HR policies, templates and procedures
Learn about HR policies, what the requirements are, and download free HR policy templates drafted by CIPD-qualified HR with expertise in small businesses.
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Written by:
Yas Lord-Pottinger - People & Talent Lead
Introduction
Why you need HR policies
Find the HR policies your business needs
Understanding the HR policies every small business should have
Examples of HR policies we have at Charlie
How to create your own HR policies from scratch
Practical tips for introducing or changing your HR policies
Simplify the process with Charlie
HR policies FAQs
Hello and welcome to our HR policies hub! My name is Yasmin, and I'm Charlie’s Senior People and Talent Partner which means I often get involved in all kinds of human resources situations like redundancies, grievances, and employment contracts. Every time a new situation comes up I ask myself: should I build a HR policy for this?
HR policies may not be the most captivating subject, but they're the foundations on which your business is built. Some are required by UK law, and others you should have simply because it makes more sense to have them than not.
We wrote this guide as a support system to help you navigate the world of HR policies. We’ve brought together our best advice, free templates and procedures, and advice on how to craft your own HR policies from scratch.
Why you need HR policies
It’s not just big companies that need clear HR policies. Even in a small business, having policies and procedures is a must-have to stay compliant, work effectively, and handle challenging situations.
HR policies allow you to:
-
Follow your HR strategy and stand by it as a guiding north star
- Give guidance to people dealing with HR who don't necessarily have adequate experience and whose role include other responsibilities
- Become an attractive employer, even when you don't have the means of bigger corporations — for example by having a hybrid working policy
- Protect yourselves against legal issues and comply with UK employment law
- Develop a professional approach to HR and standardise HR practices across the business for when you row
- Keep up with a moving world of work where employees are always expecting more from their employers
Although creating your HR policies may take time, it’s a worthwhile investment. Having a strong set of policies offers protection for you and your employees, sets clear expectations, and gives you guidance on how to respond to situations.
Find the HR policies your business needs at every stage of growth
<30 team members
Required by UK law
Disciplinary and dismissal policies
Grievance policy
The essentials
Data protection policy
The extras
Small business mental health policy
Birthday leave policy
Required by UK law
Health and Safety policy
Required by UK law
Complying with health and safety regulations matters to your small business, especially if you want to avoid expensive fines along the way and if you care about the well-being of your employees.
Regardless of what you think you’re doing right, there are rules to follow depending on the industry and the role your team members have – so that’s when having a policy in place will help. Just read our guide to find out more or download our template.
Remain compliant by having all the steps for health and safety in place depending on your industry
Download a generic health and safety policy template
Understand the measures you need to take to protect your team members and your business
Disciplinary policy and procedure
Required by UK law
Your disciplinary policy is crucial to fostering the right environment for your business and safeguarding your employee’s rights. It also sets our the rules you need to follow in case of a disciplinary procedure or a dismissal to be in line with UK employment law. These are complicated procedures when you don’t have an HR training, so read on to find out step-by-step guidance.
Get a basic understanding of what elements need to go into a disciplinary policy
Download a free disciplinary policy template crafted by HR experts
Understand all the steps you need to take to have a complete and legally compliant disciplinary procedure
Download a free disciplinary procedure template
Grievance policy
Required by UK law
Grievances are a cause for a complaint or unfair treatment that a team member might bring to you or to their superior.
You must have a procedure and an HR policy in place to deal with these scenarios, as they could lead you to an employment tribunal if you’re not careful. Remember that small businesses can’t often afford these challenges, so don’t take the risk of going under and have a strong policy in place.
Understand what a grievance policy should be made of and how to implement a grievance procedure
Download a grievance policy template for free
Help protect your business with this mandatory policy
The essentials
Sickness and absence policy
This particular policy is very important when it comes to dealing with supporting the health and wellbeing of your team members, whilst maintaining good attendance and productivity levels across your business.
As a small business, you’ll also have a higher workload, so it’s important you protect your productivity levels from overbearing absences.
