Northwind Robotics Employee Handbook
Author: People Operations Team
Document ID: POL-101
Version: 3.2
Effective date: 1 March 2026
Last review: 12 February 2026
Next review: 12 August 2026
Classification: Internal - All Employees
Owner: Chief People Officer
Approver: CEO

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1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE
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This handbook is the authoritative source for employment terms, workplace
norms, and people policies at Northwind Robotics Ltd ("Northwind", "the
Company"). It applies to all permanent employees, fixed-term contractors
engaged for six months or longer, and seconded staff working under
Northwind management.

Where this handbook conflicts with a signed employment contract, the
contract prevails for that individual. Where this handbook conflicts with
local law in a jurisdiction where Northwind operates, local law prevails.
Managers may not create team-level exceptions that weaken a company policy
without written approval from People Operations.

This document does not create a collective agreement. Policies may be
updated with notice on the company intranet; material changes that affect
pay or contractual leave are communicated by email with at least 30 days'
notice unless a shorter period is required by law.

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2. OUR COMPANY AND VALUES
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Northwind Robotics designs, manufactures, and supports autonomous mobile
robots for warehouse and light industrial environments. Our headquarters
are in Cambridge, UK, with satellite offices in Berlin, Austin, and
Singapore, plus remote employees across the UK, EU, and North America.

Company values (used in hiring, performance, and promotion decisions):

  Safety first. Robots and people share floors. Shortcuts that risk injury
  or unsafe deployments are never rewarded.

  Customer truth. We prefer an honest delayed ship date over a surprise
  failure in a customer's aisle.

  Own the outcome. Roles are not fences. If you see a broken process, you
  either fix it or escalate with a proposed fix.

  Teach what you learn. Documentation and demos are part of the job, not
  optional polish.

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3. WORKING HOURS
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Working hours are 09:00 to 17:30, Monday to Friday.

The standard full-time week is 37.5 hours excluding a 30-minute unpaid
lunch break. Part-time schedules are agreed in writing and stored in the
HRIS. Overtime is not routinely expected for salaried roles; when a
deadline requires evening or weekend work, managers must record the hours
and offer time off in lieu within the following calendar month.

Core collaboration hours for cross-office meetings are 10:00 to 15:00 UK
time. Teams should avoid scheduling mandatory meetings outside that window
unless a customer incident or launch requires it.

Flexible start times between 08:00 and 10:00 are allowed if the employee
still covers core collaboration hours and their manager agrees in writing.
Flex arrangements are reviewed each quarter.

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4. REMOTE WORK AND HYBRID WORK
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Remote work. Employees may work remotely up to three days per week.
Fully remote arrangements require director approval and are reviewed
every six months. Employees working remotely must be reachable on
Slack during core hours, which are 10:00 to 15:00.

Hybrid default. Most UK and EU roles are hybrid: at least two days per
week in a Northwind office or an approved customer site when the role
requires it. The two in-office days are chosen with the manager so that
team overlap is maximised (typically Tuesday and Thursday at Cambridge).

Desk booking. Cambridge and Berlin use hot desks. Book a desk by 17:00
the day before via the Workplace app. Unbooked desks may be released at
09:30. Austin and Singapore keep assigned desks for manufacturing and
field-support staff.

Home office standards. Remote and hybrid employees must have a private
space for confidential calls, a reliable internet connection of at least
50 Mbps down / 10 Mbps up, and an ergonomic setup that meets the Display
Screen Equipment checklist. Northwind reimburses up to £350 (or local
equivalent) once every 36 months for approved home office equipment.
Claims go through the expenses policy (see POL-114).

International remote work. Working from a country that is not the
employee's contracted work location for more than 10 working days in a
rolling 90-day period requires approval from People Operations and Tax.
Unapproved long stays can create permanent establishment and payroll
risks for the Company.

Customer sites. Field engineers and deployment specialists follow the
customer site access rules in SPEC-WB9 and the Security Policy (POL-207).
Customer-site days count as in-office days for hybrid tracking.

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5. TIME OFF AND LEAVE
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Annual leave is 28 days plus public holidays.

Leave year runs from 1 January to 31 December. New joiners accrue leave
monthly in their first year. Up to five unused days may be carried into
the next leave year with manager approval; carried days expire on 31 March.
Payment in lieu of untaken leave is only made on termination as required
by law.

Booking leave. Submit requests in the HRIS at least 10 working days in
advance for absences of three or more consecutive days. Peak blackout
periods (for example final week of a major customer go-live) are published
by team leads each quarter. Managers must respond to leave requests within
five working days.

Sick leave. Notify your manager and People Operations before 09:30 on the
first day of absence. Self-certification covers the first seven calendar
days. After seven days, a doctor's note is required. Northwind provides
company sick pay above statutory minimums as described in the benefits
summary on the intranet; details vary by country entity.

Compassionate leave. Up to five paid days for the death of an immediate
family member. Additional unpaid leave may be agreed with People Operations.

Jury service and civic duties. Northwind supports employees summoned for
jury service. Notify People Operations immediately and provide the court
summons. Pay continuation follows local statutory rules plus company top-up
where applicable.

Study leave. Employees enrolled in an approved professional qualification
may request up to five paid study days per year, subject to manager and
People Operations approval. Course fees may be supported under the Learning
and Development budget (see Section 11).

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6. PAY, EXPENSES, AND TRAVEL
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Salary is paid monthly in arrears on the last working day of each month
(UK payroll) or per local entity calendar. Payslips are available in the
HRIS. Questions about tax codes or deductions go to payroll@northwind.example.

