If you are the owner of a small to medium enterprise, or if you are thinking of becoming your own boss, Human Resources is probably the last thing on your mind!
Am I right or am I right?
Perhaps, the very idea of HR makes you want to run a mile. Where do you even start? Employment Legislation, Policies, Procedures. I can sense the increasing levels of fear as you read this. Joking aside, HR is incredibly important and is an integral part of your business to ensure its progress and success.
If you employ another individual, you will most certainly need to take HR matters seriously. Not only will HR provide clarity and consistency in terms of business processes, such as how you recruit, or manage employee performance, but it will also protect you in terms of the law along with your wider reputation.
Here at Sitrus Consulting, we like to keep things simple. After all, there is no need to over-complicate straightforward matters … Trust me, it really isn’t that bad!
Compliance with the law is a must.
We must all keep up to date with any legislative changes and updates, implementing what is needed to protect yourself and your business. Make sure you are fully equipped in the basics of HR, knowing how to attract, hire, retain and manage employees, whilst getting the best performance from them.
Knowing how to implement and run all these processes correctly will significantly diminish any risk of employment issues or legal challenge.
Sitrus’s Top Five
We have compiled our top five tips to help you manage a successful HR operation within your business:
Ensure you have a written statement of Employment Particulars
Any individual you hire who is employed for more than 1 month will need a ‘written statement of particulars’ given to them within 2 months of them starting work with you. This does not need to be lengthy or filled with complicated jargon, but must be a written statement to include the following:
- name of employer and employee
- the date in which employment began
- the date the employee’s continuous employment began
- the employee’s job title or brief description of the role
- rate of remuneration or method of calculating remuneration
- dates of payment
- employee’s place (or places) of work
- a statement if an employee is required to work outside of the UK for more than one month including the period of time for which he/she will do so, payment currency, any renumeration or benefits, terms relating to the employees return home.
- terms and conditions relating to hours of work
- terms and conditions relating to holiday leave and pay, sick leave and pay and pension arrangements
- notice period to be given by employee and employer
- if not permanent, a period for which employment is to continue
- if for a fixed term, the date on which employment will end
- any collective agreements which directly affect the employment
- The statement must also contain a note specifying:
- any relevant disciplinary rules or reference to where these can be found
- any relevant grievance procedure or reference to where this can be found
- the person to whom an employee applies if unhappy with disciplinary action, or to seek redress of a grievance
From April 2020, the law on such written statements of particulars is changing. From this date, a written statement of particulars will need to be provided on or before the first day of employment, and will be required for all employees or workers. The majority of the terms of employment will need to be contained within the one single statement of employment particulars, although a limited number of terms may be either given at a later date (up to 2 months post the start of employment) or contained within another accessible source which the employee is referred to within their main statement, such as an intranet site.
Payroll and pensions
Ensuring that you pay your employees on time and with the correct amount should be priority number one here. If you do not have the resources to do this in-house, you may need to outsource. The key benefit to outsourcing is that you have peace of mind that payroll is in the hands of a specialist. However, cost implications of course apply, and you may wish to shop around before making a commitment.
If you can manage payroll in-house you need to ensure your staff have the tools and resources they need to perform such tasks. Knowledge of the PAYE tax system and the returns to HMRC is vital in getting this right.
The law surrounding workplace pensions has changed. Under the Pensions Act 2008, every business, however big or small, must put certain staff into a pension scheme and contribute towards it. This is called ‘automatic enrolment’. If you employ at least one person, you are an employer and you have certain legal duties.
Staff Bible (or Handbook
)
Please don’t take this literally and produce a scripture as big as the bible, but please do keep a document with concise policies and procedures, which are reviewed/updated regularly, within your company.
This will protect both you and your employees. It is also handy for employees (especially new) to have guidance on dress code, behaviour, sickness, holiday, disciplinary procedures, appraisal and pay reviews, along with the name of a relevant member of staff who can help if an issue arises. Make sure you talk this through with employees and ideally ask them to sign to say they have ‘read and understood’ the policies therein. Don’t assume people will take it home as bedtime reading!
Recruitment Process
The way in which you advertise a vacancy can affect the people you attract. If you put little effort into your recruitment, do not expect to see any rising stars come through the door or pass you a CV. You are looking for a person to stay, perform and reflect well on your business. Job adverts and interviews must be carefully managed to ensure you stay within the law.
You also must ensure that you have checked that an individual has the right to work in the UK before you offer them employment. You can be fined up to £20,000 if you cannot show evidence that you checked an employee’s right to work in the UK. This is your responsibility. Ignorance is not a defence.
When your new employees starts with you, a good induction process is critical. Productivity and staff retention have all been linked to how well you perform that initial induction. It will always take time for someone to ‘get up to speed’ in their job, but this can be hugely assisted with the right induction, training and setting of performance expectations. If someone has not been given the proper tools to work, do not expect them to perform at their best.
Effective and positive performance management
As an employee, we want to know what is expected of us, so that we can work towards a common goal. Employees need to know that they can ask questions or voice any concerns that they may have. Ensure that you have a process for monitoring and managing performance with a contingency plan for if and when things go a little awry. The desired outcome of any performance management process is to get things back on track.
Ensure all employees are clear about what you expect of them and have realistic objectives which they have the chance to discuss and agree with you. Feedback on performance should be given frequently, with more formal performance reviews taking place at regular points each year. If there are performance issues, don’t leave them as they are not likely to improve without some intervention. Tackle them early on by offering support, constructive feedback and any further training needed; this usually addresses most issues. If performance still doesn’t improve, set short term, targeted objectives, to track performance more closely.
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And there you have it. Our top five tips to ensure a successful HR function in your business. Establishing these processes bring clarity and consistency to how you manage your team and provide some protection to you and your business if things don’t go according to plan.
If you want even better news, you do not have to do this alone. We can help you set up the HR basics and ensure that you operate in a compliant way.
Contact us today for a no obligation chat! We are here to help!