Understand how to deal with sickness and absences at your business
Download a free sickness and absence policy template
Get information about statutory sick pay, company sick pay, return to work interviews, medical report, long term sickness, meetings procedure and appeal
Annual leave policy
Every team member working for you is entitled to some time off – that’s where a holiday policy comes in handy to establish a few rules around when and how to take time off.
In our guide, you can expect to hear about holiday allowance and entitlement, time off carry over, accrued holidays, restricted periods of holidays, time off overlap and when it’s time to take action for disrespecting these rules.
Get a complete guide written by one of our HR experts to build your annual leave policy
Download our annual leave policy template for free
Have a look at the 8 mandatory sections your annual leave policy should always include
Data protection policy
A data protection policy not only helps you comply with data protection law and follow good practices, but it’s also a great way to protect your team members, customers and partners. All in all, your data protection policy will ensure transparency when it comes to storage and usage of individuals’ data as well as show you’re protected against data breaches. It’s crucial for any business, but even more if you’re starting out or if you have limited resources.
Understand all the essential elements included in a data protection policy
Download a free data protection policy template for your business
Protect your business from data breach with a policy that leaves nothing behind
Get your small business the HR it needs
Make sure your company is legally compliant and get HR off your plate for good.
The extras
Small business mental health policy
Supporting your team’s mental health is super important if you want to avoid situations such as depression and burnout – especially in a small business where cadence can be quite hectic, and people often end up overworked. Your role as an employer is to safeguard your employee’s mental health, and that’s where a policy can be useful. We’ve shared what we’ve put in place at Charlie during the early days.
Find out how a small business can support mental health with limited budget
Download our mental health policy document
UndHave a look at the data we shared in 2020 regarding mental health erstand why having an equal opportunities policy for your business is crucial
Flexible working policy
Flexible working is no longer a perk, it’s a right your employees have as soon as they start at your company, so perhaps it’s a good idea to put a flexible working policy in place. Depending on the needs of your company, your policy might be different from others, but it may be a good idea to see what a small business does to tackle flexible working and get inspiration from it.
Understand the rights of your employees and how you can support them
Download a free flexible working policy template
Get inspiration and tips for how we did it at Charlie as a small business
Birthday leave policy
A new policy that has stuck around in the world of HR is giving team members the day off for their birthday. It can be a good trick up your sleeve when it comes to offering extra benefits for your employees, especially if you are a small business with limited resources.
Understand how different businesses deal with birthday leave policy
Find out whether it’s worth implement a birthday leave policy for your business
Download a birthday leave policy template for free
Diversity and inclusion policy
It may sound similar to the equal opportunities policy, but the diversity and inclusion policy, also called DE&I highlights different aspects of your company’s efforts towards building a welcoming and inclusive workplace. Your business should aim to be as inclusive as possible, as getting different perspectives and having various experiences across your business will allow it to flourish.
Understand what the top pillars of DE&I are and how to build your policy
Download a free DE&I policy template
Required by UK law
Disciplinary and dismissal policies
Grievance policy
The essentials
Data protection policy
Bullying and harassment policy
The extras
Birthday leave policy
Hybrid working policy
Required by UK law
Health and Safety policy
Required by UK law
Complying with health and safety regulations matters to your small business, especially if you want to avoid expensive fines along the way and if you care about the well-being of your employees.
Regardless of what you think you’re doing right, there are rules to follow depending on the industry and the role your team members have – so that’s when having a policy in place will help. Just read our guide to find out more or download our template.
Remain compliant by having all the steps for health and safety in place depending on your industry
Download a generic health and safety policy template
Understand the measures you need to take to protect your team members and your business
Disciplinary policy and procedure
Required by UK law
Your disciplinary policy is crucial to fostering the right environment for your business and safeguarding your employee’s rights. It also sets our the rules you need to follow in case of a disciplinary procedure or a dismissal to be in line with UK employment law. These are complicated procedures when you don’t have an HR training, so read on to find out step-by-step guidance.
Get a basic understanding of what elements need to go into a disciplinary policy
Download a free disciplinary policy template crafted by HR experts
Understand all the steps you need to take to have a complete and legally compliant disciplinary procedure
Download a free disciplinary procedure template
Grievance policy
Required by UK law
Grievances are a cause for a complaint or unfair treatment that a team member might bring to you or to their superior.
