HR DOCUMENTATION SERVICES

As a baseline, you will need to have certain HR documentation in place as an employer. A contract of employment is a legally binding agreement between an employer and an employee. In the UK, the term ‘employee’ is defined by the Employment Rights Act 1996 as an individual who has entered into or works under a contract of service or apprenticeship. Since April 2020, employees have the right to be issued with the terms and conditions of employment from day one. Additionally, employers are required to have three legal policies in place, no matter what the size of the company:

• Disciplinary Policy
• Grievance Policy
• Health and Safety Policy

It is recommended that employers engage HR and legal professionals to create HR documentation, to ensure it is robust and legally compliant. The risks involved if your documentation is poorly written or omits important information are very high. For example, if contracts of employment are not written correctly and do not contain the necessary information to protect you, then you could face fines of up to £95,000 if a dispute is taken to an employment tribunal. Also, if companies fail to inform employees about their terms and conditions of employment, this could result in a claim of unfair dismissal being made against the company.

In the UK, a contract of employment is a vital piece of HR documentation which lays out the terms of employment for a given individual. It must comply with minimum legal standards, such as the right to paid holidays and daily and weekly rest breaks. It can also include implied terms not stated in the contract but incorporated in some other way, for example, a duty of mutual trust and confidence between the employer and employee. An employment contract is an agreement between an employer and an employee that sets out important information such as:

• Employment conditions
• Employee rights
• Employee responsibilities
• Employee duties

These are all known as the terms of an employment contract.

It is not a legal requirement to have an employee handbook, however, they can be a useful reference document for both employers and employees and help with onboarding new staff. Just as every business is different, so will be the contents of the employee handbook. As a general rule, the contents should cover topics such as:

• Disciplinary procedures
• Sickness absence policies
• Grievance and harassment
• Equal opportunities
• Capability procedures

Ideally, all new employees should be given a handbook that sets out the practices and procedures that your company follows.

It is a legal requirement that employers make their employees aware of all company policies. HR policies and procedures ensure compliance with employment legislation and let employees know what their individual and the company’s responsibilities are. Poor or no HR documents can affect businesses and cause a range of issues, including:

• Unhappy employees
• Dissatisfied customers
• High employee turnover
• Loss of business
• Increased costs

Other policies are not legally required, but are considered best practice to have in place, including:

• Equal opportunities
• Sickness and leave of absence
• Flexible working
• Training and development
• Bullying and harassment
• Code of conduct
• Internet and email
• Drug and alcohol
• Social media
• Privacy policy

HR documentation support includes practical assistance and guidance with all aspects of your HR documentation. From creating new documents to keeping on top of everyday admin, our HR consultants can ensure your paperwork is current and compliant.

Your HR documentation is key to demonstrating legal compliance. If challenges arise, or if you’re audited by a governing body such as the Health and Safety Executive, up-to-date paperwork will be vital. Without it, you could leave yourself open to fines, legal complications and unexpected costs. Thorough documentation also helps demonstrate a transparent and fair approach to working practices, which is positive for employee relations.

A robust paper trail is important across all areas of your business, from recruitment and development plans to disputes and redundancies. Our HR documentation support helps with every aspect of your paperwork. Whether you need new employment contracts drawing up or guidance with everyday form filling, our consultants are on hand to help.

Our team of HR experts is trained to deliver support with every form of business documentation. Whatever you need to stay compliant, efficient and growing, Clover HR’s consultants can help with. From health and safety paperwork to employee handbooks, we can tackle it all.

Absolutely. Documentation is critical to maintaining and demonstrating legal compliance. It serves as written proof that you’ve met your responsibilities as an employer and will be crucial if you’re ever challenged or audited.

Keeping on top of your own documentation can be time consuming. Hiring and maintaining permanent in-house staff to handle it will also occupy time and require consistent expenditure. However, with outsourced documentation support, you can have expert assistance whenever you need it for just a portion of the cost.