1. Welcome to Yorks

We’re really glad you’re here. We exist to be the best part of people’s day, for our customers, and for each other.

Yorks is a vibrant, super-accessible café “owned” by our customers. Our roots are in coffee and globally-inspired, all-day brunch, and we serve soulful, travel-inspiring food and drink that leaves people feeling great, with the authentic, human service that makes Yorks, Yorks. You’re now part of that.

What we’re known for

Soulful food & drink, every dish has a story, integrity and a bit of magic.

Eat well, feel good, consciously-chosen ingredients and a zero-UPF menu.

Connection with people, kindness and warmth, celebrating the diversity of our customers and our team.

This handbook is the everyday companion to your contract. Your contract sets out your personal terms; this explains how we all work together, day to day, so everyone knows what to expect and feels looked after, customers and colleagues alike.

Our values, in short

Be the best, create the best, we ask “is that the best?” in everything we do.

Use the power of everyone, great things come from all of us together.

Eat well, feel good, we choose good ingredients and a zero-UPF menu.

Be humble and willing to improve, none of us knows it all; we keep growing.

Accountable to our environment and those less fortunate, our legacy is the good we leave behind.

2. How this handbook works

We’ve written this in plain English on purpose. It still matters, but nothing here is meant to feel heavy-handed. If anything is unclear, please just ask your manager.

Most of this handbook is helpful guidance on how we do things, and we may update it from time to time as the business grows. A few parts reflect your legal rights or our legal duties, those are flagged where it matters. The handbook itself isn’t part of your contract, so we can improve it without having to reissue everyone’s terms.

Spotting the type of document

Across Yorks, every document carries a coloured banner so you can tell at a glance what you’re holding. This one is red, which means Policy, something we all follow. You’ll also see blue for how-to guides (SOPs), green for safety, purple for training, and amber for this week’s promotions.

ContractA binding agreement you sign, like your employment contract.

PolicyA rule we all follow, like this handbook and the HR policies.

How-to (SOP)The steps for doing a task well, like the order of service or opening up.

SafetyThe safety-critical ones: food safety, allergens, fire safety and first aid.

DevelopYour job description, growth and training.

What's onPromotions this week, competitions and team news.

CultureWho we are and why, like this welcome and our values.

The policies are the source of truth

Think of this handbook as the friendly summary that ties everything together. The full detail lives in two places: your employment contract sets your binding terms (pay, hours, holiday, notice), and each topic has its own Policy document with the complete “how we do it”. Those are the source of truth. We update and reissue policies on their own as things change, so if anything in this handbook ever reads differently from the current contract or policy, the contract or policy is the one to follow. Each section below points you to where the full detail lives.

3. Starting with us

Your first three months

Your first 3 months are a settling-in period (we can extend this by up to another 3 months if we both need a little longer). During this time either of us can end things with one week’s notice. We’ll check in with you regularly so you always know how you’re getting on.

The paperwork

Before you start we’ll need to see proof of your right to work in the UK, your bank details for pay, and your National Insurance number. We may also ask for a reference. Please keep your personal details up to date with your manager so pay and contact never go astray.

What to wear, and your first shifts

We’ll show you the ropes with a proper induction, the coffee, the menu, the way we look after people, and where everything lives.

There’s no uniform to buy. On the floor, wear something comfortable and casual that you feel good in and that says something about you. We like that our team look like people rather than a chain. We’ll give you a Yorks apron, and we just ask that what you wear underneath is clean and tidy, and ironed if it needs it.

In the kitchen, we’ll issue you with chef’s whites and an apron if you don’t already have your own. If you do, wear yours.

4. Your pay & money

You’re paid by bank transfer on the 6th of each month, for the hours you worked the previous month. Your hourly rate is set out in your contract.

Pay reviews

We review pay each April. A review doesn’t automatically mean a rise, and we won’t review pay once notice to leave has been given by either side.

