There are many advantages to having suitable employment policies in place. For example, setting standards within your business can help with healthy workplace relations.

Benefits of having employment policies

Other advantages of having employment policies can include:

• a reduction in the need for disciplinary and legal action
• increased productivity and morale
• better employee retention
• employees know what is expected of them
• protection from breaches of employment legislation
• a framework where a delegation of decision-making is equitably agreed upon can maintain morale
• providing a means of communicating information to new employees

Clear policy making can also be positive for your business' reputation externally, eg among clients and the local community.

Having suitable policies in place can also make it easier to attract new staff.

To access templates for workplace policies that you can download, tailor, and use, see HR documents and templates.

Employment document toolkit

The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) also has a free employment document toolkit, once employers are registered they can unlock free core employment guides to help them build documents, policies, and procedures for their own organisation.

The employment policies that you have will depend on the size and nature of your business. For example, if your staff operate machinery, it may be a good idea to implement a specific staff policy on drugs and alcohol use. If most of your staff use computers most of the time, you should have an email and internet acceptable use policy.

Common types of employment policies

To access employment policy templates that you can download, tailor, and use for your business, see HR documents and templates.

Employment document toolkit

The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) also has a free employment document toolkit, once employers are registered they can unlock free core employment guides to help them build documents, policies, and procedures for their own organisation.

Employment policies: legal requirements

Note that it is a legal requirement to set out your health and safety policy in writing if you have five or more employees. It is also a legal requirement to set out your disciplinary rules and discipline and grievance procedures in writing.

If, following an assessment, there is a risk that someone performing services for your business might carry out acts of bribery, you will need to have a procedure in place to prevent such acts. Read more on anti-bribery policies.

Communicating your employment policies

A workplace policy can be part of your employee/company handbook or you could set it out in a separate document. However, for your discipline and grievance policies, you must either set them out in a written statement of main terms and conditions of employment or refer in a written statement to a place where the employee can read them, eg the company intranet.

You should make staff aware that your employment policies exist, particularly during the induction process - see induction programme: what to include, and make sure workers can easily access them if necessary, eg by having them pinned up on a noticeboard or put on the company intranet.

Employment policies: contractual status

Workplace policies generally aren't contractually binding unless they expressly state otherwise.

However, terms of some employment policies could be seen as contractually binding through custom and practice, ie where workers follow certain working practices or receive certain benefits over a significant period of time, and ultimately it will be up to an Industrial Tribunal to decide on the contractual nature of policies.

A policy on working time and time off should cover a number of areas.

Leave and absence

Occasionally, your workers will want or need time off.

In certain circumstances, you are legally obliged to give your workers time off, eg to take annual leave, attend health and safety training, time off for dependants, and carry out trade union duties. See parental leave and time off for dependants and allowing time off work.

In other circumstances, you can use your discretion, eg requests involving moving house or looking after a sick relative. However, having policies in place that pre-empt these types of requests will ensure that you deal with such matters consistently.

Working hours

Workers aged 18 years old or above may only work an average of 48 hours per week averaged out over a 17-week period (other limits apply for younger workers). However, they have the right to sign an opt-out agreement, which allows them to work more than this.

It's a good idea to manage these working hours and keep appropriate records. See hours, rest breaks, and the working week.

Overtime

You are not obliged to offer overtime to your workers or require them to work it. However, any overtime policy should still set out the rules on overtime. This is particularly important if your workers have come to expect regular overtime - they could claim it had become a contractual entitlement through custom and practice.

Rates of overtime pay should be agreed with employees, as no minimum statutory levels apply, although you should ensure that workers are paid at least the national minimum wage for all hours worked. See how to manage overtime.

Work-life balance

Encouraging work-life balance is important for your business. To achieve this, and as they are statutory rights, you should definitely have policies on:

• parental leave
• flexible working
• maternity, adoption, and paternity leave and pay

See how to promote good work/life balance in your business.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see time off work policies and procedures.

Workers are protected from discrimination on a wide range of grounds, eg gender, sexual orientation, and age. See how to prevent discrimination and value diversity.

Business benefits of promoting diversity

Many successful businesses go much further and actively promote diversity in both their strategic and human resources policies. If you value everyone as an individual, research shows that diversity can help stimulate creative interaction, motivate employees, and improve business performance.

If you do not yet have an equality and diversity policy in place, you could find it a useful management and recruitment tool. It should:

• explain your business' stance on diversity
• show how you intend to achieve a diverse working environment
• describe how managers and staff can participate in the business's commitment to diversity both within and outside the organisation

It's therefore important that workers contribute to the policy-making process. You can do this by asking them for their views on, for example:

• promoting good relationships in the workplace between individuals, managers, teams, and employers
• treating all workers fairly
• valuing and respecting differences
• understanding workers' needs to balance work and family commitments
• how to communicate with individuals through formal and informal communication channels

Equality guidance for small businesses

The Equality Commission supports businesses and helps to promote good practice in equality, diversity, and inclusion. Read the Equality Commission guidance for small businesses.

If you have five or more employees, you must by law have a written health and safety policy. The health and safety policy should set out:

• your general approach and objectives in relation to health and safety
• the arrangements you have in place for managing health and safety in your business

However, good health and safety practice means that you should not only have such a policy but also manage it in a way that benefits your business, workers, clients, and local community.

Write a health and safety policy for your business.

Read Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) guidance on health and safety.

Policies to promote staff well-being

To promote the health and well-being of your staff, you also might want to consider policies on specific health-related issues, such as:

• stress at work - see how to deal with stress
• smoking, drugs, and alcohol - see workplace policies on smoking, drugs, and alcohol

To back up your health and safety policies, you may decide to introduce a range of facilities promoting good health amongst your workforce, eg gym access deals (dependant on gym contract terms), advice on how to give up smoking, alcohol or drugs counselling, and routine health check-ups.

