Essential Staff Handbook Policies
HR Policies Required By UK Law
At Dragon Argent, our expert employment solicitors provide employee handbook support for clients with clear, bespoke, legally compliant advice that enables businesses to protect themselves from employment risk.
Creating an employee handbook is confusing, complex and takes up valuable time. So let our legal experts do the hard work for you, carefully crafting every document, tailoring them to your business, and ensuring they comply with the latest legislation.
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STAFF HANDBOOK POLICIES
Below are few great employee handbook policies worth reviewing.
PACK 1 – ESSENTIALS PACK (Required by law)
Below are the core policies that UK businesses are required by law to have as part of their staff handbook at the point at which they have employees:
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It is a legal requirement to have a disciplinary and capability procedure in place. A disciplinary procedure will be used to formally address issues of conduct. A capability procedure will be used where an employee fails to perform to the required standard as a result of lack of skill, capability or training. A disciplinary and capability procedure is designed to ensure that employees of the company are treated fairly and consistently whilst running through a disciplinary or capability process.
Companies who fail to adopt a disciplinary and capability procedure will leave the door wide open for employees to bring unfair/wrongful dismissal claims at the Employment Tribunal – the repercussions will be both financially and reputationally damaging.
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A grievance procedure is required by the law and should outline a formal way in which an employee can raise an issue or complaint with their employer. The procedure should highlight each stage of a grievance process and how employees can appeal a grievance decision.
Failure to comply with a full and fair grievance procedure in line with the ACAS Code could result in repercussions at the Employment Tribunal if a claim is raised and a potential uplift of 25% on costs imposed on the company.
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If you have 5 or more employees, then you are required to have a written Health and Safety Policy. The policy will set out the company’s commitment to ensuring that health and safety is managed effectively. It will provide details of those responsible for specific actions (first aiders, fire marshal’s) and who individuals can report their concerns to.
Failure to implement a Health and Safety Policy will result in sanctions ranging from fines of up to £20,000 for a company and imprisonment or disqualification of a director. It will also leave the company at risk of claims at the Employment Tribunal.
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This is another policy which is required by law. It will outline the ways in which companies will use, gather, process and manage employee data.
Failure to comply and implement a Privacy Policy will result in potential breaches of GDPR. Breaching GDPR could result in fines of up to 4% of a company’s annual global turnover.
PACK 2: ESSENTIALS PLUS PACK
These are the policies that we recommend businesses have in place to protect the commercial interests of the business. Often the areas of disputes that arise are to do with topics covered by these policies.
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As this is a common area for disputes to arise, we suggest your business has a sickness policy in place which clearly sets out notification requirements and sickness absence payment entitlements. The policy will help manage employee absences by providing clear and consistent guidance and will help to avoid unauthorised absence or abuse of sick pay schemes.
Not having a policy in place could result in unfavourable and discriminatory treatment of employees. A compensatory award for discrimination at the Employment Tribunal is uncapped.
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Holiday and Unpaid Leave Policy - amend text to the following "This policy is recommended where you are offering enhanced holiday, unlimited holiday, allowing carry-over of holiday from one year to the next, where employees are entitled to a bonus or commission payment or where you offer paid or unpaid time off for things like Jury Duty.
Not having a policy in place may result in over or under payment of holiday entitlement, both which could have costly ramifications and reputational damage to the company.
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Following the Covid-19 pandemic, working from home and hybrid working has become more common. We therefore suggest your business implements a policy in which the requirements and conditions surrounding working remotely are outlined so employees can understand what is expected of them.
Not having a clear work from home or hybrid working policy could entitle employees an automatic right that their primary place of work is their home address and employees may refuse to come into the office when requested or it could result in employees deciding their own flexible hours. Having an appropriate policy will set-out clear working from home provisions, who it applies to, what it means and when it can be withdrawn.
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An expenses policy will provide guidelines for the reimbursement of travel, hotel and other expenses an employee may incur whilst conducting business. The policy should detail the procedure of obtaining the correct level of authorisation and evidence that employees will need to provide for an expense to be reimbursed.
Having this policy in place will streamline reimbursing employees and also inform employees of the repercussions should submitted reimbursement requests be proven dishonest.
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Sexual Harassment Policy - amend text to the following "An employer has a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. The purpose of this policy is to set out a framework for line managers to deal with any sexual harassment that occurs by staff (which may include consultants, contractors and agency workers) and also by third parties such as customers, suppliers or visitors to your premises.
Failure to implement a sexual harassment policy means your company is not taking reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and can be held vicariously liable for its employees' actions, increased legal liability for sexual harassment claims, increased penalties if a claim is successful, severe damage to your company reputation, and negative impacts on employee morale and retention.
PACK 3 – FAMILY POLICY PACK
These policies are recommended to put in place where you intend to offer enhanced family rights above the statutory entitlements.
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The purpose of this Flexible Working Policy is to give eligible employees an opportunity to formally request a change to their working pattern in accordance with the statutory procedure for such requests.
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This policy will include Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Leave and payment entitlements. It sets out an employee’s basic arrangements for maternity, paternity, adoption leave and pay, notice requirements and contractual rights.
A pregnant employee and employees going through adoption, have the right to take paid time off work to attend antenatal and adoption appointments. This policy sets out those rights, notification requirements, hours permitted to miss work and further unpaid leave entitlements.
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Parents can share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay between themselves when having or adopting a child. Shared parental leave will be contingent on how much maternity or paternity leave the parents have already taken. The rules regarding shared parental leave and pay are complex and the policy should set out a summary of them making it easier for the employee to understand.