You must have a procedure and an HR policy in place to deal with these scenarios, as they could lead you to an employment tribunal if you’re not careful. Remember that small businesses can’t often afford these challenges, so don’t take the risk of going under and have a strong policy in place.
Understand what a grievance policy should be made of and how to implement a grievance procedure
Download a grievance policy template for free
Help protect your business with this mandatory policy
The essentials
Sickness and absence policy
This particular policy is very important when it comes to dealing with supporting the health and wellbeing of your team members, whilst maintaining good attendance and productivity levels across your business.
As a small business, you’ll also have a higher workload, so it’s important you protect your productivity levels from overbearing absences.
Understand how to deal with sickness and absences at your business
Download a free sickness and absence policy template
Get information about statutory sick pay, company sick pay, return to work interviews, medical report, long term sickness, meetings procedure and appeal
Annual leave policy
Every team member working for you is entitled to some time off – that’s where a holiday policy comes in handy to establish a few rules around when and how to take time off.
In our guide, you can expect to hear about holiday allowance and entitlement, time off carry over, accrued holidays, restricted periods of holidays, time off overlap and when it’s time to take action for disrespecting these rules.
Get a complete guide written by one of our HR experts to build your annual leave policy
Download our annual leave policy template for free
Have a look at the 8 mandatory sections your annual leave policy should always include
Data protection policy
A data protection policy not only helps you comply with data protection law and follow good practices, but it’s also a great way to protect your team members, customers and partners. All in all, your data protection policy will ensure transparency when it comes to storage and usage of individuals’ data as well as show you’re protected against data breaches. It’s crucial for any business, but even more if you’re starting out or if you have limited resources.
Understand all the essential elements included in a data protection policy
Download a free data protection policy template for your business
Protect your business from data breach with a policy that leaves nothing behind
Bullying and harassment policy
Another aspect of HR policies you shouldn’t leave behind is having procedures in place to spot and tackle bullying and harassment at work. Whether it’s an employee, a client or third parties, your bullying and harassment policy should cover everyone. Harassment can come in multiple forms such as sexually suggestive material, racial comments, and exclusion among many others. These are just examples, but everything is covered in our bullying and harassment policy guide.
Understand what bullying and harassment are, why and how you should protect your team from it
Download a free bullying and harassment policy template for your business
Make your HR effortless
Make sure your company is legally compliant and get HR off your plate for good.
The extras
Flexible working policy
Flexible working is no longer a perk, it’s a right your employees have as soon as they start at your company, so perhaps it’s a good idea to put a flexible working policy in place. Depending on the needs of your company, your policy might be different from others, but it may be a good idea to see what a small business does to tackle flexible working and get inspiration from it.
Understand the rights of your employees and how you can support them
Download a free flexible working policy template
Get inspiration and tips for how we did it at Charlie as a small business
Birthday leave policy
A new policy that has stuck around in the world of HR is giving team members the day off for their birthday. It can be a good trick up your sleeve when it comes to offering extra benefits for your employees, especially if you are a small business with limited resources.
Understand how different businesses deal with birthday leave policy
Find out whether it’s worth implement a birthday leave policy for your business
Download a birthday leave policy template for free
Diversity and inclusion policy
It may sound similar to the equal opportunities policy, but the diversity and inclusion policy, also called DE&I highlights different aspects of your company’s efforts towards building a welcoming and inclusive workplace. Your business should aim to be as inclusive as possible, as getting different perspectives and having various experiences across your business will allow it to flourish.
Understand what the top pillars of DE&I are and how to build your policy
Download a free DE&I policy template
Hybrid working policy
Hybrid working has been the talk of the town in the last few years: a perfect combination of getting the opportunity to work remotely as well as in the office. At Charlie, we’re very proud of the hybrid working policy we’ve got in place and that’s why we thought sharing our experience would help others. Not to mention that creating a hybrid working policy will be a great way to maintain the flexibility your team members enjoy.