The benefits for your business can include the improved overall health of your workers, and improved morale and productivity. See what you need to do about health and safety.

Consultation on health and safety matters

You're required by law to consult your employees on health and safety issues in the workplace and to make them aware of what's in your policy. See how to provide health and safety training and information.

However, you may decide to encourage them to get involved more fully in the process. This could involve devising safety rules, as well as giving useful feedback on how effectively policies are working.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see other key HR policies and templates.

You are required by law to set out your disciplinary rules and disciplinary and grievance procedures, in writing.

It's also common for employers to have a separate bullying and harassment policy for their workplace.

Discipline and grievance policies

You must tell each employee about:

• your disciplinary rules
• your disciplinary/dismissal and grievance procedure
• the name of the person to whom they should appeal if they are unhappy about a disciplinary or dismissal decision, or to seek redress for a grievance

This information can be included in the employee's written statement or the written statement may refer the employee to a document where they can read it, eg in a staff handbook - see Invest Northern Ireland Employers' Handbook.

If you fail to issue this information in writing, and one of your employees makes an industrial tribunal case against you and wins, you may have to pay up to four weeks' wages on top of any other compensation the tribunal may award.

It's important that your disciplinary rules give examples of the types of behaviour that qualify as gross misconduct, eg fighting, bullying, and stealing. If you find that an employee has committed an act of gross misconduct, you could be entitled to dismiss them summarily without notice or pay in lieu of notice. You should ensure that you comply with the statutory dismissal procedures and the LRA Code of Practice on Discipline and Grievance even when dismissing for gross misconduct.

Read more on disciplinary procedures, hearings, and appeals, handling grievances, and dismissing employees.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see grievance and disciplinary procedures and templates.

Employment document toolkit

If you require further help with drawing up your disciplinary and grievance policies, the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) has a free employment document toolkit. Once you have registered you can get access to their free core employment guides to help you build documents, policies, and procedures for your own organisation.

Bullying and harassment policies

Bullying and harassment are conduct issues and therefore would normally fall under your disciplinary policy. However, many employers have a separate bullying and harassment policy given that such behaviour:

• needs dealing with sensitively
• can amount to gross misconduct
• may involve unlawful discrimination

There is no legislation that is specifically designed to address workplace bullying. However, bullying can be successfully challenged through existing legislation, ie civil, criminal, and employment law.

You have a legal duty to protect the health and safety of your workers. Bullying can also lead to a breakdown in trust and confidence between you and the alleged victim, leading to the employee resigning and claiming constructive dismissal.

Sexual harassment and harassment on the grounds of sex, disability, race, sexual orientation, religion/belief, and age are unlawful. Even if a worker harasses a colleague, the victim can make a discrimination claim against you.

You should have a clear policy on bullying and harassment so that staff understands that it's unacceptable. The policy should also include a procedure for dealing with claims of harassment or bullying should they arise.

It makes good business sense to have workplace policies on issues such as:

• intellectual property
• confidentiality
• social media usage
• use of company facilities
• dress and appearance
• whistleblowing
• the right to search

These help you protect both your tangible and intangible business assets, which, once lost, may be difficult to regain.

Policies on intellectual property protection and confidentiality

If you design products or create other original output, eg music or printed matter, it is important to protect your intellectual property.

Therefore you need a workplace policy that states that:

• any original product or material developed in the course of an employee's work remains the property of the business
• employees have a duty to keep company information confidential

If you intend to rely on any kind of penalty clauses, you should always seek legal advice.

Read more on protecting intellectual property.

Social media workplace policy

The use of social media at work presents responsibilities regarding employees using various sites. Having a written social media policy for your business provides clear guidelines for employees.

Read more on managing employee use of social media. Read the Labour Relations Agency's advice on social media and the employment relationship.

Policies on dress and appearance

You are entitled to set out a code covering how you expect employees to dress and generally present themselves. This is particularly important where there are health and safety issues involved, eg in factories, building sites, or kitchens.

However, you must ensure that these codes are non-discriminatory, particularly in relation to gender and religion/belief. Read the Fair Employment Code of Practice from the Equality Commission.

Policy on the use of company facilities

It's a good idea to set up clear policies about the use of company facilities. In particular, you should have a policy on the use of the internet, email, and telephone.

Most email and internet policies aim to strike a balance between business and personal use. Setting out boundaries will help to minimise the risk of:

• having to take disciplinary action against staff
• a third party taking legal action against you
• harm to your IT system
• leakage of confidential information

In addition, if you intend to monitor staff usage of company facilities then you should carry out an impact assessment in advance of this.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see other key HR policies and templates.

Read more on monitoring and security of staff.

Whistleblowing policies

It is a good idea to have a policy on making protected disclosures - or 'whistleblowing'. This is because it will encourage workers to raise concerns about illegal activities and bad business practices internally - and prevent your business from receiving negative publicity.

Note that you do not need to treat the making of a protected disclosure as a grievance unless:

• the disclosure relates to a matter that the employee could raise as a grievance with you
• the employee intends for the disclosure to constitute the raising of a grievance

Read more on whistleblowing - qualifying disclosures.

Also see discipline, grievance, bullying, and harassment policies.

Right-to-search policies

You may only search an employee if this is allowed under their terms and conditions of employment.

Therefore, if you have a right-to-search policy, you should state that it is contractual. It is also important to remember that you should get an employee's consent before conducting a search.