Extra hours & time off in lieu (TOIL)

Hospitality is busy and unpredictable. If you unavoidably work beyond 40 hours in a week, that extra time is given back to you as time off in lieu rather than extra pay. TOIL is capped at 10 hours a month and should be taken by the end of the following month, or it lapses. Anything above 10 hours needs a Director’s agreement at the time. If you’re contracted to fewer than 40 hours, extra hours up to 40 can instead be paid at your normal rate.

Expenses

We’ll happily reimburse reasonable expenses agreed in advance. Up to £20 can be signed off by the Café Manager or Assistant Manager; anything above £20 needs a Director’s approval. Please keep your receipts.

Pension

We run a workplace pension. In line with the rules, enrolment is postponed until three months after your start date, and we’ll write to you with the details and your right to opt in or out.

Money owed, the plain version

Occasionally money ends up owing in one direction or the other. If you owe us money, for example an overpayment, a loan, or holiday taken but not yet built up, you agree we can recover it from your pay, including your final pay. The law protects you here: because we’re a retail business, anything taken from a single pay packet for a till or stock shortage is capped at 10% of your gross pay, so it can never leave you short. We’ll always talk to you first.

Where to find the full detail: the Pay, Expenses & Deductions policy (your exact hourly rate is in your employment contract), and the Troncmaster & Tips policy for how tips are shared.

5. Hours, breaks & flexibility

Your normal weekly hours are in your contract, worked across Monday to Sunday (including weekends) over no more than 5 days. We won’t ask you to work more than 40 hours in a week.

If you work a shift longer than 6 hours (or 4.5 hours if you’re under 18), you’re entitled to a 30-minute unpaid break.

Because the café’s needs change, we may need to adjust your hours, days or shift times to suit the business, we’ll always give you as much notice as we reasonably can. Your rota lives on Sling; please check it regularly and let your manager know as early as possible if you can’t make a shift.

If you’re under 18

By law we look after our younger team a little differently: you can work up to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week (these can’t be averaged out), you get a 30-minute break once you’ve worked 4.5 hours, and you can’t work between midnight and 4am at all. Cafés can ask under-18s to work a later evening where we genuinely need the cover, and if we do, there’ll always be an adult on with you and you’ll get the time back as extra rest. We build the rota around these rules to keep you safe and well.

Where to find the full detail: the Working Hours & Breaks policy, and the Flexible Working policy if you’d like to change your pattern.

6. Food & drink on us

One of the perks of working somewhere that loves food and coffee. Here’s how it works:

Hot drinks on shift: 2 per shift, or 3 if your shift is 6 hours or more.
Food on a full shift: when you work a full shift (one where you’re given a break, so over 6 hours), your food is on us up to a value of £10, or 50% off. If you’re trying a dish for the very first time, the £10 cap doesn’t apply to that sample. Anything above £10 is at 50% off.
When you’re not working: 50% off food and drink (this doesn’t include alcohol or retail items).
Your close family: 20% off, for your closest family only (not on alcohol). By close family we mean the people you live with or grew up with, for example your mum, dad, brother, sister, husband, wife, or long-term live-in partner, up to 4 people you name. It doesn’t extend to friends: we all make lovely friends with our regulars, and if we included friends we’d soon be discounting for half the café.
Not during our busy times: as a small café we need to keep seats for full-paying customers, so the day-off and family discounts don’t apply during peak hours, unless the manager on duty says otherwise. Peak hours are Monday to Friday 11am to 2pm, and Saturday and Sunday 10am to 3pm.

One simple rule

All staff food and drink must be authorised and put through the till by the manager on duty. That keeps it fair for everyone and our records straight.

These are a thank-you, not a right we can’t adjust, please enjoy them sensibly and never share your discount with people it’s not meant for.

Discounts for customers, such as regulars, VIPs and other groups, are a separate matter and are set out in our Customer Discounts policy.

Where to find the full detail: the Staff Food, Drink & Discounts policy.