Understand the difference between hybrid working and other types of flexible working
Download a free hybrid working policy template on how to describe the accident
Help your business decide whether hybrid working could be a good fit
Recruitment policy
A recruitment policy can be super helpful when you’re boosting your hiring, as it sets out the standards for the company when it comes to best hiring practices. A policy will ensure people follow the same hiring standards, and hire everyone the same way, reinforcing fairness and removing bias as much as possible.
Find out what a recruitment policy is and what it should include
Download a free policy template
Understand the advantages of a recruitment policy for your business
Equal opportunities policy
All businesses would be better off having this policy in their handbook as it will prevent unfair discrimination across your organisation. Following the UK Equality Act of 2010, although this policy is not mandatory, it is now unlawful to discriminate against someone in the workplace due to their age, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion or disability, so make sure you have the right processes in place if that ever happens.
Make the most out of your equal opportunities policy in this guide
Download a free equal opportunities policy template
Understand why having an equal opportunities policy for your business is crucial
Required by UK law
Disciplinary and dismissal policies
Grievance policy
The essentials
Data protection policy
Bullying and harassment policy
Attendance policy
Equal opportunities policy
Recruitment policy
Diversity and inclusion policy
The extras
Birthday leave policy
Mobile phone policy
Required by UK law
Health and Safety policy
Required by UK law
Complying with health and safety regulations matters to your small business, especially if you want to avoid expensive fines along the way and if you care about the well-being of your employees.
Regardless of what you think you’re doing right, there are rules to follow depending on the industry and the role your team members have – so that’s when having a policy in place will help. Just read our guide to find out more or download our template.
Remain compliant by having all the steps for health and safety in place depending on your industry
Download a generic health and safety policy template
Understand the measures you need to take to protect your team members and your business
Disciplinary policy and procedure
Required by UK law
Your disciplinary policy is crucial to fostering the right environment for your business and safeguarding your employee’s rights. It also sets our the rules you need to follow in case of a disciplinary procedure or a dismissal to be in line with UK employment law. These are complicated procedures when you don’t have an HR training, so read on to find out step-by-step guidance.
Get a basic understanding of what elements need to go into a disciplinary policy
Download a free disciplinary policy template crafted by HR experts
Understand all the steps you need to take to have a complete and legally compliant disciplinary procedure
Download a free disciplinary procedure template
Grievance policy
Required by UK law
Grievances are a cause for a complaint or unfair treatment that a team member might bring to you or to their superior.
You must have a procedure and an HR policy in place to deal with these scenarios, as they could lead you to an employment tribunal if you’re not careful. Remember that small businesses can’t often afford these challenges, so don’t take the risk of going under and have a strong policy in place.
Understand what a grievance policy should be made of and how to implement a grievance procedure
Download a grievance policy template for free
Help protect your business with this mandatory policy
The essentials
Sickness and absence policy
This particular policy is very important when it comes to dealing with supporting the health and wellbeing of your team members, whilst maintaining good attendance and productivity levels across your business.
As a small business, you’ll also have a higher workload, so it’s important you protect your productivity levels from overbearing absences.
Understand how to deal with sickness and absences at your business
Download a free sickness and absence policy template
Get information about statutory sick pay, company sick pay, return to work interviews, medical report, long term sickness, meetings procedure and appeal
Annual leave policy
Every team member working for you is entitled to some time off – that’s where a holiday policy comes in handy to establish a few rules around when and how to take time off.
In our guide, you can expect to hear about holiday allowance and entitlement, time off carry over, accrued holidays, restricted periods of holidays, time off overlap and when it’s time to take action for disrespecting these rules.
Get a complete guide written by one of our HR experts to build your annual leave policy
Download our annual leave policy template for free
Have a look at the 8 mandatory sections your annual leave policy should always include
Data protection policy
A data protection policy not only helps you comply with data protection law and follow good practices, but it’s also a great way to protect your team members, customers and partners. All in all, your data protection policy will ensure transparency when it comes to storage and usage of individuals’ data as well as show you’re protected against data breaches. It’s crucial for any business, but even more if you’re starting out or if you have limited resources.