Your business may need to have a procedure in place to prevent acts of bribery.

You will only need such a procedure if - following an assessment - there is a risk that an agent, subsidiary or other person performing services for your business might carry out such acts.

Under UK law, there is a general offence of bribery, and of bribing a foreign official. Bribery is defined as giving someone financial or other advantages to induce them to perform their functions or activities improperly or to reward them for having already done so.

In addition, there is an offence relating to failure by a business to prevent a person associated with it from committing the above offences on its behalf in order to win business, keep business or gain a business advantage for the organisation.

You will have a statutory defence to the last of these offences if your business has adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery on your behalf.

Preventing bribery

To prevent bribery - and have a defence in case a charge of bribery is made against you - you should:

• assess whether your business is at risk and, if so, the level of that risk
• have an anti-bribery policy in place containing procedures proportionate to the risk you have identified, the scope and size of your business, and the country/countries in which you do business
• use due diligence to assess who you are dealing with and who you appoint to represent you
• communicate, train and raise awareness among employees and business partners
• monitor and review your procedures

Anti-bribery policy

Your anti-bribery policy should:

• include a clear prohibition of the offer, gift or acceptance of bribes
• detail the procedures that should be followed during business transactions
• give guidance on the provision of gifts, hospitality or expenses that may influence the outcome of business transactions
• provide guidance on political and charitable donations, including a prohibition of the payment of donations to political parties or charities that are directly linked to obtaining new business or gaining a business advantage
• require that any donations made in good faith are publicly disclosed

Note that the following are not considered acts of bribery:

• providing genuine business hospitality
• carrying out proportionate and reasonable promotional activities

Having a training policy in place will enable you to plug any skills shortages in your workplace. This is beneficial to employees and will also have a positive impact on business performance.

A training policy can be implemented to allow employees to perform their current role more effectively or support them through a change in role.

You should ensure that your training policy is appropriate. This can be achieved by assessing whether it fits with your business plan and through discussions with employees, eg you may decide to offer training in-house for specific tasks, general company guidance for new starters, or refresher training for existing employees. Develop a staff training plan.

Performance management

Implementing an appraisal system is another way of improving your business performance. It represents a good opportunity to discuss with individual employees both their strengths and weaknesses, areas for development, and agree on new aims and objectives with them.

Businesses commonly carry out appraisals within a few months of a new employee starting or changing role within the business. For established employees, you may decide to use the appraisal system once or twice per year.

Some of the benefits of having appraisal-related performance targets are that employees understand what is expected of them and how these fit into the wider aims of the business. Targets are also a way of gaining useful feedback and ideas on how your business can be more effective in the future. Read more on managing staff performance.

To access templates that you can download, tailor and use, see performance management and staff training templates.

Pay is a key aspect of your relationship with your employees. Setting the right pay rates for your business will likely take into account your need to attract talented employees and retain those that you have already. Above all, pay rewards should be fair, and the process transparent. See how to set the right pay rates.

You may decide to implement a results-related pay system, such as commission or bonuses. These are provided by your business in addition to basic pay and can be used to reward employees who perform at a high level:

• commission is calculated based on the performance of an individual or a team
• bonuses may be connected to the performance of the entire business

Depending on the sector in which your business operates, eg in the catering trade, setting up a tips and gratuities system may be more appropriate. There are some circumstances when tips and gratuities can count towards the national minimum wage. See guidance on tips at work. For further advice on this, you may wish to contact HMRC.

You should be aware that there are certain types of business expenses that are tax deductible and others that are not. They may need to be disclosed to the relevant authorities. Read more on expenses and benefits.

Many personal relationships begin with people meeting at work, and many of these lead to long-term partnerships. This should not be viewed as a problem in itself, but it's important to recognise that relationships at work can cause a number of issues for both employers and the workforce.

Why have a workplace relationships policy?

Any employment policy about relationships at work is intended to ensure that staff don't commit - and are not open to allegations of acts of:

• inappropriate behaviour, including harassment
• favouritism
• abuse of authority
• conflict of interest

It is also intended to ensure that all employees feel confident of fair and consistent treatment without the fear that a relationship will influence their or other employees' treatment or wider working relationships.

Depending on the size of your business, you may also want to extend the policy to cover other types of relationships, such as those between relatives or family members.

Some companies go so far as to specify in employment contracts that employees can't form an intimate relationship with someone they work with, although this is probably unnecessary in most workplaces.

What types of relationships would a policy cover?

For the purposes of creating a policy, 'intimate relationships' or 'close personal or family relationships' apply to those relationships between people in the same team or department, or between a line manager and one of their team that could potentially be problematic. It does not refer to a straightforward friendship between colleagues.

Issues that could arise include the following:

• If one of the couple is the other's manager, what happens if disciplinary action has to be taken against the employee? Who will do the employee appraisals or performance reviews?
• Does either of the couple have any financial responsibilities, such as authorising expense claims or overtime payments, or deciding pay rates or increases?
• What happens when the employee applies for a post for which the manager would be conducting the interviews? Or when someone related to an existing employee applies for a job? (Conflicts of interest should, where possible, be avoided. This would minimise tribunal risks.)

General policy on relationships at work: what might it cover?

If you choose to have a policy about personal relationships at work, it should clarify the behaviour you expect from employees, eg that the relationship shouldn't affect their work and that there should be no favouritism or preferential treatment, particularly where one employee is more senior than the other.

You may wish to include guidance on what to do if an employee involved in recruitment is aware that a partner, relative, or even a close friend has applied for a job. You could state that they should declare this at the earliest opportunity.

