HR Policies & Staff Handbooks

An Adoption Leave Policy informs employees of their minimum statutory rights to adoption leave and explains the process in doing so. 

This Adoption Leave policy template explains the adoption leave policy in full detail, including notifying the employer, when adoption leave can start, statutory adoption pay, and returning to work following adoption leave.

Having an annual leave policy or sometimes referred to as a holiday policy in place will provide consistency within your organisation and ensure that all employees are aware of the annual leave procedure. This is a detailed policy covering areas including basic principles, obtaining authorisation, illness during leave, religious holidays, and public holidays.

The Bribery Act of 2010 went into effect in October 2010. This sweeping new law makes businesses and organisations liable for bribes offered or received by its employees, agents or others acting on its behalf unless it has in place adequate procedures to detect and deter bribery. An anti-bribery policy states very clearly how you control and monitor sales and purchases. In addition to this an anti-bribery policy should also state the organisations methods of dealing with breaches of the anti-bribery policy. This anti-bribery policy template outlines your requirements under the Bribery act 2010 and is adaptable to your own processes.

A capability policy sets out the process for handling situations with employees who cannot carry out the daily tasks expected of them in their job rather than a disciplinary policy which is for employees that will not do the tasks expected of them, poor performance or misconduct.

The benefits of having a Capability Policy within your organisation is that it allows you to handle the differences between disciplinary and capablity effectivley, consistently and fairly. 

A company car policy should be in place when company cars are used as a benefit at work to state the conditions and regulations you want the employee to adhere to and inform the employees of what action might be taken should they breach the Company Car Policy.

This company car policy template clearly states the responsibilities of the employee whilst the car is in their possession.

The Company Property Policy is only a short document but it does cover the organisation when providing employees with items such as mobile telephones, laptops etc. This policy states the consequences for the employee if they do not return company property in a good condition.

A compassionate leave policy informs all employees of what compassionate leave is, who and when it can be taken and if they will be paid.

There are occasions when an employee needs to take time off work for compassionate reasons, for example the illness of a dependant or the death of a close relative. This compassionate leave policy template details circumstances in which the company would grant compassionate leave and also areas such as pay and notice for time off.

A data protection statement or data protection policy informs employees of how the company will handle their personal data.

This data protection policy statement confirms that the company will only process information relating to its employees in accordance with data protection law. It details the different sections of information that the company will store and that once read, the employee is in agreement with this.

A disciplinary policy states the procedure and actions that can be taken by the business for misconduct, gross misconduct and under performance by an employee. It should follow the ACAS code of practice amended 6th April 2009.

This disciplinary policy template conforms to the ACAS code of practice, sets out the steps that may be taken by the business and has been utilised successfully by many companies and organisations to date. You should issue all employees with a copy of the disciplinary procedure in writing within two months of them being employed.

An environmental policy sates how the business views the environment, how the business could have an adverse impact on the environment and what actions it will take to eliminate or reduce any adverse impact and comply to statutaory regulations.

This Environmental Policy Statement should be modified to suit your own business environmental goals and objectives.  

An equall opportunities policy states and even declares your stance on diversity, intolerance of discrimination and non prejudiced view for recruitment, promotion, and training etc. An equall opportunities policy can be a requirement for certain tenders and gaining public sector work.

This equall opportunities policy template details the principles of equal opportunities that apply equally to all employees and is current and up to date.

A Flexible Working policy explains to employees wishing to make a flexible working request the process, the qualifying criteria and the timescale involved. Certain employees have a statutory right to be able to make a flexible working request, however that does not mean they have a statutory right for it to be granted by their employer.

This Flexible Working Request Policy template explains in detail which employees are eligible, making an application, the meeting between employer and employee, and the company decision. There is also a Flexible Working Application form which should be used in conjunction with this policy.

A grievance procedure sets out the process for an employee to raise a grievance knowing that it will be investigated fairly and quickly to resolve any underlying and ongoing issues.

This grievance policy conforms to the ACAS code of practice set out in April 2009 and has been used successfully by many businesses. As a grievance procedure template you may feel that for your organisational structure this requires slight amendments.

A Health and Safety policy should be issued to and acted upon by all employees. Organisations should ensure they operate within the Health & Safety Regulations Act, this policy will assist you to do so.

This is a six page detailed health and safety policy template which also includes the Statement of Safety policy which you can amend to suit your particular business requirements.

A Home Working Policy or Home Workers Policy sets out the standards and requirements for an employee working from home including the responsibilities of management and the employee which also include some Health and Safety risks.

An employee should not be authorised to work from home either full or part time unless they have initially compted a Home Workers Risk Assessment and it is satisfactory to do so. This Home Working Policy template covers all the necessary details.

