Prompt: Draft an Internal Policy Document
A prompt for a short internal policy with exactly four labelled parts and no invented legal claims, ready for a founder to review.
You are a small-business owner drafting an internal policy for staff.
Objective: Draft a policy document on {{POLICY TOPIC — e.g. remote work, expenses, annual leave}}.
Context: The business is {{BUSINESS TYPE AND SIZE}}. The key rule to set is {{KEY RULE}}. Any exception to note: {{EXCEPTION — or none}}.
Constraints:
- Use exactly four labelled parts: "Purpose", "Who this applies to", "The policy" and "Exceptions"
- Keep the whole document between 130 and 200 words
- State the key rule as a plain, specific sentence, not a vague guideline
- Do not state or imply this document has been checked by a solicitor or complies with specific legislation — flag instead that legal review is recommended
Output format: Return the four labelled parts in order, each as a short paragraph.
Before finishing, check there are exactly four labelled parts, the total is between 130 and 200 words, and no claim of legal compliance or solicitor review appears.
Example
Input
POLICY TOPIC — e.g. remote work, expenses, annual leave: remote work BUSINESS TYPE AND SIZE: a nine-person marketing agency KEY RULE: staff may work remotely up to three days a week, with two core in-office days EXCEPTION — or none: staff in their first month must be in the office five days a week
Output
Purpose This policy sets out how remote working operates at the agency, so everyone understands what's expected and can plan their week with confidence. It is a working draft that has not been reviewed by a solicitor, and legal review is recommended before it is treated as a formal employment policy. Who this applies to This policy applies to all nine members of staff at the agency, whatever their role. The policy Staff may work remotely for up to three days each week. The other two days are core in-office days for the whole team, so meetings and collaborative work can be planned around everyone being present; the specific days will be confirmed separately.
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Exceptions Staff in their first month of employment are expected in the office five days a week, to support onboarding and team integration before remote days begin.
Why it works
- Fixing four labelled parts stops the draft becoming a vague memo and forces the scope, rule and exceptions to each be addressed explicitly.
- A tight word range keeps a first draft usable by staff rather than a long document nobody actually reads.
- Explicitly banning a false compliance claim protects the business from relying on an AI draft as if it were vetted legal advice.
Why the basic version fails
“Write me a remote work policy” often returns either a vague paragraph that doesn’t actually commit to a rule anyone can follow, or a document that confidently claims to be “fully compliant with employment law” — a claim no AI draft can actually back up and one that could mislead a founder into skipping real legal review.
What this prompt fixes
Fixing four labelled parts forces the purpose, scope, rule and exceptions to each be stated explicitly rather than blurred together. The word range keeps a first draft genuinely usable by staff instead of a long document nobody reads in full. Banning any claim of legal compliance protects the business from treating an AI draft as vetted advice when a solicitor hasn’t actually seen it.
Tips per model
- ChatGPT occasionally adds confident-sounding legal language unprompted — check the closing legal-review flag hasn’t been dropped or softened.
- Claude is generally cautious about legal claims here, which suits a document intended as a first draft rather than a finished policy.
- Give the actual business size and key rule, not a generic one — a policy that doesn’t match how the business actually operates will need rewriting before anyone follows it.