Depending on the position and the employee's own role, you should consider:

• any potential conflict of interest
• how an appointment might affect the working environment
• any resulting risks that the relationship might cause
• what steps could be taken to address these matters

Remember that it can be a positive thing to have friends and family working together, as well as considering the potential risks.

When writing staff policies the main steps are:

• Preparing - collecting information (anonymous staff views can be sought via a survey or series of surveys), opinions, and examining the options. Policies are more likely to be accepted if staff are involved in drawing them up. Involve unions, especially if you have collective agreements that specify they should be consulted, or existing elected employee representatives. Alternatively, set up a joint working group.
• Developing - policies should suit the specific needs of the business.
• Implementing - inform staff and provide training.
• Reviewing - this is to check that the policy is being used and is not damaging the business.

Check that your workplace policies are not unlawfully discriminatory, eg in relation to pay or dress/appearance.

Employment document toolkit

If in doubt, or if you require additional help with drawing up your employment documentation, the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) has a free employment document toolkit. Once registered you can access their free core employment guides to help you build documents, policies, and procedures for your own organisation. Find out about the free employment document toolkit.

How should policies be communicated to staff?

You could inform your staff of workplace policies by:

• displaying them on noticeboards where staff can easily read them
• adding details of them to the company network or intranet
• communicating in presentations
• including in a staff handbook
• including in a collective agreement with a union
• emailing details of your policies to staff
• sending as a written letter to the staff
• consider including any new policy as an item on team meeting agendas
• including in a staff induction programme

Making changes to workplace policies

If you wish to make a change to a policy, you will need the employee to agree to the changes, unless their contract allows you to make such variations without such agreement (typically terms in relation to working hours, place of work, and duties).

If you fail to get employees' agreement, they may be entitled to sue for breach of contract, or resign and claim constructive dismissal. Ultimately it will be up to an Industrial Tribunal to decide on the contractual nature of policies.

Introducing new workplace policies

If you are planning to introduce a new policy in your workplace, you should consider the following:

• What is the purpose of the policy?
• Have you consulted with managers, workers, and their representatives?
• Has someone been given overall responsibility for the policy?
• How are you going to communicate the policy to all workers?
• Have you given workers enough notice about the new policy?
• Have you thought through the potential cost of the policy?
• Does the policy change anyone's employment contract?
• How are you going to monitor and maintain the policy?

There are many advantages to having suitable employment policies in place. For example, setting standards within your business can help with healthy workplace relations.

Benefits of having employment policies

Other advantages of having employment policies can include:

• a reduction in the need for disciplinary and legal action
• increased productivity and morale
• better employee retention
• employees know what is expected of them
• protection from breaches of employment legislation
• a framework where a delegation of decision-making is equitably agreed upon can maintain morale
• providing a means of communicating information to new employees

Clear policy making can also be positive for your business' reputation externally, eg among clients and the local community.

Having suitable policies in place can also make it easier to attract new staff.

To access templates for workplace policies that you can download, tailor, and use, see HR documents and templates.

Employment document toolkit

The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) also has a free employment document toolkit, once employers are registered they can unlock free core employment guides to help them build documents, policies, and procedures for their own organisation.

The employment policies that you have will depend on the size and nature of your business. For example, if your staff operate machinery, it may be a good idea to implement a specific staff policy on drugs and alcohol use. If most of your staff use computers most of the time, you should have an email and internet acceptable use policy.

Common types of employment policies

To access employment policy templates that you can download, tailor, and use for your business, see HR documents and templates.

Employment document toolkit

The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) also has a free employment document toolkit, once employers are registered they can unlock free core employment guides to help them build documents, policies, and procedures for their own organisation.

Employment policies: legal requirements

Note that it is a legal requirement to set out your health and safety policy in writing if you have five or more employees. It is also a legal requirement to set out your disciplinary rules and discipline and grievance procedures in writing.

If, following an assessment, there is a risk that someone performing services for your business might carry out acts of bribery, you will need to have a procedure in place to prevent such acts. Read more on anti-bribery policies.

Communicating your employment policies

A workplace policy can be part of your employee/company handbook or you could set it out in a separate document. However, for your discipline and grievance policies, you must either set them out in a written statement of main terms and conditions of employment or refer in a written statement to a place where the employee can read them, eg the company intranet.

You should make staff aware that your employment policies exist, particularly during the induction process - see induction programme: what to include, and make sure workers can easily access them if necessary, eg by having them pinned up on a noticeboard or put on the company intranet.

Employment policies: contractual status

Workplace policies generally aren't contractually binding unless they expressly state otherwise.

However, terms of some employment policies could be seen as contractually binding through custom and practice, ie where workers follow certain working practices or receive certain benefits over a significant period of time, and ultimately it will be up to an Industrial Tribunal to decide on the contractual nature of policies.

A policy on working time and time off should cover a number of areas.

Leave and absence

Occasionally, your workers will want or need time off.

In certain circumstances, you are legally obliged to give your workers time off, eg to take annual leave, attend health and safety training, time off for dependants, and carry out trade union duties. See parental leave and time off for dependants and allowing time off work.

In other circumstances, you can use your discretion, eg requests involving moving house or looking after a sick relative. However, having policies in place that pre-empt these types of requests will ensure that you deal with such matters consistently.

Working hours

Workers aged 18 years old or above may only work an average of 48 hours per week averaged out over a 17-week period (other limits apply for younger workers). However, they have the right to sign an opt-out agreement, which allows them to work more than this.

It's a good idea to manage these working hours and keep appropriate records. See hours, rest breaks, and the working week.