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The purpose of this policy is to set out the statutory arrangements for neonatal care leave and pay, which is intended to help employees whose child requires specialist neonatal care after birth.
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Employees have the right to take up to 18 weeks of unpaid leave per child up to the age of 18. This policy will set out their rights and employer obligations.
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A policy which provides for employees to take unpaid time off to deal with unexpected events affecting their dependants. The purpose of this policy is to set out the circumstances in which an employer will give employees paid or unpaid time off work to deal with such situations.
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A policy which provides for employees who have a dependant with a long-term care need, to take up to take a week off paid or unpaid to care in each rolling 12-month period.
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Subject to meeting the statutory requirements, an employee may be entitled to two weeks paid time off if their child under 18 has died or where their baby is stillborn after 24 weeks’ pregnancy. This policy should clearly set out the legal entitlement to time off and pay and how an employer can support an employee through such circumstances.
Failure to implement this policy could result in unlawful or unfavourable treatment and time off amongst employees and reputational damage for the business.
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Whilst employers are under no legal obligation to grant compassionate leave in the event of a bereavement or illness of a family member or friend, this policy will set out the circumstances in which compassionate leave entitlement and pay will apply. Employees and managers will also have a clear understanding of how to navigate such circumstances under this policy and how support can be given to employees.
Failure to implement this policy could result in unfavourable treatment and time off amongst employees and reputational damage for the business.
PACK 4 – ETHICAL BUSINESS POLICY PACK
The policies are recommended to put in place where your business wants to foster a diverse, fair and ethical culture.
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This policy will set out the Company’s commitment to fairness and fair working practices. This will cover an array of areas including recruitment, terms and conditions, pay and benefits, promotion, dismissals and redundancy. The policy will outline the Company’s stance on unfair treatment and provide guidance on how individuals should be treated and repercussions of breaching this policy.
Whilst failing to have such a policy in place is not unlawful, discrimination is. Having an equality and equal opportunities policy in place will set the bar on how creating an inclusive and equal workplace and encourage staff to meet and maintain that bar.
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A whistleblowing policy will provide guidance to all staff on how they can raise workplace concerns, who they can direct these concerns too and reassurance that their concerns will remain confidential. The policy will also set out the responsibilities for all staff when concerns are raised.
Failure to comply with a thorough and fair investigative whistleblowing process could result in fines as high as £650,000 as well as reputational damage.
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This policy will set out the company’s stance against any business which is dishonest or unethical. The Bribery Act 2010 provides for various offences, one of which specifically applies to businesses who fail to prevent bribery. The only defence available would be for the Company to show that they have taken ‘adequate precautions’ to prevent bribery.
If a Company wishes to rely on the adequate precautions defence, a clear Anti-Corruption and Bribery policy is required.
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The Criminal Finances Act 2017 introduced multiple offences in relation to tax evasion. The only defence available to a business is ensuring that "reasonable prevention procedures" are in place. The policy will set out the company’s stance against tax evasion, each employees individual responsibility to ensure it is reported and the process of reporting tax evasion.
If a Company wishes to rely on the ‘reasonable preventions procedures’ defence, a clear Anti-Facilitation of Tax Evasion policy is required.
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This policy will ensure that all employees are aware of what harassment and bullying is and how it can be tackled in a working environment. The policy will outline the repercussions of engaging in such behaviour and how breaches of this policy can be reported.
Having this policy in place will alleviate employees fear and distress when they are victims or if they witness bullying / harassment of a fellow co-worker.
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A policy setting out an employer's approach to gender identity in the workplace, and the support and arrangements they provide for transgender staff who transition at work.
PACK 5 – DIGITAL POLICY PACK
These policies are recommended to enable the business to build trust and embrace modern tools whilst limiting exposure to risk.
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Informed and responsible use of GenAI has the potential to increase efficiency in your business. The purpose of this policy is to set staff with guidelines for using GenAI applications and the employer’s right to monitor such use.
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This policy outlines the standards employees must observe when using company IT systems. Implementing this policy will help to ensure that employees understand the standards they are held to when accessing and processing confidential information of the business and what course of action that will be taken should any employee breach the policy.
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This policy is in place to minimise the risks to your business through the use of social media. It applies to use of social media for business purposes as well as personal use that may affect your business reputation in any way.
A major benefit of having a social media policy in place is protecting the company from being liable for any comments made by employees on their personal social media accounts.
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This policy should work alongside the company’s privacy policy. This policy is intended for staff who use their own computing devices (e.g. laptop, tablet or smartphone) to work or use these to connect to the company’s IT systems. The aim of this policy is to ensure company confidential information and personal data of its clients is adequately protected whilst using such devices or where these devices are lost or compromised.
The risk of not having this policy in place could result in inappropriate use or access of your business’ IT systems, confidential information and personal data or a data breach, which are each reputationally and financially damaging.
OTHER POLICIES
These additional policies are sometimes requested by businesses on a case-by-case basis, often depending on the business industry and staff roles within the business.
Enhanced Pension Scheme Policy
Bonus / Commission Policy
Personal Relationships at Work Policy
Gifts and Hospitality Policy
Mental Health and Wellbeing Policy
IVF and Assisted Conception Policy
Menopause Policy
Time Off for Public Duties Policy
Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy and Statement
GOT A QUESTION ABOUT EMPLOYMENT LAW OR HR POLICIES?
Dragon Argent are an experienced employment law solicitors in London. We can help you focus on your business by taking care of all your human resources needs. Book a 30 minutes call to find out how our specialist lawyers can support you or your business employment issues.
or send your enquiry to ask@dragonargent.com