Your HR Policies and Procedures can provide clarity to employee and help to set boundaries and expectations. They can reinforce your working practices and your culture.
There are also legal requirements to provide certain policy documents to employees.
Whenever there is an employment issue or dispute, one of the first questions will be ‘what does the policy say’. Your policies and procedures will therefore either support what you are trying to do or restrict you. Written procedures also make it easier to manage any situation as you can follow the procedure and they help ensure fairness and consistency.
It is recommended that your policies and procedures are ‘non-contractual’. This means that they can be changed and amended by the Company should the need arise, without having to consult with employees (unlike the contract of employment). However, it is still essential to communicate any changes.
Policies and procedures should be appropriate for the organisation. They should NOT be overly bureaucratic or lengthy or so rigid as to be inflexible. It is NOT advisable to copy policies form the last corporate company you worked for as these are likely to be inappropriate and restrictive.
There are legal requirements to have certain written policies in place. Other policies will provide the organisation with further protection and flexibility.
Having clear policies and procedures (including topics like working practices, standards and codes of conduct) will help communicate to employees what is expected and therefore, provided they are well communicated, you are more likely to get the standards of conduct and performance you want for your organisation!
It is essential to keep your policies up to date with any changes in employment law or changes in working practices and to communicate changes to employees. If you fail to communicate changes, you cannot rely on them!
Your policies can be communicated to employee’s in the format of an employee handbook, or you can provide access to documents on-line. One of the most effective solutions is to use an HR Portal / System that will communicate policies and any changes to employees. Take a look at YourHR.space as an example. This will also save you time as content is updated for you and changes communicated to employees.
You can use the template policies and guidance on YourHR.guide to help you implement HR policies and procedures and keep them up to date.
You can sign up for a FREE account and get (limited) access to guidance and templates and receive email updates about changes in employment law as they happen. Just visit https://yourhr.guide/ (please note that some content is restricted to Premium members only).
1. Introduction to HR Policies
3. Policies Explained – Part 1
4. Policies Explained – Part 2
Case Study – Communicating Policies
If you need assistance with any aspects of your HR, we’d be happy to help. Contact us on 01702 216573 or [email protected]