Overtime

You are not obliged to offer overtime to your workers or require them to work it. However, any overtime policy should still set out the rules on overtime. This is particularly important if your workers have come to expect regular overtime - they could claim it had become a contractual entitlement through custom and practice.

Rates of overtime pay should be agreed with employees, as no minimum statutory levels apply, although you should ensure that workers are paid at least the national minimum wage for all hours worked. See how to manage overtime.

Work-life balance

Encouraging work-life balance is important for your business. To achieve this, and as they are statutory rights, you should definitely have policies on:

• parental leave
• flexible working
• maternity, adoption, and paternity leave and pay

See how to promote good work/life balance in your business.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see time off work policies and procedures.

Workers are protected from discrimination on a wide range of grounds, eg gender, sexual orientation, and age. See how to prevent discrimination and value diversity.

Business benefits of promoting diversity

Many successful businesses go much further and actively promote diversity in both their strategic and human resources policies. If you value everyone as an individual, research shows that diversity can help stimulate creative interaction, motivate employees, and improve business performance.

If you do not yet have an equality and diversity policy in place, you could find it a useful management and recruitment tool. It should:

• explain your business' stance on diversity
• show how you intend to achieve a diverse working environment
• describe how managers and staff can participate in the business's commitment to diversity both within and outside the organisation

It's therefore important that workers contribute to the policy-making process. You can do this by asking them for their views on, for example:

• promoting good relationships in the workplace between individuals, managers, teams, and employers
• treating all workers fairly
• valuing and respecting differences
• understanding workers' needs to balance work and family commitments
• how to communicate with individuals through formal and informal communication channels

Equality guidance for small businesses

The Equality Commission supports businesses and helps to promote good practice in equality, diversity, and inclusion. Read the Equality Commission guidance for small businesses.

If you have five or more employees, you must by law have a written health and safety policy. The health and safety policy should set out:

• your general approach and objectives in relation to health and safety
• the arrangements you have in place for managing health and safety in your business

However, good health and safety practice means that you should not only have such a policy but also manage it in a way that benefits your business, workers, clients, and local community.

Write a health and safety policy for your business.

Read Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) guidance on health and safety.

Policies to promote staff well-being

To promote the health and well-being of your staff, you also might want to consider policies on specific health-related issues, such as:

• stress at work - see how to deal with stress
• smoking, drugs, and alcohol - see workplace policies on smoking, drugs, and alcohol

To back up your health and safety policies, you may decide to introduce a range of facilities promoting good health amongst your workforce, eg gym access deals (dependant on gym contract terms), advice on how to give up smoking, alcohol or drugs counselling, and routine health check-ups.

The benefits for your business can include the improved overall health of your workers, and improved morale and productivity. See what you need to do about health and safety.

Consultation on health and safety matters

You're required by law to consult your employees on health and safety issues in the workplace and to make them aware of what's in your policy. See how to provide health and safety training and information.

However, you may decide to encourage them to get involved more fully in the process. This could involve devising safety rules, as well as giving useful feedback on how effectively policies are working.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see other key HR policies and templates.

You are required by law to set out your disciplinary rules and disciplinary and grievance procedures, in writing.

It's also common for employers to have a separate bullying and harassment policy for their workplace.

Discipline and grievance policies

You must tell each employee about:

• your disciplinary rules
• your disciplinary/dismissal and grievance procedure
• the name of the person to whom they should appeal if they are unhappy about a disciplinary or dismissal decision, or to seek redress for a grievance

This information can be included in the employee's written statement or the written statement may refer the employee to a document where they can read it, eg in a staff handbook - see Invest Northern Ireland Employers' Handbook.

If you fail to issue this information in writing, and one of your employees makes an industrial tribunal case against you and wins, you may have to pay up to four weeks' wages on top of any other compensation the tribunal may award.

It's important that your disciplinary rules give examples of the types of behaviour that qualify as gross misconduct, eg fighting, bullying, and stealing. If you find that an employee has committed an act of gross misconduct, you could be entitled to dismiss them summarily without notice or pay in lieu of notice. You should ensure that you comply with the statutory dismissal procedures and the LRA Code of Practice on Discipline and Grievance even when dismissing for gross misconduct.

Read more on disciplinary procedures, hearings, and appeals, handling grievances, and dismissing employees.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see grievance and disciplinary procedures and templates.

Employment document toolkit

If you require further help with drawing up your disciplinary and grievance policies, the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) has a free employment document toolkit. Once you have registered you can get access to their free core employment guides to help you build documents, policies, and procedures for your own organisation.

Bullying and harassment policies

Bullying and harassment are conduct issues and therefore would normally fall under your disciplinary policy. However, many employers have a separate bullying and harassment policy given that such behaviour:

• needs dealing with sensitively
• can amount to gross misconduct
• may involve unlawful discrimination

There is no legislation that is specifically designed to address workplace bullying. However, bullying can be successfully challenged through existing legislation, ie civil, criminal, and employment law.

You have a legal duty to protect the health and safety of your workers. Bullying can also lead to a breakdown in trust and confidence between you and the alleged victim, leading to the employee resigning and claiming constructive dismissal.

Sexual harassment and harassment on the grounds of sex, disability, race, sexual orientation, religion/belief, and age are unlawful. Even if a worker harasses a colleague, the victim can make a discrimination claim against you.

You should have a clear policy on bullying and harassment so that staff understands that it's unacceptable. The policy should also include a procedure for dealing with claims of harassment or bullying should they arise.

It makes good business sense to have workplace policies on issues such as:

• intellectual property
• confidentiality
• social media usage
• use of company facilities
• dress and appearance
• whistleblowing
• the right to search

These help you protect both your tangible and intangible business assets, which, once lost, may be difficult to regain.