Understand all the essential elements included in a data protection policy
Download a free data protection policy template for your business
Protect your business from data breach with a policy that leaves nothing behind
Bullying and harassment policy
Another aspect of HR policies you shouldn’t leave behind is having procedures in place to spot and tackle bullying and harassment at work. Whether it’s an employee, a client or third parties, your bullying and harassment policy should cover everyone. Harassment can come in multiple forms such as sexually suggestive material, racial comments, and exclusion among many others. These are just examples, but everything is covered in our bullying and harassment policy guide.
Understand what bullying and harassment are, why and how you should protect your team from it
Download a free bullying and harassment policy template for your business
Attendance policy
Getting people to show up to work might just seem like an easy concept, and you should trust your team to be able to do it. However, there can be some mitigating circumstances to not being able to show up to work. To make sure there are clear rules around it, have an attendance policy at the ready, to state your standards as well as the scope of attendance for your business.
Get the basis to create your own attendance policy
Download a free attendance policy template for your business
Get advice from an HR expert on the subject
Equal opportunities policy
All businesses would be better off having this policy in their handbook as it will prevent unfair discrimination across your organisation. Following the UK Equality Act of 2010, although this policy is not mandatory, it is now unlawful to discriminate against someone in the workplace due to their age, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion or disability, so make sure you have the right processes in place if that ever happens.
Make the most out of your equal opportunities policy in this guide
Download a free equal opportunities policy template
Understand why having an equal opportunities policy for your business is crucial
Recruitment policy
A recruitment policy can be super helpful when you’re boosting your hiring, as it sets out the standards for the company when it comes to best hiring practices. A policy will ensure people follow the same hiring standards, and hire everyone the same way, reinforcing fairness and removing bias as much as possible.
Find out what a recruitment policy is and what it should include
Download a free policy template
Understand the advantages of a recruitment policy for your business
Diversity and inclusion policy
It may sound similar to the equal opportunities policy, but the diversity and inclusion policy, also called DE&I highlights different aspects of your company’s efforts towards building a welcoming and inclusive workplace. Your business should aim to be as inclusive as possible, as getting different perspectives and having various experiences across your business will allow it to flourish.
Understand what the top pillars of DE&I are and how to build your policy
Download a free DE&I policy template
Make your HR effortless
Make sure your company is legally compliant and get HR off your plate for good.
The extras
Flexible working policy
Flexible working is no longer a perk, it’s a right your employees have as soon as they start at your company, so perhaps it’s a good idea to put a flexible working policy in place. Depending on the needs of your company, your policy might be different from others, but it may be a good idea to see what a small business does to tackle flexible working and get inspiration from it.
Understand the rights of your employees and how you can support them
Download a free flexible working policy template
Get inspiration and tips for how we did it at Charlie as a small business
Birthday leave policy
A new policy that has stuck around in the world of HR is giving team members the day off for their birthday. It can be a good trick up your sleeve when it comes to offering extra benefits for your employees, especially if you are a small business with limited resources.
Understand how different businesses deal with birthday leave policy
Find out whether it’s worth implement a birthday leave policy for your business
Download a birthday leave policy template for free
Hybrid working policy
Hybrid working has been the talk of the town in the last few years: a perfect combination of getting the opportunity to work remotely as well as in the office. At Charlie, we’re very proud of the hybrid working policy we’ve got in place and that’s why we thought sharing our experience would help others. Not to mention that creating a hybrid working policy will be a great way to maintain the flexibility your team members enjoy.
Understand the difference between hybrid working and other types of flexible working
Download a free hybrid working policy template on how to describe the accident
Help your business decide whether hybrid working could be a good fit
Mobile phone policy
The use of mobile phones in the workplace can be very damaging, especially if you’re working with confidential information from your clients. Having a mobile phone policy, if you work in such an environment, or if you have productivity concerns, could be a good idea in the long run.
Understand how to increase productivity and protect your business from data breach
Download a free mobile phone policy template
Bank holiday policy
A lot of bank holidays are based on religious traditions that stem from English history, however, the UK is a very diverse country and your business probably is as well – with a flexible bank holiday policy you can make everyone feel included, and not force people to take time off on a bank holiday that has no meaning to them.