7. Holidays & time off

You get 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday a year (28 days if you work full time), which includes bank holidays.

Nobody here works set days or set hours, so holiday builds up in hours as you work, at 12.07% of the hours you actually do. The more hours you work, the more paid holiday you earn. Our holiday year runs 1 November to 31 October.

You’ll see your balance remaining on your payslip and in the payroll app. Holiday is paid at your normal hourly rate, just as if you’d worked it. We count the hours you’d normally have done, based on a sensible average of your recent weeks, pay them as usual and take them off your balance.

Booking it

Please give at least 4 weeks’ notice for holiday so we can keep the café well-staffed, and get it agreed before you book anything. We’ll always try to say yes. You can carry up to 5 shifts’ worth of hours into the next year, to be used within 3 months. Your manager will check everyone’s balance in February, May and August, and we’d love everyone to take at least one full week off in a block each year. Whatever the rota looks like, you should get 11 hours between shifts and at least 2 days off in every 7.

Where to find the full detail: the Holiday & Leave policy.

8. When you’re unwell

If you’re not well enough to work, let your manager know as early as you can before your shift starts, a call is best, so we can cover the café. Please keep us updated if you’ll be off for more than a day.

If you’re off sick for more than 7 days in a row, we’ll need a fit note from your doctor. When you’re back, your manager will have a quick, friendly return-to-work chat, it’s to check you’re okay, not to catch you out.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), simply put

If you’re off sick, you may be entitled to SSP from the very first day of your absence. There are no longer any unpaid “waiting days”.

SSP is paid for the days you would normally have worked, for up to 28 weeks. You’ll get the lower of the standard weekly SSP rate (£123.25 in 2026) or 80% of your normal weekly earnings. There’s no minimum earnings threshold, so part-time and lower-paid team members qualify too. We’ll always tell you what applies to you.

Where to find the full detail: the Sickness & Absence policy.

9. Family & other leave

We support you through the big moments in life. You have legal rights to maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave, to unpaid parental leave, and to reasonable time off to deal with an emergency involving someone who depends on you.

If someone close to you dies, ask for the time you need and you’ll get it. Compassionate leave is unpaid, but you can use holiday for those days if you’d rather be paid, and we’ll always say yes to that. If you lose a child under 18 you also have the right to 2 weeks of statutory parental bereavement leave. The Family Leave policy sets it all out.

For jury service and anything else life throws at you, talk to your manager as early as you can and we’ll work it through with you kindly and fairly.

Where to find the full detail: the Family Leave policy.

10. How we treat each other

Kindness and understanding bring us closer together and create the warm, friendly place our customers love. We celebrate the diversity and successes of our people, and we expect everyone to be treated with respect, whoever they are.

There’s no place at Yorks for bullying, harassment or discrimination of any kind. If you ever experience or witness it, please tell a manager or a Director, we’ll take it seriously and handle it sensitively.

Where to find the full detail: the Equality, Diversity & Dignity at Work policy and the Anti-Harassment policy.

11. Looking the part & everyday conduct

Presentation: a clean apron, clean and tidy clothes, and good personal hygiene. We’re a food business and first impressions count.
Timekeeping: please be ready to start at your start time, not arriving then. Being respectful of each other’s time is a value to us.
Phones: personal phones stay off the floor and out of sight during shifts, use them on your break. If you’re expecting something urgent, just let your manager know.
Be a good teammate: follow reasonable instructions, look after our good name, and speak up if something can be done better.

Where to find the full detail: the Conduct, Presentation & Standards policy.

12. Health, safety & food safety

Safety is everyone’s job. Please follow the training and procedures you’re given, keep your area clean, and never take shortcuts that could put you, a colleague or a customer at risk.

Allergens: always take allergen questions seriously and follow the allergen procedure exactly, getting this right can be a matter of someone’s safety, and it’s the law.
Report it: tell a manager straight away about any accident, near-miss, illness, or anything unsafe, and record it.
Know your exits: make sure you know the fire exits, the assembly point and who your first aiders are.

