Introduction to HR Policies and Procedures

HR Policies and Procedures are important for legal compliance and effective management.

The information on this page is intended as a general guidance for UK employers, and may not be appropriate for all situations. You should always consider seeking professional advice before acting.

Please also see the footnote at the bottom of this page.

Employers will typically have a range of HR Policies and Procedures covering a range of issues.

An HR Policy should be a statement of a course of action in response to a particular issue.

An HR Procedure should support an HR Policy by explaining how the issue will be dealt with and by whom.

All UK employers are required by law to have in writing certain HR policies and procedures.

HR Policies and Procedures ensure employees understand their responsibilities and how they should deal with various situation. They also provide a framework to help managers resolve problems fairly and consistently.

Introduction

Legally, all UK employers (even those with just a single employee) are required to have certain policies. These include a written disciplinary procedures, written grievance procedures and written particulars of employment (i.e. a contract of employment).

In addition to complying with legal requirements, employers should consider additional HR procedures based on what is important to them.

For example...

• If employees claim expenses or receive benefits (medical insurance, company car, overtime payments etc.), it would be wise to introduce an Expenses and Benefits policy.
• If employees have access to email or the Internet, you should certainly consider an Internet and Email policy.

Other policies that employers may find helpful are...

• Performance appraisals
• Taking on new employees (interview and recruitment guidelines and practices)
• Holidays, absence and sickness
• Flexible working
• Resignation, retirement and redundancy
• Maternity and paternity

Implementing HR Policies

The content of HR Policies and Procedures needs to be both legally accurate and easy to understand. Employees and managers must be able to work with the procedures!

It is also important that policies and procedures are regularly reviewed by someone who understands employment law. If the documentation hasn't been updated for some time, it may be appropriate to consider a professional review or health check.

A well written set of policies and procedures will contain more than the minimum legal requirements. They should also include appropriate advice and guidance for both managers and employees. Employment law can be complex and difficult to understand - effective guidance can help make difficult situations easier to manage.

When introducing new practices such as HR Policies and Procedures, some thought needs to be given as to how this will be communicated to the employees. In general, it is helpful to give one month's notice of any policy change.

Conclusions

Effective policies and procedures are important for both legal and practical reasons. Introducing policies can be a complex but worthwhile process.

A significant level of skill is required to write the necessary documentation (and keep it up to date with current legislation and best practice).

A range of standard policies, procedures, letters and forms are available from this website. For organisations that require documentation that is more specific to their organisation, bespoke policies and procedures can be created.

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• HR Letters and Forms
• HR Policies and Procedures

Footnote

If you require further explanation, guidance or advice specific to your requirements, please contact us. We have a range of policies & procedures and letters and forms that may be helpful. We can also provide consultancy if you need more personal assistance.

The information on this website is primarily aimed at UK based organisations, though may be more generally applicable. The information is believed to be correct at time of writing but may be subject to change as legislation is updated and precedents set. THIS INFORMATION MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR ORGANISATION. If in doubt, please contact us or your legal advisers.

All information is copyright, and provided subject to our website terms and conditions.