Find out the pros and cons of a bank holiday policy
Download a free bank holiday policy template
Menopause policy
A menopause policy might come in handy to support women in the workplace. It should be about what your commitment to employees is when supporting them through this difficult time of their lives.
Understand how a menopause policy can contribute to your DE&I goals
Download a free menopause policy template
Create a policy that will put you at the forefront of forward-thinking employers
Lone working policy
Some employees, due to the nature of their job, are expected to work by themselves and sometimes outside of normal working hours. So how do you take care of them and how do you apply the same level of care to their job? By putting together a lone working policy.
Understand what can qualify as lone working
Download a free lone worker policy template
Understanding the HR policies every small business should have
As a small business you’re only required to have three specific HR policies to comply with UK employment law, but we think it’s wise to add several others to your company handbook. Let’s take a closer look at our must-have HR policies for small businesses.
1. Disciplinary policy
A disciplinary policy is essential, and not just because having one helps you comply with employment law.
Your disciplinary policy sets out what happens if your company policies aren’t followed. It gets clear on what’s expected of you as an employer, and what you expect your employees to do. This policy explains your code of conduct, disciplinary process, what disciplinary action involves, and examples of misconduct.
2. Grievance policy
It’s not uncommon for employees to want to raise an issue or complaint about unfair treatment, and you’re required to have a grievance policy that sets out how you’ll handle these concerns.
This policy should introduce how you handle grievances, and set out a multi-step procedure which employees can follow. It should also explain what happens if an employee is unsatisfied, and include information on how to appeal a decision.
3. Health and safety policy
Health and safety isn’t everyone’s favourite subject, but you must have a policy on this if you have more than five employees. It’s not just a legal requirement, but a must-have if you care about your employees’ wellbeing and safety at work.
Your health and safety policy details how you handle different aspects of safety in the workplace — including risk assessments, emergency procedures, and the responsibilities of individuals.
4. Data protection policy
If you or your HR team handles personal data, you need a data protection policy. Having one helps you comply with data protection legislation and enables you to follow good practice.
This policy sets out how you protect your employees’ and customers’ data, how you handle and use data, and how users can make a subject access request. A good data protection policy demonstrates that you care about individuals’ data and will look after it securely.
5. Equal opportunities policy
Every company, including small businesses, should have an equal opportunities policy in their employee handbook. This policy explains how you will commit to preventing unfair discrimination in a range of areas, including age, race, sex, gender, and religion.
Your policy should include an equal opportunities policy statement, explain the legal framework, different types of discrimination, and outline how you work proactively to address inequality.
6. Sickness and absence policy
There’s no requirement to have a sickness and absence policy, but it’s best practice to have one. A good absence policy helps you promote good attendance and productivity levels and explains what an employee should do if they’re unable to work.
An absence policy allows you to clearly communicate how you handle sickness, what level of pay your employees will receive, how you handle the return to work, and what happens in cases of long-term sickness. It should also set out the procedures you follow and how an employee can appeal a decision.
7. Annual leave policy
Not every business handles annual leave in the same way, and having a clear policy enables your employees to understand how the system works within your small business.
Your annual leave policy should cover holiday allowance and entitlement, whether it rolls over or not, minimum entitlement, restricted periods, what happens when the business is closed, and how to handle time off requests.
8. Bullying and harassment policy
We don’t want to imagine any incidents of bullying or harassment within our businesses, but sadly this is a reality that you might encounter. Having a policy allows you to tackle a challenging situation swiftly and confidently if it does happen.
A good bullying and harassment policy should communicate your zero-tolerance stance on this, share examples of what harassment and bullying can include, explain what to do if an incident occurs, and what happens if the policy is breached.
9. Diversity and inclusion policy
Your working environment should feel welcoming to all, and having a diversity and inclusion policy allows you to outline all the ways you work proactively to make this a reality.
A diversity and inclusion policy (or diversity, equity, and inclusion policy) should include a statement about your commitment to DE&I, examples of forms of discrimination, and information about how your procedures and policies will promote DE&I.