Policies on intellectual property protection and confidentiality

If you design products or create other original output, eg music or printed matter, it is important to protect your intellectual property.

Therefore you need a workplace policy that states that:

• any original product or material developed in the course of an employee's work remains the property of the business
• employees have a duty to keep company information confidential

If you intend to rely on any kind of penalty clauses, you should always seek legal advice.

Read more on protecting intellectual property.

Social media workplace policy

The use of social media at work presents responsibilities regarding employees using various sites. Having a written social media policy for your business provides clear guidelines for employees.

Read more on managing employee use of social media. Read the Labour Relations Agency's advice on social media and the employment relationship.

Policies on dress and appearance

You are entitled to set out a code covering how you expect employees to dress and generally present themselves. This is particularly important where there are health and safety issues involved, eg in factories, building sites, or kitchens.

However, you must ensure that these codes are non-discriminatory, particularly in relation to gender and religion/belief. Read the Fair Employment Code of Practice from the Equality Commission.

Policy on the use of company facilities

It's a good idea to set up clear policies about the use of company facilities. In particular, you should have a policy on the use of the internet, email, and telephone.

Most email and internet policies aim to strike a balance between business and personal use. Setting out boundaries will help to minimise the risk of:

• having to take disciplinary action against staff
• a third party taking legal action against you
• harm to your IT system
• leakage of confidential information

In addition, if you intend to monitor staff usage of company facilities then you should carry out an impact assessment in advance of this.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see other key HR policies and templates.

Read more on monitoring and security of staff.

Whistleblowing policies

It is a good idea to have a policy on making protected disclosures - or 'whistleblowing'. This is because it will encourage workers to raise concerns about illegal activities and bad business practices internally - and prevent your business from receiving negative publicity.

Note that you do not need to treat the making of a protected disclosure as a grievance unless:

• the disclosure relates to a matter that the employee could raise as a grievance with you
• the employee intends for the disclosure to constitute the raising of a grievance

Read more on whistleblowing - qualifying disclosures.

Also see discipline, grievance, bullying, and harassment policies.

Right-to-search policies

You may only search an employee if this is allowed under their terms and conditions of employment.

Therefore, if you have a right-to-search policy, you should state that it is contractual. It is also important to remember that you should get an employee's consent before conducting a search.

Your business may need to have a procedure in place to prevent acts of bribery.

You will only need such a procedure if - following an assessment - there is a risk that an agent, subsidiary or other person performing services for your business might carry out such acts.

Under UK law, there is a general offence of bribery, and of bribing a foreign official. Bribery is defined as giving someone financial or other advantages to induce them to perform their functions or activities improperly or to reward them for having already done so.

In addition, there is an offence relating to failure by a business to prevent a person associated with it from committing the above offences on its behalf in order to win business, keep business or gain a business advantage for the organisation.

You will have a statutory defence to the last of these offences if your business has adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery on your behalf.

Preventing bribery

To prevent bribery - and have a defence in case a charge of bribery is made against you - you should:

• assess whether your business is at risk and, if so, the level of that risk
• have an anti-bribery policy in place containing procedures proportionate to the risk you have identified, the scope and size of your business, and the country/countries in which you do business
• use due diligence to assess who you are dealing with and who you appoint to represent you
• communicate, train and raise awareness among employees and business partners
• monitor and review your procedures

Anti-bribery policy

Your anti-bribery policy should:

• include a clear prohibition of the offer, gift or acceptance of bribes
• detail the procedures that should be followed during business transactions
• give guidance on the provision of gifts, hospitality or expenses that may influence the outcome of business transactions
• provide guidance on political and charitable donations, including a prohibition of the payment of donations to political parties or charities that are directly linked to obtaining new business or gaining a business advantage
• require that any donations made in good faith are publicly disclosed

Note that the following are not considered acts of bribery:

• providing genuine business hospitality
• carrying out proportionate and reasonable promotional activities

Having a training policy in place will enable you to plug any skills shortages in your workplace. This is beneficial to employees and will also have a positive impact on business performance.

A training policy can be implemented to allow employees to perform their current role more effectively or support them through a change in role.

You should ensure that your training policy is appropriate. This can be achieved by assessing whether it fits with your business plan and through discussions with employees, eg you may decide to offer training in-house for specific tasks, general company guidance for new starters, or refresher training for existing employees. Develop a staff training plan.

Performance management

Implementing an appraisal system is another way of improving your business performance. It represents a good opportunity to discuss with individual employees both their strengths and weaknesses, areas for development, and agree on new aims and objectives with them.

Businesses commonly carry out appraisals within a few months of a new employee starting or changing role within the business. For established employees, you may decide to use the appraisal system once or twice per year.

Some of the benefits of having appraisal-related performance targets are that employees understand what is expected of them and how these fit into the wider aims of the business. Targets are also a way of gaining useful feedback and ideas on how your business can be more effective in the future. Read more on managing staff performance.

To access templates that you can download, tailor and use, see performance management and staff training templates.

Pay is a key aspect of your relationship with your employees. Setting the right pay rates for your business will likely take into account your need to attract talented employees and retain those that you have already. Above all, pay rewards should be fair, and the process transparent. See how to set the right pay rates.

You may decide to implement a results-related pay system, such as commission or bonuses. These are provided by your business in addition to basic pay and can be used to reward employees who perform at a high level:

• commission is calculated based on the performance of an individual or a team
• bonuses may be connected to the performance of the entire business

Depending on the sector in which your business operates, eg in the catering trade, setting up a tips and gratuities system may be more appropriate. There are some circumstances when tips and gratuities can count towards the national minimum wage. See guidance on tips at work. For further advice on this, you may wish to contact HMRC.

