In any given year, it is important to review your company handbook containing your HR policies and procedures. Sudden case law pronouncements, the drip feed of legislation and even societal and technological changes (like the advent of AI) all ensure that policies will get left behind if they are not maintained.
The 2024 general election gives us a particular reminder of this need to accommodate change. This July, it is time to be prepared, with the likelihood of enormous change coming!
Employment law won’t influence every part of the handbook, but it will be woven through key parts. This is essential to get right, as any policy or procedural detail that goes beyond its sell-by date, or is not introduced at the correct time, could expose you to an employment tribunal claim, draining you of time and resources.
Less serious, but still important, are the more cultural elements where you may find your business being less attractive to work for over time, if the culture drifts out of sync with job market expectations.
So what is the procedure for updating your company handbook? Let’s take a look in a handy four step process so you are ready.
Step one: Scan the landscape
When you know it is time for a policies and procedures review, it is good to get the lay of the land, initially. Assess what is being said in the news, by your key advisers and network; as in the case of an election, look at the manifestos! Reflect on societal changes too, so you can assess whether your current handbook is in tune with the mood of the workforce.
Some companies may choose to conduct an employee survey to gather information, or at the least collect more informal feedback which may be useful when you progress your review.
Step two: Review your current handbook
With a clear idea of what is changing, you can now reacquaint yourself with your policies and procedures to see which areas are in need of an update. A good company handbook will be a comprehensive document, serving the purposes of welcoming new members of staff, being a single source of truth for all your internal rules, and explaining to everyone “how we do things around here”. Therefore, this will be no small task.
As you go through it, highlight the parts which you identify as being in need of change – say the introduction of statutory sick pay being paid immediately (not on day four) or the addition of some wording on artificial intelligence usage.
Step three: Make the changes
Once you have a full understanding of what is changing and where it applies to your company handbook, you are in a good position to update it accordingly. We would however urge caution, and advise using a professional service such as our own, to ensure that your new wording is compliant with the latest employment law; or that you don’t expose yourself to risk by omission, for example.
Step four: Communicate your new handbook
Of course, an employee handbook which is not read, understood and kept as a reference by staff is not much use to anyone. So it is important to launch it with a good communications plan.
Make sure everyone receives it, give them an opportunity to ask questions, consider if any training needs to be given: to staff themselves, or especially line managers who may be on the frontline of administering the new policies.
Help from The HR Dept
As we said, we would strongly suggest using an HR adviser to get the employment law aspects correct, as well as bring some outside perspective to your handbook; and we can help with this. In fact, as part of our cost-effective Advice Line retained service, this all comes as standard. We automatically update our clients’ handbooks, without them ever having to concern themselves about it. To find out more, just ask.