Where to find the full detail: the Health & Safety policy, plus the Food Safety, Allergens, Fire Safety and First Aid documents (the green, safety-critical ones).

13. Looking after Yorks

Confidentiality & data

In your role you’ll come across confidential information, recipes, supplier terms, sales figures and, importantly, personal details of customers and colleagues. Please keep it confidential, use it only for your job, and handle personal data with care. Our Privacy Notice and Data Protection policy explain your responsibilities.

Social media

We love that you’re proud of Yorks. When you post anything that mentions us, please be positive and respectful, never share confidential or customer information, and make clear your views are your own. Our Social Media policy has the specifics.

Company property & security

Please look after equipment and stock, and return anything that belongs to us when you leave.

Where to find the full detail: the Data Protection & Privacy, Confidentiality and Social Media policies.

14. Drugs, alcohol & being fit for work

For everyone’s safety, please come to work fit and ready, and never work under the influence of alcohol or drugs. If you’re on medication that might affect your work, just have a quiet word with your manager.

We don’t carry out routine or random testing. If we ever have a genuine safety concern, we’ll talk to you first and approach it supportively, if you’re struggling with alcohol or drugs, please tell us, and we’ll help you find support rather than rush to judgement.

Where to find the full detail: the Drugs & Alcohol policy.

15. If something isn’t right

If something’s bothering you, about your work, a colleague, or how you’ve been treated, the quickest fix is usually a friendly chat with your manager. Most things are sorted this way. If it’s more serious or a chat doesn’t resolve it, you can raise a formal grievance; our Grievance procedure explains how.

On the rare occasion things go wrong the other way, we’ll always be fair. Our Disciplinary procedure sets out how we handle concerns about conduct or performance, and you’ll always get the chance to put your side. If you ever become aware of something seriously wrong, like dishonesty or a risk to safety, please speak up; our Whistleblowing policy protects you when you do.

Where to find the full detail: the Disciplinary and Grievance procedures and the Whistleblowing policy.

16. Moving on

If the time comes to move on, we ask for 4 weeks’ written notice (one week during your probation). If we end your employment after probation, we’ll give you at least 4 weeks’ notice, rising by a week for each full year of service beyond four years, up to 12 weeks.

When you leave, please return anything that belongs to Yorks. We’re always happy to provide a factual reference, and we’d love for you to leave as a friend of Yorks.

Where to find the full detail: your employment contract, which sets your notice period.

17. The rest of the library

This handbook is your map. The documents below sit alongside it, you’ll find them on Sling, and we’ll point you to the ones that matter as you go:

Contracts (navy): your employment contract and any agreements you sign.
Policies (red): Pay & Expenses, Working Hours & Breaks, Staff Food, Drink & Discounts, Conduct & Standards, Holiday & Leave, Sickness & Absence, Family Leave, Flexible Working, Equality & Dignity, Anti-Harassment, Data Protection & Privacy, Confidentiality, Drugs & Alcohol, Social Media, Whistleblowing, Disciplinary & Grievance, and Troncmaster & Tips.
How-to guides (blue): barista and drinks specs, opening & closing, till and refunds.
Safety (green): Food Safety, Allergens, Fire Safety, First Aid.
Develop (purple): your job description, the progression ladder, and training.

Thank you for being part of Yorks.

Let's be the best part of everyone's day.

Version history

Version	Date	What changed
4.0	July 2026	Corrected what to wear: there is no uniform to buy. Aprons are issued for the floor, chef's whites and aprons for the kitchen if you do not have your own.
3.1	July 2026	Bereavement summary brought into line with the Family Leave policy.
3.0	July 2026	Removed the paragraph about checking bags and lockers. We do not do this.
2.1	July 2026	Holiday pay wording brought into line with the policy.
2.0	July 2026	Brought into line with the updated policies: holiday, rest, under-18 evenings and the deductions cap.
1.0	July 2026	First issue.