Navigating the landscape of HR can be overwhelming, here is an overview of the HR compliance documents that are a good starting point for your business. Not adhering to HR legislation can not only have consequences that give you a major headache they can jeopardise your business’ reputation. Having clear documents protects your business to help avoid legal issues and will create a positive work environment.
HR compliance documents for new starters
Once you have recruited using clear and a non-discriminatory selection process, there are several key documents you need for any new starter to your business.
Statement of Terms and Conditions of Employment (Contract)
Governed by the Employment Rights Act 1996; issuing a contract of employment is a day one right and must detail out the terms of conditions of employment, most commonly including service start date, pay rate, job title, job location, working hours, any other pay rates/benefits, pension entitlement, notice periods etc. Depending on your industry and the roles you have in your business there may be other clauses required.
Employee information
You also need a robust and GDPR compliant way of gathering your employee’s personal data including any relevant medical information. We recommend having the following as a minimum:
- New Starter Form
- P46
- Medical Questionnaire
Employee handbook
A comprehensive employee handbook is vital for all your employees to be aware of and understand as it will set out your company polices, demonstrate your compliance to guidance such as the ACAS Code of Conduct and be the first reference point for your employees if they have any questions about their employment.
Legislation covers the whole employee journey, so you need to make sure your documents contain HR complaint processes such as:
- Disciplinary Procedure
- Sickness Absence Procedure
- Family policies such maternity and paternity
- Time off policies
Record keeping for HR Compliance
Depending on the size of your business you may keep records on a spreadsheet, an HR database or a bespoke system. You must maintain accurate records of not only any financial elements of employment but also for attendance, changes in terms and conditions and medical records. GDPR will play a role here and you will need to consider legal retention records for different type of records.
For instance, are you able to monitor your employee holiday entitlement, ensuring it is compliant with statutory requirements? Do you monitor how much time someone has off sick and pay them accordingly?
Slice can recommend the most suitable record keeping system for your business to ensure HR compliance and to save you time!
This might all sound overwhelming and you just don’t know where to start with your HR Compliance Documents – so we have created a handy checklist for you to download.
Remember these documents need to be compliant with employment law but also relevant to your business, your sickness absence policy will be very different to a business down the road from you! Slice can help with this so please get in touch.