You should be aware that there are certain types of business expenses that are tax deductible and others that are not. They may need to be disclosed to the relevant authorities. Read more on expenses and benefits.

Many personal relationships begin with people meeting at work, and many of these lead to long-term partnerships. This should not be viewed as a problem in itself, but it's important to recognise that relationships at work can cause a number of issues for both employers and the workforce.

Why have a workplace relationships policy?

Any employment policy about relationships at work is intended to ensure that staff don't commit - and are not open to allegations of acts of:

• inappropriate behaviour, including harassment
• favouritism
• abuse of authority
• conflict of interest

It is also intended to ensure that all employees feel confident of fair and consistent treatment without the fear that a relationship will influence their or other employees' treatment or wider working relationships.

Depending on the size of your business, you may also want to extend the policy to cover other types of relationships, such as those between relatives or family members.

Some companies go so far as to specify in employment contracts that employees can't form an intimate relationship with someone they work with, although this is probably unnecessary in most workplaces.

What types of relationships would a policy cover?

For the purposes of creating a policy, 'intimate relationships' or 'close personal or family relationships' apply to those relationships between people in the same team or department, or between a line manager and one of their team that could potentially be problematic. It does not refer to a straightforward friendship between colleagues.

Issues that could arise include the following:

• If one of the couple is the other's manager, what happens if disciplinary action has to be taken against the employee? Who will do the employee appraisals or performance reviews?
• Does either of the couple have any financial responsibilities, such as authorising expense claims or overtime payments, or deciding pay rates or increases?
• What happens when the employee applies for a post for which the manager would be conducting the interviews? Or when someone related to an existing employee applies for a job? (Conflicts of interest should, where possible, be avoided. This would minimise tribunal risks.)

General policy on relationships at work: what might it cover?

If you choose to have a policy about personal relationships at work, it should clarify the behaviour you expect from employees, eg that the relationship shouldn't affect their work and that there should be no favouritism or preferential treatment, particularly where one employee is more senior than the other.

You may wish to include guidance on what to do if an employee involved in recruitment is aware that a partner, relative, or even a close friend has applied for a job. You could state that they should declare this at the earliest opportunity.

Depending on the position and the employee's own role, you should consider:

• any potential conflict of interest
• how an appointment might affect the working environment
• any resulting risks that the relationship might cause
• what steps could be taken to address these matters

Remember that it can be a positive thing to have friends and family working together, as well as considering the potential risks.

When writing staff policies the main steps are:

• Preparing - collecting information (anonymous staff views can be sought via a survey or series of surveys), opinions, and examining the options. Policies are more likely to be accepted if staff are involved in drawing them up. Involve unions, especially if you have collective agreements that specify they should be consulted, or existing elected employee representatives. Alternatively, set up a joint working group.
• Developing - policies should suit the specific needs of the business.
• Implementing - inform staff and provide training.
• Reviewing - this is to check that the policy is being used and is not damaging the business.

Check that your workplace policies are not unlawfully discriminatory, eg in relation to pay or dress/appearance.

Employment document toolkit

If in doubt, or if you require additional help with drawing up your employment documentation, the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) has a free employment document toolkit. Once registered you can access their free core employment guides to help you build documents, policies, and procedures for your own organisation. Find out about the free employment document toolkit.

How should policies be communicated to staff?

You could inform your staff of workplace policies by:

• displaying them on noticeboards where staff can easily read them
• adding details of them to the company network or intranet
• communicating in presentations
• including in a staff handbook
• including in a collective agreement with a union
• emailing details of your policies to staff
• sending as a written letter to the staff
• consider including any new policy as an item on team meeting agendas
• including in a staff induction programme

Making changes to workplace policies

If you wish to make a change to a policy, you will need the employee to agree to the changes, unless their contract allows you to make such variations without such agreement (typically terms in relation to working hours, place of work, and duties).

If you fail to get employees' agreement, they may be entitled to sue for breach of contract, or resign and claim constructive dismissal. Ultimately it will be up to an Industrial Tribunal to decide on the contractual nature of policies.

Introducing new workplace policies

If you are planning to introduce a new policy in your workplace, you should consider the following:

• What is the purpose of the policy?
• Have you consulted with managers, workers, and their representatives?
• Has someone been given overall responsibility for the policy?
• How are you going to communicate the policy to all workers?
• Have you given workers enough notice about the new policy?
• Have you thought through the potential cost of the policy?
• Does the policy change anyone's employment contract?
• How are you going to monitor and maintain the policy?

There are many advantages to having suitable employment policies in place. For example, setting standards within your business can help with healthy workplace relations.

Benefits of having employment policies

Other advantages of having employment policies can include:

• a reduction in the need for disciplinary and legal action
• increased productivity and morale
• better employee retention
• employees know what is expected of them
• protection from breaches of employment legislation
• a framework where a delegation of decision-making is equitably agreed upon can maintain morale
• providing a means of communicating information to new employees

Clear policy making can also be positive for your business' reputation externally, eg among clients and the local community.

Having suitable policies in place can also make it easier to attract new staff.

To access templates for workplace policies that you can download, tailor, and use, see HR documents and templates.

Employment document toolkit

The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) also has a free employment document toolkit, once employers are registered they can unlock free core employment guides to help them build documents, policies, and procedures for their own organisation.

The employment policies that you have will depend on the size and nature of your business. For example, if your staff operate machinery, it may be a good idea to implement a specific staff policy on drugs and alcohol use. If most of your staff use computers most of the time, you should have an email and internet acceptable use policy.

