Guide to Workplace Policies and Employee Handbooks
Clear and accessible HR policies are vital for every organisation. They ensure legal compliance, consistency, and employee understanding across all aspects of human resource management.
Whether it’s a bullying and harassment policy, health and safety policy or disciplinary policy, having effective HR policies in place protects your business and your people. HR consultants like Eclipse HR can support your strategy with tailored guidance and documentation.
HR Policies and Handbooks: A Must-Have for Today’s Workplace
With the ever-changing nature of the work-environment, clear and comprehensive HR policies and employee handbooks are becoming more and more of a business necessity.
Struggling with unclear HR policies? You’re not alone. Creating effective HR policies isn’t just a compliance checkbox – it’s your frontline defence against workplace issues, legal issues, and employee confusion.
From misconduct to remote work and parental leave, poorly defined procedures can create more risk than you realise.
If you’ve ever found yourself Googling “What HR policies do I need?” or scrambling during a disciplinary issue with no clear guidelines – this guide is for you.
Having well-written, clearly communicated and accessible employment policies, including a robust code of conduct, can bring numerous benefits to an organisation.
From large companies to small businesses and startups, read on to find out more about policies, why you should introduce them and how to get started!
What are policies?
Workplace policies are statements outlining your businesses practices and procedures. You can have policies covering everything from day-to-day conduct to operational procedures.
HR policies and handbooks can be dynamic and vital tools that outline rules, regulations, and expectations that govern employee behaviour, rights and responsibilities within an organisation.
Having these policies in place ensures that procedures are clearly explained to staff and employees can understand what is expected of them. Policies can also provide your business with a clear framework and structure for addressing issues.
Benefits of having clear policies in place
Legal Compliance
Having carefully drafted HR policies and procedures, which are in line with employment laws and regulations, can be essential in ensuring organisations are staying compliant. A well-written handbook/policy can outline any statutory rights and obligations and provide guidance and framework on how to deal with any issues legally. In the event of a dispute, having documented policies in place can provide evidence that the organisation has taken steps to inform and protect employees, as well as show that legal obligations were followed.
Consistency
Policies and handbooks provide frameworks for employees, offering clear guidance on company expectations, procedures and workplace conduct. Having consistent procedures and rules in place ensures that all employees are treated fairly and consistently. Having consistent frameworks also means that responses to issues are grounded in company policy, allowing managers and HR teams to deal with issues objectively and fairly.
Understanding
By ensuring everyone receives and has access to the same information, all employees can gain a greater understanding of how the organisation operates, thus allowing them to conduct themselves appropriately for the situation.
Your Step-by-Step Guide to Building Employment Policies
It can be hard for businesses to know where to start when it comes to policies and handbooks, however with our top tips below, this task can become manageable.
Ensure you are staying on top of UK employment law – When developing policies and a handbook, you must be sure that they are compliant with the relevant law. Keeping up to date with changes to the law and understanding how these may impact you and your organisation, is the best way to ensure your policies and handbooks are relevant and compliant. Having regular reviews and updates, as we shall explore below, is a much-needed way to ensure you are keeping pace with any changes.
Have clearly defined terms – When drafting policies and a handbook, you must ensure they clearly state their aims and have clearly defined terms to ensure they are easy to understand and follow. Having jargon filled policies benefits no one and can leave managers and staff alike, confused and unsure what procedures are in place.
Make them readily accessible – Having policies and a handbook in place is great but they only work if they are readily available and accessible by managers and staff alike. Ensuring everyone knows where a handbook and policies can be accessed, ensures staff are aware of how to review procedures to be followed.
Seek guidance – When it comes to drafting employment policies and a handbook, seeking guidance from external HR Consulting Services can be a good way to start. This can act for and guide organisations, in knowing what policies and procedures should be introduced and how to go about this.
12 Must-Have HR Policies for Compliance and Clarity
To create a compliant and resilient HR framework, consider including the following key HR policies in your employee handbook:
Annual leave policy
Anti-corruption and bribery policy
Anti-harassment and bullying policy
Carers leave policy
Data protection policy
Diversity, equality and inclusion policy
Disciplinary and capability policy
Drugs and alcohol policy
Dress code
Family friendly policies e.g. adoption, maternity, neonatal care leave, paternity, parental leave, parental bereavement leave etc.
UK GDPR Privacy notice for employees, workers and contractors policy
Whistleblowing policy
These essential HR policies serve as formal guidelines that reflect your business needs and legal obligations while supporting employee development and employee wellness and wellbeing.
Protect your business with professionally written, legally sound and best practice HR policies – contact us.
The new sexual harassment legislation includes a mandatory requirement for employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment by taking proactive and systematic approaches in how they prevent and deal with sexual harassment at work.
It is more important than ever to have policies in place defining how your organisation aims to prevent sexual harassment, and the procedures in place should any allegations be made. Having a policy in place will provide a framework for dealing with any reported concerns and ensures you are doing all you can to uphold your new duties.
When and How to Review Your HR Handbook
Keeping abreast of changes in the law is ever important, to ensure your business is compliant. Here at Eclipse HR, we would recommend you review your handbook and employment policies annually, with a view to undertake more frequent evaluations if significant changes occur either within the organisation or in law.
By undertaking these reviews, you can promptly identify and address any gaps or areas for improvement, ensuring that your HR policies and handbook continue to serve their purpose and maintain purpose in an ever-changing business and legislative landscape.
How Eclipse HR Can Help
An effective HR policy framework should align with your broader HR strategy and business goals. HR professionals can help ensure that employment contracts, employment rights, and company policies are clearly defined, consistent, and easy to implement. By partnering with expert HR consultants like Eclipse HR, you’ll benefit from strategic insight and compliant documentation, tailored to your organisation’s unique challenges and workplace issues.
Here at Eclipse HR, we understand the significance of HR policies and/or a handbook; and are best placed to offer you tailored documents to meet your businesses specific needs. By working closely with your organisation, we can understand your goals and ethos and ensure policies and handbook are customised to reflect this.
For businesses seeking to establish clear guidelines, ensure legal compliance, best practice and promote consistency across their handbook, employment policies and practices, get in touch to talk with a member of our team today!
Don’t just take our word for it!
“Veronica has supported the organisations I have headed up with a variety of HR matters over many years and I can unequivocally recommend her. Her professionalism, calm and considered advice is second to none. She grasps situations and cultures quickly and gives frank, honest and clear advice always listening and looking for solutions and good outcomes. Her review of policies and procedures, structure reviews and employee discussions have been methodical and her commitment to getting the best for teams, and the organisation has never wavered. She has been a critical friend and there is no one else I would trust more across her wide skill set.”
Sandra Matthews-Marsh MBE, former CEO, Visit Kent and Go to Places and former Trustee, The Historic Dockyard Chatham
For more information on how we could help you with effective HR policies and handbook, get in touch to speak to a member of our team today, or please feel free to explore our website to learn more about the HR services we provide in Kent and the South East.
Author: Rebecca Lister Rebecca supports the Eclipse HR team and our clients across a range of tasks. Alongside her role, she is studying for an Integrated Masters in Advanced Legal Practice (MLaw) at the University of Kent. Her academic focus, particularly in employment law, complements her practical experience and deepens her understanding of HR in action.
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