Examples of HR policies we have at Charlie
We don’t just offer
HR software for small businesses. We’re a small business too. This means we’ve experienced many of the same challenges that you have.
Having been through the journey before, we’ve put together some additional human resources policies that allow us to shape the way we work and support our employees.
Some of our HR policies include:
-
Birthday policy: Give team members the day off to celebrate with a birthday policy.
- Emergency leave policy: Offer reassurance and enable your employees to request leave unexpectedly with an emergency leave policy.
- Bank holiday policy: Allow employees to observe the days most important to them with a flexible bank holiday policy.
- Attendance policy: Set clear standards for showing up to work and outline how to handle issues with an attendance policy.
- Mobile phone policy: Protect sensitive data and promote safety in relevant environments with a mobile phone policy.
- Hybrid working policy: Promote flexibility and remain competitive with a hybrid or remote work policy.
- Lone working policy: Take care of your employees and prevent harm with a lone working policy.
- Menopause policy: Support your employees through the process with a menopause policy.
Hopefully the list above inspires you to create and introduce policies that suit your company and the employees within it. You might find that you need others too, like a social media policy, confidentiality policy, or training policy.
How to create your own HR policies from scratch
Writing HR policies can be challenging if you don’t have HR experience. As you’re juggling other responsibilities alongside HR, it’s completely normal to wonder whether your policy is compliant or if you’ve worded it correctly.
My role involves creating HR policies for small businesses that capture their unique needs, culture, and processes. It may not be realistic to consult with an HR expert to write every policy from scratch, but there are ways you can create your own HR policies confidently.
If you don’t have access to a HR professional, here are some guidelines you can follow:
-
Understand your company’s goals: Begin by asking yourself what your company aims to achieve with these policies. Clearly define your objectives to inform your decisions.
- Do your research. If you’re taking on this massive task by yourself, you should start by looking for trusted resources (like Charlie).
- Have a chat with stakeholders in the business: Consult with various stakeholders in your business, as different perspectives may shape your HR policies.
- Make the wording clear and consistent: Once you get to the writing, it’s important to be clear and consistent. HR policies can be complicated to get your head around, so if you start introducing jargon or long sentences, it may get even more confusing.
- Outline all procedures along with your HR policies: Don’t forget to include a step-by-step guide of how your HR policies work in practice. This is especially important for policies like employee grievance or disciplinary procedures, so you can explain how to navigate these challenging situations.
- Address potential loopholes: Understand where the policy wording may be open to interpretation and could pose a risk for your business.
- Iterate as much as possible: Learn, adapt and, adjust policies regularly — they’re not meant to stay the same forever.
- Store your handbook where your team can access it: Don’t make information hard to access for your team — make sure your employee handbook is accessible and everyone knows where to find it.
Just remember that it’s a good idea to have an HR professional review your policies. The wrong wording could put your company in jeopardy and send you to employment law tribunals, which can be costly and worrying.
Make your HR effortless
Make sure your company is legally compliant and get HR off your plate for good.
Practical tips for introducing or changing your HR policies
At Charlie, we don't consider our HR policies to be completely static. In fact, we review them regularly and make sure we introduce them to the team carefully so everyone is clear on what’s expected.
If you’re considering whether to introduce a policy or not, consider these policy development tips:
-
If you spot an issue or think a policy needs reviewing, don't just change it in a heartbeat. Take the time to have a look at the current practices and audit what's already in place.
-
Benchmark against what other small businesses are doing to get a better idea of what's common practice, and what could give you a competitive advantage on the job market.
-
Listen to your team members — they're the best judge. Put together a plan and get a panel together to understand what needs to change.
-
Don't rush it and make sure the development of a new policy or the change of an existing one is completed within realistic timescales.
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Write in a simple language that everyone can understand and avoid any technical jargon.
If you’re planning to introduce a new policy or revamp an existing one, here’s how to approach the process gently:
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Ask your team members and senior leaders to review the policy draft and make sure everything is in order.
- Once you get the go ahead from higher management and involved parties, it's time to brief managers. Organise meetings and outline procedures for them so they have a good knowledge of what to do in any given situation.
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Add your new or revised policy to your employee handbook and introduce it to the whole team.
