.

Can I create custom policy groups?

Yes, you can create custom groups to match your organisation's structure. Add new groups, rename existing ones, change their order, or delete groups you don't need. Each group can have a name and description that appears in your published handbook.

What happens to ungrouped policies?

Policies not assigned to any group appear in an 'Ungrouped' section on the Groups page. They'll still be included in your handbook but won't appear in the table of contents until assigned to a group. We recommend grouping all policies before publishing.

Does group order matter?

Yes, group order determines how chapters appear in your published handbook. Drag groups to reorder them - typically start with introductory content, then employment fundamentals, followed by conduct and procedures, ending with leaving processes.

📁 Organise Your Handbook

Ready to structure your handbook? Head to the Groups page to get started.

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