Starting a new business is an exciting venture, but with it comes the responsibility of managing people and managing them effectively. Getting HR right from the outset not only ensures that you meet your obligations in terms of employment law, but it also sets the foundation for a happy and thriving workplace.
In this blog, we share five HR best practices to help new businesses succeed and build a strong foundation for their growing team. Let’s get straight into it.
1. Provide employees with employment contracts
One of the first tasks for any new employer is to issue written employment contracts. These documents outline the terms and conditions of employment, and protect both the employer and employee in case of disputes. A key consideration to keep in mind with your contracts is legal compliance. Employment law requires employees must receive a written statement of employment particulars before their first day of work. If you don’t provide this, it could potentially lead to legal claims.
As well as that, you must ensure clarity with your contracts. Make sure important information such as job title, working hours, pay, and notice periods are clear in your employment contracts.
Don’t fall into the trap of relying on informal agreements or verbal contracts as this can lead to misunderstandings and potential legal challenges. With that in mind, always ensure contracts are written, reviewed, and signed.
2. Create a staff handbook
A staff handbook is a vital tool for outlining company policies, procedures, and expectations. Having documented policies for everyday matters, such as sickness absence and holidays, means that staff understand the processes and a clear, consistent approach can be applied to everyone. While it is not a legal requirement to have a staff handbook, employers do need to have a grievance and disciplinary policy in place, even if they employ only one person, and having a handbook can help to prevent workplace disputes.
Your staff handbook ideally should include your key policies, such as absence, annual leave, grievance and disciplinary procedures, bullying and harassment, equal opportunities. family leave, data protection, and health and safety for example. You should also make sure it’s accessible for all employees, whether that’s digitally or in print.
Be sure to keep your handbook up-to-date too. If you don’t regularly update it, it can render your policies outdated or non-compliant with employment lay.
3. Focus on recruitment and onboarding
Hiring the right people is critical to the success of any business. Equally important is ensuring new staff feel welcomed and equipped to perform their roles effectively. If employers don’t get this right, they risk new recruits becoming quickly demotivated and this can create issues around productivity, staff engagement, and retention.
Make sure your job adverts and job descriptions provide an accurate reflection of the role which is being recruited for. Be sure to provide candidates with relevant information so they can decide if the job and the company are a goof fit for what they’re seeking.
When your new hire is about to start their first day, make sure you provide a structured onboarding and induction plan that helps new employees to feel welcome and happy, and that it covers company culture, key contacts, and essential job related training.
Remember, rushing the hiring process often leads to poor recruitment decisions. Thats why it’s important to take the time to properly determine if candidates are capable of performing well in the role.
4. Make employee wellbeing a priority
Promoting employee wellbeing is not only the right thing to do, but also benefits your business by improving productivity and retention rates. As well as that, promoting flexible working options as part of your wellbeing offer will help you to attract top talent with data published by the CIPD showing that 71% of workers view a flexible working pattern as important to them when considering a new role.
If it’s possible for the job role, consider offering remote working alongside flexible working. Mental wellbeing is also important, which is why you should ensure access to resources such as counselling services, or an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).
Ignoring wellbeing initiatives can lead to high turnover rates and workplace dissatisfaction in your business, which can become costly.
5. Stay compliant with employment laws
Navigating employment laws can be challenging for new businesses and there is lots of misinformation online. This is particularly prevalent due to the proposed changes under the Employment Rights Bill 2024 going through the parliamentary process (at the time of writing, these changes are not yet law).
However, it’s crucial to maintain compliance in order to avoid penalties and disputes and some key areas to consider include:
- National Minimum Wage – this ensures employees are paid at least the legal minimum for their age.
- Right To Work In The UK – employers need to check and keep a record of relevant documentation that proves all of their employees have the right to work in the UK.
- Working time regulations and holidays – you should monitor working hours to ensure employees are not exceeding legal limits, are receiving adequate rest breaks, and have the statutory minimum holiday entitlement.
- GDPR – you should safeguard employee data in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
- Pensions – make sure to offer a workplace pension scheme and auto enrol eligible employees.
- Equality – be aware of employer responsibilities in relation to the Equality Act 2010 and the nine protected characteristics.
Overlooking these legal obligations can lead to significant fines, which is why you should always check that you are at least meeting the statutory minimum requirements.
Did you know HRX can help?
Investing time and effort into your HR practices early on can save your business from costly mistakes and create a positive workplace culture. By implementing these five HR best practices, you’ll lay a strong foundation for your team.
Using HR software is also a great way for new businesses to manage their HR admin processes. Our software stores all your employee information and will take away the pain of managing things, like annual leave requests, leaving you free to do what you do best. To find out more, contact our team today or book a free demo today. You can also sign up to a FREE 30 day trial to try it out for yourself.
