FAQ

RedTapeDoc is a member of the The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the professional body for those involved in the management and development of people.

Each product was researched in depth using information provided by regulatory authorities and government. These include The Information Commissions Office, ACAS, The HSE, The Equality and Human Rights Commission, The Department of Work and Pensions, just to name a few...

Each product was developed with the help of subject specialists with many years practice experience and is protected by Hiscox’s professional indemnity.

We would always recommend that if you are not sure ask. Most of the time you will only be seeking an opinion and the best legal adviser will point out that any information provided cannot be taken as an interpretation of the law. Such an interpretation can only be given by the employment tribunals and by the courts.

Very often, you will find that you are paying a great deal of money for a short time on the phone. In fact, most if not all the information and advice you need is free you just have to know where to get it from.

Businesslink and ACAS both offer free employment help lines; our product provides a list of such recourses.

You may well belong to a trade body and so you will find most of them include employment and legal help lines already. If not, and you have concerns about the need for more support, join the Federation of Small Businesses, membership is around £120 a year.

Employment management often referred to as H.R. (Human Resource Management) or Personnel. It is a planned and logical approach to the management of your business most valued asset - that is the people working for your business, who individually and jointly contribute to its success.

The people you employ are the difference. Whatever your competitive advantage is, it is achieved through your employees. Attracting, retaining, developing and motivating the right employees is the key aspect for a successful business.

There are and always be legal requirements and regulations you have to comply with when you employ. Over the past 30 years, as a result of the heavy barrage of employment legislation, employment management cannot be ignored even by the smallest employer.

Many small businesses face the daunting task of administering their employee resources. Often, these duties are spread among several people within the company. Following all the legal requirements and complying with all the regulations can be costly and overwhelming. However, the cost of not complying can be much greater; either in the form of fines and penalties or legal settlement.

A policy is a deliberate plan of action to guide and achieve an outcome. Policy differs from rules or law in that: while law can prohibit behaviour (e.g. a law requiring you not to smoke), policy merely guides actions toward those who are most likely to achieve the desired outcome of keeping within the law.

A procedure is a specified series or sequence of actions which have to be executed in the same way each time in order to always obtain the same result under the same conditions (e.g. 1+2=3).

A clear written policy will:

• Allow the Company to communicate clearly with its employees. 
• Help the Company set uniform standards. 
• See that everyone is treated with fairness and in the same way. 
• Reduce potential conflict and the need for disciplinary action. 
• Help increase company productivity and morale. 
• Improve staff retention. 
• Promote a professional approach. 
• Boost the Company’s reputation both for staff and customers. 
• Assist the Company to operate within the law. 
• Help manage and reduce risk.

Employment law is frequently changed and updated; it has become quite common for government to change the amount of benefit pay each year. The government has made it clear; it has plans over the next few years to change some other employment regulations so there is a danger, once you have taken up your new company policy, that it will become outdated. Your product will be updated FREE for 1 year. You can then, if you wish, to subscribe to product updates online at www.redtapedoc.co.uk

Once an applicant accepts your offer of a job, a contract of employment comes into existence. The terms of the contract can be verbal, written, implied or a mixture of all three but a written contract makes the terms clear for everyone.

Even if you do not issue a written contract, you are under a legal duty to provide most employees with a written statement of main employment particulars within 2 months of the start of their employment.

A written statement is not itself the contract but provides evidence of the terms and conditions of employment between you and the employee, if there is a dispute later.

The terms by which you employ may be verbal, written, implied or a mixture of all three. These can be included a variety of things, such as:

• The job advertisement
• Letters and emails between you and the employee
• The statement of employment
• Written and verbal agreements
• The Company policies
• The Employee or Company Handbook

No. Some types of policy may be inappropriate or unhelpful. You are only legally required to have written policies on certain things, if you employ 5 or more employees, but it is still good practice to have some so that employees understand what is expected of them. It also makes good business sense to have policies on confidentiality, use of Company facilities, dress and appearance, whistle blowing and the right to search.

Common types of employment policies that contain some minimum legal requirements are regarding maternity, paternity, adoption, working time and time off, equality and diversity, health and safety, pay, bullying and harassment, whistle blowing, smoking, drugs and alcohol.

An Employee Handbook provides information about employment rights so that both employees and employer know where they stand. An Employee Handbook can bring real benefits to your organisation because it can help to improve communications, set out employment policies and help to recruit and induct staff.

No. You do not have to have an Employee Handbook by law. However, you are legally required to give a written statement that summarises the employees' main particulars of employment. The law allows written statements to refer to other documents and, therefore an Employee Handbook is an ideal place in which to put this information.

By law, you must keep certain records for e.g. accident reports, payroll records, statutory maternity, adoption and paternity pay records, statutory sick pay records, working time and national minimum wage records, retirement benefits schemes, right to work in the UK.

It is a good idea to keep records for 6 years; this covers the time limit for bringing any civil legal action against your Company. A small number of records need to be kept longer e.g. minutes of trustee, work council meetings, trade union agreements, senior executives' records.

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, any individuals, such as your employees have a number of rights, in particular, the right to access any information you hold about them.

A good induction training will help new staff to:

• Establish quickly and increase productivity.
• Fit in and become motivated.
• Meet your duty of care obligations under the health and safety legislation.

You can easily edit and customise any for your documents for your own specific need should you wish. All the documents come formatted in MS Word.

Yes. Sections can be removed and replaced as required using MS Word. 

For the first year, you will receive automatic updates to the Policy Manual and Record Book. After this, you can subscribe to updates.

It is the government’s plan to try and limit changes in legislation to twice a year. As a result, we update our products twice a year to reflect this.