(b) Company handbooks

(b)     Company handbooks

While it is of course still possible to have works rules in that old format, the modern equivalent will often be the company handbook. While this is generally looked upon as a useful HR technique, problems can arise legally if a dispute arises as to whether any particular part of the handbook is or is not incorporated into the employees' contracts. Once again, the legal principles here are similar to those applying to the incorporation of collective agreements, with much depending on the 'aptness' of the particular part for incorporation. In Dal v Orr [1980] IRLR 413 the EAT read as part of the employee's contract a statement in the employees' handbook that 'the company reserves the right to alter the shift system together with the hours of work to meet production requirements'; the effect of this was that the shift