It can be daunting if you don’t know where to start, especially as a small business.

You might have been ‘winging it’ until now, but you know you really need to get a few basics in place to protect your business from potential employee claims.

Investing in the HR basics will ensure your business is compliant and will put your mind at rest.

Do your trust your employment contract?

Contracts can be an absolute minefield if you don’t have a trained eye. And what’s worse, they can open you up to significant risk – especially if you don’t really understand what it contains. Or doesn’t contain.

  • Do you know the difference between a contractual and non-contractual policy?
  • Are you confident that your employees receive a written statement of employment particulars, as per your legal obligation?
  • Do you know when you can and can’t invoke a garden leave clause?
  • Are you aware of your statutory obligations as an employer?

If you can’t, hand on heart, answer yes to most of these questions, then we need to have a chat!

Or perhaps your employees don’t even have a written contract at all?

You don’t need to panic. We are experts in employment contracts and can make sure your employment contracts are up-to-date, tailored to your business, and protect both you and your employees.

What policies do you have?

As soon as you hire your first employee, you are legally obliged to have certain policies in place.

As an absolute minimum, you will need to know how you intend to approach disciplinary and grievance situations, otherwise you will need to follow the ACAS Code of Practice.

You also need to have a health and safety policy. And if you have more than five employees, this needs to be written down.

And it’s good practice to have procedures in place that outline your statutory obligations, such as holiday and sickness.

Thankfully (for you!), we can provide these policies quickly and in line with your business practices.

Other HR basics to consider

Once you know your contract is watertight and supported by robust policies, you’ll know you’ve covered the absolute minimum.

You may also want to think about the following basics:

  • An employee handbook covers day-to-day questions your employees might have.
  • Perhaps your business operates in a regulated industry and you have additional obligations to consider, such as DBS checks.
  • If you employ people from overseas, you may need to manage sponsorship licences or obtain proof of settled status.

Whatever industry your business operates in, let us take the worry away and get your HR basics in place. Get in touch today!