Expenses and travel reimbursement are governed by the Expenses Policy
(Document ID: POL-114). That policy is authoritative for mileage rates,
meal caps, receipt rules, and submission deadlines. This handbook does not
override POL-114.

Company credit cards are issued to roles that travel monthly. Cardholders
must reconcile transactions within 14 days. Personal spend on a company
card is a disciplinary matter.

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7. CONDUCT, CONFLICTS, AND SPEAK-UP
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Expected conduct. Treat colleagues, customers, and suppliers with respect.
Harassment, discrimination, bullying, and retaliation are prohibited.
Northwind investigates reported concerns promptly and confidentially to the
extent practical.

Conflicts of interest. Disclose outside employment, board seats, and
financial interests in competitors or suppliers to People Operations. Do
not use Northwind confidential information for personal gain.

Gifts and hospitality. Accepting gifts over £50 (or local equivalent)
requires manager approval and a register entry. Cash gifts are never
acceptable. Customer entertainment must comply with anti-bribery rules.

Speak-up channels. Raise concerns with your manager, People Operations,
or anonymously via the ethics hotline listed on the intranet. Security
incidents (lost laptop, suspected phishing) must also follow POL-207
reporting timelines.

Social media. Do not post confidential product, customer, or personnel
information. Personal opinions should be clearly personal. Official
company statements are issued only by Marketing or an authorised
spokesperson.

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8. PERFORMANCE, FEEDBACK, AND PROMOTION
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Goal cycles run twice per year (February and August). Employees and
managers set outcomes that are specific, measurable where practical, and
tied to team OKRs. Mid-cycle check-ins are required; waiting for the
formal review is not a substitute for coaching.

Performance ratings use a four-point scale: Exceeds, Meets, Developing,
and Unsatisfactory. Unsatisfactory ratings trigger a written improvement
plan with clear milestones and a review date of no more than 90 days.

Promotions. Level changes require a calibration packet (impact evidence,
peer feedback, and manager nomination) reviewed by the relevant director
and People Operations. Promotions are not automatic with tenure.

Pipelines and PIP exits. If an improvement plan is not met, Northwind may
proceed to termination consistent with local employment law and the
employee's contract.

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9. EQUIPMENT, SYSTEMS, AND DATA
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Northwind issues a company laptop and identity account on day one. Personal
devices may access email and Slack only through approved MDM or SSO paths.
Storing customer data on personal devices is forbidden.

Security baseline. Follow the Security Policy (POL-207) for passwords,
multi-factor authentication, encryption, and incident reporting. People
Operations will not override Security timelines.

Software installs. Use the company software catalogue. Unlisted tools that
process customer or employee personal data need a Security review before
use. Shadow IT that stores Northwind data in personal cloud accounts is a
policy violation.

Offboarding. Return all company equipment within five working days of the
last employment day. Access is revoked at end of last working day unless
a shorter timeline is required for a security incident.

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10. HEALTH, SAFETY, AND WELLBEING
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Warehouse and lab areas require closed-toe shoes and adherence to local
safety inductions. Never bypass robot safety interlocks. Report near-misses
in the Safety app within 24 hours.

Display screen assessments are mandatory in the first 30 days and after a
role or primary workspace change. Occupational health referrals are
available via People Operations.

Mental health. Employees have access to the Employee Assistance Programme
(confidential counselling). Managers are trained to respond to wellbeing
concerns without diagnosing medical conditions.

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11. LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
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Every employee has an annual L&D allowance published by People Operations
(amounts vary by level and entity). Allowances cover courses, books, and
conference tickets that relate to the role. Unused allowance does not roll
over.

Internal teaching. Engineers and specialists who deliver an approved
internal workshop of 60 minutes or longer receive recognition in the
promotion packet and may claim preparation time against team capacity with
manager agreement.

Mandatory training. Security awareness, anti-harassment, and (for relevant
roles) product safety modules must be completed within 30 days of joining
and annually thereafter. Incomplete mandatory training can block system
access renewals.

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12. EQUALITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION
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Northwind is an equal opportunity employer. Hiring, pay, and promotion
decisions must be based on role-relevant criteria. Reasonable adjustments
for disability are coordinated by People Operations.

Pronouns and names. Use the name and pronouns an employee has recorded in
the HRIS and Slack profile. Deadnaming or deliberate misgendering is
misconduct.

Religious observance. Managers should accommodate prayer times and
religious holidays where operationally feasible, using annual leave or
flexible hours as agreed.

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13. GRIEVANCES AND DISCIPLINE
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Informal resolution is preferred for minor issues. Formal grievances are
submitted in writing to People Operations. An investigator who is not the
subject's direct manager will be appointed. Employees may bring a companion
to formal meetings as permitted by local law.

Disciplinary processes follow a staged approach for most conduct issues:
verbal warning, written warning, final written warning, then dismissal.
Gross misconduct (theft, violence, serious data breach, fraud) may lead to
summary dismissal subject to local law.

Appeals. Employees may appeal a formal outcome within five working days of
receiving the decision letter. Appeals are heard by a more senior manager
not previously involved.

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14. DOCUMENT CONTROL AND RELATED POLICIES
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Related documents referenced by this handbook:

  POL-114  Expenses Policy (Finance)
  POL-207  Security Policy (Information Security)
  SPEC-WB9 Warehouse Robot Product Spec (Engineering) - operational
           constraints that affect field staff scheduling and site access

Questions about this handbook: people@northwind.example
Policy change requests: submit via the Policy Change Jira form

End of POL-101
