When we decide to take on new employees, we can easily get carried away with the excitement of getting the right candidate and forgetting the important that we need to do before, during and after this process.
It’s important to remember that how we carry out this process also is a reflection of the business on these employees. We want to make sure that we come across in the best possible light and in the most professional way or we could be in danger of losing that candidate.
Therefore, what follows is ten necessary tasks that we can implement into our business to ensure this is not factored in to the impression of our company.
1. Carry out applicant checks
- Once you have found a suitable candidate for the position you’ve advertised, you must make sure that your prospective employee a) has the right to work in the UK, and b) passes any further checks which may be appropriate to their new position – particularly criminal record checks (a DBS check if they’re working with children in any capacity, for example. This used to be known as a CRB check).
2. Provide a statement of employment
- You must send a written statement of employment to anyone who will be working for you for a month or more. This document provides the employee with the conditions of employment, and must be provided within two months of starting work.
3. All employees must have a contract of employment
- You must provide all employees with an employment contract which outlines the employee’s rights, responsibilities, and working conditions. This doesn’t have to be a formal written document, and contains both explicit and implied terms of employment.
4. Make sure your business is adequately insured
- This type of cover will protect your business from claims made by employees who have been injured or fallen ill at the workplace. Unless you have no employees (e.g. you run a company to provide your own services to clients), or run a business with only close family working for you, you must take out adequate EL insurance cover due to the terms of the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969.
5. Register as an employer with HMRC
- In almost all cases, you must register as an employer with HMRC within four weeks of taking on your first employee. As an employer, you will be responsible for paying your staff a pre-agreed salary, and deducting any PAYE (income tax) and National Insurance Contributions from staff salaries.
6. Paying your employees
- When you pay your staff, you have to provide each employee with a payslip which details their gross and net pay, income tax and NICs deducted, and any other deductions (such as pensions contributions). Since the implementation of the RTI (Real Time Information) regime in 2013, you must also submit payroll data to HMRC each time you pay your staff.
- You must also comply with the National Minimum Wage legislation.
7. Be aware of your Health & Safety obligations
- Unsurprisingly, as an employer, you will be responsible for providing your employees with a safe and secure environment to work in. You don’t need a formal written H&S policy unless you have five or more employees, however you should take time to assess the risks your staff face at work.
- Find out more on the Health & Safety Executive site
8. Pension auto-enrolment
- Employers must enrol their staff into a workplace pension scheme. The total minimum contribution from April 2019 is 8% of total pay with at least 3% contributed by the employer.
- Read more about these ‘staging dates’ on The Pension Regulator site.
9. Be aware of holiday, sick pay, maternity paternity pay rules
- A wide range of legislation govern employees’ rights to taking time off – either for holidays, or due to forced periods of absence.
- Take some time to familiarise yourself with the rules.
10. What happens if things don’t work out?
- Perhaps the most complex area of employment legislation covers what happens when an employee is made redundant. If you don’t handle the dismissal fairly (or an employee resigns because you have breached your contract with them), an unhappy ex-staff member may decide to take your business to an employment tribunal.
- Employment tribunals typically involve disagreements over pay, the circumstances behind the dismissal, or some kind of discrimination
These ten important processes when put in place will aid your HR Department and business without a doubt.
It will make your business look slicker, professional and put you way ahead of so many businesses that don’t even have half of these processes in place. It could be the difference from you retaining and gaining the right calibre of staff to ensure your business operates effectively, efficiently and ultimately, successfully.
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