Navigating the intricacies of HR and People policies can be a daunting task, especially for startups and SMEs who are focused on growth. Often, the creation of HR policies and procedures is relegated to the bottom of the priority list until an urgent realisation hits: the success or failure of your HR framework can significantly impact your business.
In an era where information is readily accessible, it’s crucial to have a solid HR foundation from the outset to both set expectations as well as avoid potential financial setbacks due to early HR missteps. Fortunately, this guide is here to separate your MustHaves from your NicetoHave Policies for your startup or SME, so that you’re clear on what you need to have in place.
Legal Requirements
Surprisingly there is only a handful of policies that are required by law for a business to have:
- Disciplinary and Dismissal Policy: spell out how you will resolve concerns that you have
- Grievance Policy: spell out how you will resolve concerns that your team have
- Health and Safety Policy: What are you doing to
- Maternity, Adoption, Paternity Leave, Parental Leave and Shared Parental leave
Beyond Compliance: Best Practices
Beyond the legal mandates however, several policies are advisable due to their legal minimum requirements: your HR game with policies that aren’t just about ticking boxes but enhancing your team’s experience and your company’s culture.
| Pay | Legally you must pay your employees at least the National Minimum wage and ensure Equal Pay; you must also provide an itemised pay statement and not make any unauthorised deductions from employees pay |
| Equal Opportunities | Legally you must not discriminate against staff or allow harassment and bullying and you must make reasonable adjustments for staff in the work-place if they are disabled |
| Working Hours and Overtime including rest-breaks and holidays | Legally you must comply with Working Time Regulations provisions for employees and workers |
| Sickness policy and unauthorised/authorised absence | Legally you must make statutory sick pay payments to employees and allow them time off for dependant emergencies, Jury Service etc. |
| Bullying and harassment | You should communicate the standards you expect and how you will manage any situations where someone feels that they have been bullied or harassed. |
| Flexible Working | You must consider all employees flexible working requests from Day 1 |
And finally, think about what policies which resonate with your unique culture and operational style and which promote consistency in your team. Some of these can include:
- Social Media
- Personal e-mail / Internet Usage
- Alcohol/Drugs In The Workplace
- Dress Codes
- Expenses
- Smoking/ Vaping
There are no legal guidelines for these policies and they can be designed around the needs of your business. For example, no smoking (including e-cigarettes) other than during lunch hour.
Where Do I Start?
When it comes to writing HR policies for startups and SMEs, copious content is not king . There are millions of pages of policies & procedures rotting away completely unused stuck in the metaphorical filing cabinet that is the cloud that will attest to this fact. Don’t get fooled into thinking that you need a policy for every eventuality – you don’t. And in fact, too many draconian policies can be restrictive to a small business that is growing.
The types of policies that you need depend on your business type: what’s going to be right for an accountancy firm might not be right for a manufacturing plant and what’s right for a company of 10 people might not work when you hit 100. So think about where you want to set standards.
It is essential to create realistic employment policies – and then be consistent in their use. Do what you say as well as what you do. For example, using a policy to pay lip service to health and safety or treating employees fairly is not enough. If the worst happens and a problem ends up in court or at an employment tribunal, you’ll need to be able to show that you put your company policies into practice.
Communication Is Key
Policies can be part of your employee/company handbook or you can set them out in a separate document. However, for your discipline and grievance policies, you must either set them out in a written statement of main terms and conditions of employment or refer in a written statement to a place where the employee can find them.
You should ensure that you make staff aware that your policies exist. The best time to do this is during the induction process (which doesn’t have to be a 3 day off site event but can be something as simple as a checklist to ensure that a new employee to your company has all the relevant information that they need). You should also make sure that employees can easily access policies if necessary, by having them pinned up on a noticeboard for example or, again, on the company intranet.
Contractual Or Not?
The policies of an SME generally aren’t contractually binding unless they expressly stated otherwise. However, the terms of some policies could be seen as contractually binding through custom and practice e.g. where employees follow certain working practices or receive certain benefits over a significant period of time. You need to be conscious of this as ultimately it will be up to an Employment Tribunal to decide on the contractual nature of policies if a claim were ever to be brought against your company.
Never-Ending Updates
Policies are never finished and you must ensure that you regularly review your policies and procedures to ensure that they are up to date, reflect the needs of the business and reflect any legislative changes.
Effective Company Policies
Whatever your policies cover, there are 2 key principles we recommend to make a policy effective
- Make sure any policy is clear
- Make sure that any policy is communicated to employees. Unless employees understand a policy it will not work.
You don’t want to tie yourself or your managers up with too many rules as this will only prove to be restrictive to day to day operations. Equally policies and procedures must be realistic, meaningful and be something that you and your management team are prepared to stand by. There is no point in stating that persistent lateness is a disciplinary offence and then not disciplining the one employee who is late every Monday morning. This type of approach will only lead employees to the conclusion that policies are meaningless, making them almost impossible for you to enforce.
For further advice and support on policy implementation, or any other HR issues contact theHRhub today on 0203 627 7048 or drop us a line at hello@thehrhub.co.uk
Photo by Andrew Pons on Unsplash
