21 Feb 2020

Business owners often ask what policy documents they need and, depending on who you talk to you will get various answers as everyone has their own opinions … well, here are my thoughts

Key elements of a policy document

Before we look at what HR policies and procedures a business needs, let’s first look at what they are. A policy document will contain these elements:

• The purpose or scope of the policy - highlights the situation in which the policy is to be applied, or the legal basis it is focusing on
• The aims or objectives – what the policy is designed to remedy or achieve
• How it’s to be used – on overview of how the policy can be applied or the steps to be followed to comply or remedy the situation

A policy document may also include details on who’s responsible for what, definitions of key terms, guiding principles that may drive the policy (such as transparency, confidentiality, inclusion, etc) and the consequences of non-compliance (e.g. disciplinary action)

Why do we have policy documents?

There are two main reasons for having a policy document:

1. Legal – the policy gives an overview of an aspect of employment legislation (e.g. equality, maternity/paternity leave, etc) outlining what both the employer and employee need to do to comply with this legislation. This type of HR policy is generally based on an employee’s statutory employment rights as a minimum, but an employer can choose to ‘enhance’ the offering at their discretion
2. Situational – this sort of policy highlights what should be done in certain situations (e.g. social media misuse, homeworking, attendance issues, etc). It may or may not have a legal basis to draw from, but it defines how an organisation will react when the described situation occurs

The purpose of any policy is to provide its users with a roadmap for dealing with an infrequent or uncommon situation – employers are not expected to be au fait with every employment issue that they have to face but the right policy document gives them a point of reference to start from

So, what sort of policies do you need?

When you are considering taking on your first employee, you should think about having an equal opportunities statement – this is a declaration that you are committed to treating all potential applicants (and future employees) fairly and equitably, without fear of discrimination

Many small businesses grow organically – we employee people we know, relatives, friends, friend of a friend, etc. Although this is not a bad thing, we may already have an established relationship with these people and sometimes they can find the transitions from friend to employee a tough one to take, which often leads on to the need for the next set of policies

Once you take on your first employee you will require a disciplinary procedure, which outlines the steps to be taken in employee misconduct situations, and a grievance procedure, which states how an employee can raise a complaint or concern about their employment 

It’s also useful to have a health & safety policy when you become an employer as you have a duty of care for the health and safety of your employees, even if that is only one person. You may be told that you don’t need this until you have 5 employees (including yourself) but accidents don’t wait for you to take on your fifth employee before they happen – be prepared

These 4 policies form the core of your requirements

Holidays, sickness absence, probationary periods and notice periods should be covered in your written statement of terms and conditions of employment (your employment contract) but these can also become policies if you need further clarification for your team

In the early days, don’t feel the need to provide policies for every situation, this is not cost effective or necessary – you can add more policies as situations arise within your business. If an employee asks a question regarding flexible working, for example, that’s the time to put together your flexible working policy

Your HR policy portfolio should grow with your business – it should match the needs of your business and your team. Policy documents should also be easy to understand and easy to use; they are there to help you and your team deal with situations that may not happen often, giving you a guideline as to how you can manage those situations in line with your legal obligations and best practice

If you have any questions about HR policies, need new policies or want us to look at the policy documents that you already have in place, please get in touch

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