- Keep an eye on it to make sure it's followed and iterate as you go.
Just remember: HR policies are not meant to stay the same and they will change over time, so make sure to update them as your business grows and your culture evolves.
Simplify the process with Charlie
Writing and introducing HR policies can be challenging, but there is a way to make it easier. Use this guide to help you understand the basics, and use our free templates to streamline the writing process and set yourself up with a strong framework.
We have more to offer than just free templates, though. With Charlie, you can benefit from a platform that helps you simplify the entire HR management process. Upload and share your policies, manage time off requests, run performance reviews, and more — all from one central dashboard.
We’ve designed Charlie for small businesses like yours and ours. Sign up for a free trial to explore the software and see how quickly you can turn your HR chaos into calm.
The HR software designed for UK small businesses
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HR policies FAQs
Our guide covers everything you need to know, but it’s only natural to have more questions. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about HR policies and the answers you need.
What is an HR policy?
An HR policy is a written document that outlines what you expect from your employees, what you’ll do in return, and how you handle issues, challenges, and specific situations.
An effective HR policy:
- describes the rights and responsibilities of both employees and employers
- reflects your company values
- ensures compliance with UK employment law
- provides a layer of protection if your company is involved in a legal claim
- fosters fairness and standardisation of procedures across your business
It's therefore important to tailor your HR policies to your business size, industry, culture, and how you work.
Do policies have to be written down?
Yes. Your HR policies should be written down and recorded somewhere safe, ideally in a place where your employees can access them freely whenever they might want to. We recommend storing them within your HR software, and Charlie allows you to create and share your own company handbook.
Do policies form part of an employment contract?
No. Your HR policies aren’t contractual — they exist outside your employment contracts, which typically include a job description and working hours. This allows you to make changes to your policies as and when you need to without going through the complex process of changing an employee’s contract or terms and conditions.
Who writes HR policies?
It really depends on the size of the company and who is responsible for HR. In some businesses, a HR representative will write policies. In others, an external consultant might handle this job.
In a small business, it’s likely that the person writing policies doesn’t have an HR qualification and HR isn’t their main role or responsibility. In this case, we’d recommend your policies are reviewed by a CIPD qualified HR expert — like the advisors on our Charlie Advice team.
Which HR policies are required by UK law?
The HR policies required by UK employment law are:
- Health and safety policy
- Disciplinary and dismissal policy
- Grievance policy
With these policies in place, you’ve covered the basics required to be compliant. However, we strongly recommend you extend your policies beyond these to include some of the others we’ve mentioned in the guide above.
Which HR policies do you need as a small business?
Small businesses can make do with the three mandatory policies required by UK law which are a grievance policy, a disciplinary policy, and a health and safety policy. This is a great starting point and helps ensure compliance from the start.
However, it’s quite difficult to operate with only these policies in place. For some of the next policies to consider, add an annual leave policy, sickness and absence policy, and data protection policy.
Once you’re more established and feel comfortable, you can introduce more policies. Some examples are a mental health policy, a flexible working policy, a birthday leave policy, or a diversity and inclusion policy.
What is the difference between HR policies, HR procedures, and HR strategy?
HR policies are intrinsically linked to HR procedures and HR strategy, but they're not exactly the same.
Here’s how they differ:
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HR policies are the core of your HR foundations and help you understand what to do in specific situations.
- HR procedures are step-by-step instructions to enable managers and HR professionals to address specific situations such as disciplinary meetings, written warnings, and appeals.
- An HR strategy should outline your main goals and how you intend to reach them. This might be to hire more people, introduce more competitive pay and benefits, or improve internal communication.
Where can I find more resources on HR policies?
We strive to be a clear, transparent, and helpful resource on all things HR. But we know it’s important to consider multiple sources when you’re researching what to do.For even more advice and insights on HR policies, you might find these resources helpful:
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ACAS — Advisory, Consolidation and Arbitration service
- CIPD — The professional body for HR & People Development
- HR templates — Explore our HR templates crafted by our CIPD qualified experts
- CharlieHR’s public handbook — Have a look at our public handbook to learn more about our policies
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