Raw 03 - November 2008 - (Page 21)

QHR SOLUTIONS RAW “If all of this sounds too much it really isn’t” Hours of Work, Holiday Entitlement and Notice Periods; Sickness Absence; Equal Opportunities; Redundancy; Equipment; ICT and Maternity/Paternity leave. This is not an exhaustive list and employers can add policies on almost any area they wish but the point is that by having these policies and procedures employers can make it clear what they expect from their employees, what is acceptable and what is not acceptable and the precise Terms and Conditions of Employment of the Company are clear to employees from day one. And, and this is vital, the Contracts and the Policies and Procedures must be linked. Too often companies will have a contract that extends to one side of A4 and is pretty meaningless, and a collection of policies but the two bear no relation to each other at all. Absences, for whatever reason, should be recorded and monitored, in this way annual leave is controlled and unauthorised absences can be stopped. Employers should always hold some personal details concerning their employees; for example, if one of your employees collapsed at work would you know whom to contact on their behalf? You should. The other crucial area is Health and Safety; every company should have a policy and statement detailing their H&S responsibilities and the responsibilities of their employees and annual risk assessments should be carried out. It goes without saying that all companies should have proper insurances and there are rules about pension arrangements but these can be fairly simple to put in place. We now live in a society that, for good or ill, often resorts to litigation to resolve its problems. If a claim is made against a company for, say, Unfair Dismissal, the time taken to resolve the issue is often disproportionate to the claim and the claim itself can ruin a company overnight. Awards, especially for areas of discrimination, can be huge and can usually be avoided by having the proper systems and procedures in place from the start. If all of this sounds too much it really isn’t. Straightforward Contracts and Policies and Procedures can be obtained and can save a great deal of aggravation. I firmly believe that systems should be bespoke to the individual Company, in this way the contents make sense to all concerned and can be written in language, preferably plain English, that is understood by all. The upside of having proper HR systems in place is that it minimises confusion, making it clear to everyone what should, and should not, happen; gives employers guidelines on their rights and procedures to follow in connection with their employees; gives employees an understanding of their rights and how they should conduct their employment and reduces the time that needs to be spent on HR issues. The downside? I don’t think there is one. Ms Ray Howard MD. QHR Solutions. Contact Us: T M W E 01253 350002 07914 939020 www.qhr-solutions.co.uk info@qhr-solutions.co.uk 2 Holcombe Road, Blackpool Lancashire, FY2 0SR millionimpossible.com 21 http://www.qhr-solutions.co.uk http://www.qhr-solutions.co.uk http://www.millionimpossible.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Raw 03 - November 2008

Raw 03 - November 2008 Contents Bradley Chapman Rachael Elnaugh Linda Klassen-Brown Heidi Weir Mark Asquith Emma Thompson Chris Wright

Raw 03 - November 2008

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