An IT and Communications policy is an extremely important policy for businesses where employess have regular access to e-mail, the internet and could present a risk to IT security if not following the correct IT procedures.

This IT and Communications policy template covers what can constitute abuse of the system, the internet whilst at work and possible security risks as well as the action that can be taken by the comapny should an employee breach the IT and Communications policy.

A maternity leave policy explains to employees their minimum statutory rights which can of course be enhanced by you the employer if you wish to do so. A good maternity leave policy explains the process requirements and can also assist the management when dealing with a pregnant employee, thefore the maternity policy can also be a useful guide. 

This Maternity Leave Policy template explains the maternity policy in full detail including notifying the employer, when maternity leave can start, statutory maternity pay, and pregnancy related sickness. This policy has been updated to meet the changes from April 2011.

A No Smoking policy is best practice as under the Health Act 2006 smoking is now prohibited in most public buildings within the UK. This no smoking policy template details the company stance on implementing a no smoking rule at work and if required where and when smoking is permitted.

A Parental Leave Policy explains who is entitled to parental leave, how much and how they will be paid. It is extremely important that your Parental Leave Policy covers the process detail.

This Parental Leave policy template explains the parental leave policy including which employees are eligible for parental leave, pay whilst on parental leave, and how an employee should arrange parenetal leave with the company.

A Paternity Leave Policy informs the employee of their minimum statutory rights to paternity leave and the process involved for claiming paternity leave.

This Paternity Leave policy template explains the paternity leave policy in full detail, including notifying the employer, when paternity leave can start, statutory paternity pay, and adoption paternity leave. This Paternity Leave Policy has been updated to meet the changes in April 2011 required by law.

Having a clear personal relationships at work policy in place to deal with personal relationships can protect an employer from many issues that sometimes arise from this type of relationship.

This Personal Relationships at Work policy template informs employees of what will be considered as inappropriate behaviour and the actions that may be taken.

A Redundancy Policy sets out the process and times when as an employer you might have to consider making redundancies and it is good practice to insert this policy in the staff handbook.

This Redundancy Policy template sets out the redundancy process very clearly for all employees and the options that as an employer you might want to consider before redundancies are finally made. This Redundancy Policy fits with current employment guidelines and legislation and can act as a prompt to the management team involved.

A Retirment Policy states the companies process on retirment. As from April 2011 you can no longer enforce the retirement age as it could be considered as age discrimination. Many businesses and organisations will need to change their current retirment polices accordingly.

This Retirment Policy has been updated and fits within the new legislation taking effect from April 2011.

A Sicknes and Absence policy should be in place with all businesses. The cost of high rates of sickness absence that are not controlled can be enormous to your business. A Sickness Absence policy should explain the reporting in procedure, sick pay, and trigger points for when you may take action at the very least.

This Sickness and Absenteeism policy template details areas including reporting in, certification requirements, sick pay, long term health issues, and returning to work.

A Social Networking Policy states clearly to employees the businesses restrictions to how social networking sites can be used both in and out of work. As a business you have to protect sensitive data from being displayed in such highly public areas.

This Social Networking policy clearly communicates what is prohibited and the action that may be taken if found breaking this Social Networking policy for.

A staff handbook sometimes also referred to as a company handbook or employees handbook contains the statutory policies in line with current employment legislation updated (April 2011). A staff handbook should be used in conjunction with a contract of employment.

This basic staff handbook contains a maternity leave policy, paternity leave policy, adoption leave policy, equall opportunities policy, health and safety policy, disciplinary policy and grievance policy which when purchased togther in this basic staff handbook format makes a considerable saving over purchasing all the policies seperately. You can of course by any additonal polcies you feel appropriate and build them in to this staff handbook. This is an ideal start up package for a small business.

A substance abuse policy sometimes referred to as a druch and alcohol policy sates the company's stance on drugs and alcohol at work.

This Substance Abuse Policy template details the company policy on both drug and alcohol, going into detail about exactly what it prohibits. It also includes a section on voluntary admission of drug or alcohol abuse.

A telephone ploicy ensure all employees understand the company's stance on making calls and mobile telephones both private and company telephones.

This telephone policy includes usage of both mobile telephones and office lines. It explains what the company is willing to accept and what it is not, ensuring the employee understands exactly what is expected of them. The telephone policy template also includes a section on penalities if the telephone policy is breached by an employee and can be easily adapted to suit your own requirements.

A Whistleblowing Policy or Whistle Blower Policy is aimed at giving employees confidence to come forward and discuss issues they suspect of bad or illegal practice at work. It clearly defines confidentiality and the process involved.

This Whistleblowing or Whistle Blower policy template covers all the stages and requirements of a whistleblowing policy, confidentiality, advice, outside assistance if required and the procedure followed.