Common types of employment policies

To access employment policy templates that you can download, tailor, and use for your business, see HR documents and templates.

Employment document toolkit

The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) also has a free employment document toolkit, once employers are registered they can unlock free core employment guides to help them build documents, policies, and procedures for their own organisation.

Employment policies: legal requirements

Note that it is a legal requirement to set out your health and safety policy in writing if you have five or more employees. It is also a legal requirement to set out your disciplinary rules and discipline and grievance procedures in writing.

If, following an assessment, there is a risk that someone performing services for your business might carry out acts of bribery, you will need to have a procedure in place to prevent such acts. Read more on anti-bribery policies.

Communicating your employment policies

A workplace policy can be part of your employee/company handbook or you could set it out in a separate document. However, for your discipline and grievance policies, you must either set them out in a written statement of main terms and conditions of employment or refer in a written statement to a place where the employee can read them, eg the company intranet.

You should make staff aware that your employment policies exist, particularly during the induction process - see induction programme: what to include, and make sure workers can easily access them if necessary, eg by having them pinned up on a noticeboard or put on the company intranet.

Employment policies: contractual status

Workplace policies generally aren't contractually binding unless they expressly state otherwise.

However, terms of some employment policies could be seen as contractually binding through custom and practice, ie where workers follow certain working practices or receive certain benefits over a significant period of time, and ultimately it will be up to an Industrial Tribunal to decide on the contractual nature of policies.

A policy on working time and time off should cover a number of areas.

Leave and absence

Occasionally, your workers will want or need time off.

In certain circumstances, you are legally obliged to give your workers time off, eg to take annual leave, attend health and safety training, time off for dependants, and carry out trade union duties. See parental leave and time off for dependants and allowing time off work.

In other circumstances, you can use your discretion, eg requests involving moving house or looking after a sick relative. However, having policies in place that pre-empt these types of requests will ensure that you deal with such matters consistently.

Working hours

Workers aged 18 years old or above may only work an average of 48 hours per week averaged out over a 17-week period (other limits apply for younger workers). However, they have the right to sign an opt-out agreement, which allows them to work more than this.

It's a good idea to manage these working hours and keep appropriate records. See hours, rest breaks, and the working week.

Overtime

You are not obliged to offer overtime to your workers or require them to work it. However, any overtime policy should still set out the rules on overtime. This is particularly important if your workers have come to expect regular overtime - they could claim it had become a contractual entitlement through custom and practice.

Rates of overtime pay should be agreed with employees, as no minimum statutory levels apply, although you should ensure that workers are paid at least the national minimum wage for all hours worked. See how to manage overtime.

Work-life balance

Encouraging work-life balance is important for your business. To achieve this, and as they are statutory rights, you should definitely have policies on:

• parental leave
• flexible working
• maternity, adoption, and paternity leave and pay

See how to promote good work/life balance in your business.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see time off work policies and procedures.

Workers are protected from discrimination on a wide range of grounds, eg gender, sexual orientation, and age. See how to prevent discrimination and value diversity.

Business benefits of promoting diversity

Many successful businesses go much further and actively promote diversity in both their strategic and human resources policies. If you value everyone as an individual, research shows that diversity can help stimulate creative interaction, motivate employees, and improve business performance.

If you do not yet have an equality and diversity policy in place, you could find it a useful management and recruitment tool. It should:

• explain your business' stance on diversity
• show how you intend to achieve a diverse working environment
• describe how managers and staff can participate in the business's commitment to diversity both within and outside the organisation

It's therefore important that workers contribute to the policy-making process. You can do this by asking them for their views on, for example:

• promoting good relationships in the workplace between individuals, managers, teams, and employers
• treating all workers fairly
• valuing and respecting differences
• understanding workers' needs to balance work and family commitments
• how to communicate with individuals through formal and informal communication channels

Equality guidance for small businesses

The Equality Commission supports businesses and helps to promote good practice in equality, diversity, and inclusion. Read the Equality Commission guidance for small businesses.

If you have five or more employees, you must by law have a written health and safety policy. The health and safety policy should set out:

• your general approach and objectives in relation to health and safety
• the arrangements you have in place for managing health and safety in your business

However, good health and safety practice means that you should not only have such a policy but also manage it in a way that benefits your business, workers, clients, and local community.

Write a health and safety policy for your business.

Read Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) guidance on health and safety.

Policies to promote staff well-being

To promote the health and well-being of your staff, you also might want to consider policies on specific health-related issues, such as:

• stress at work - see how to deal with stress
• smoking, drugs, and alcohol - see workplace policies on smoking, drugs, and alcohol

To back up your health and safety policies, you may decide to introduce a range of facilities promoting good health amongst your workforce, eg gym access deals (dependant on gym contract terms), advice on how to give up smoking, alcohol or drugs counselling, and routine health check-ups.

The benefits for your business can include the improved overall health of your workers, and improved morale and productivity. See what you need to do about health and safety.

Consultation on health and safety matters

You're required by law to consult your employees on health and safety issues in the workplace and to make them aware of what's in your policy. See how to provide health and safety training and information.

However, you may decide to encourage them to get involved more fully in the process. This could involve devising safety rules, as well as giving useful feedback on how effectively policies are working.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see other key HR policies and templates.

You are required by law to set out your disciplinary rules and disciplinary and grievance procedures, in writing.

It's also common for employers to have a separate bullying and harassment policy for their workplace.

Discipline and grievance policies

You must tell each employee about:

• your disciplinary rules
• your disciplinary/dismissal and grievance procedure
• the name of the person to whom they should appeal if they are unhappy about a disciplinary or dismissal decision, or to seek redress for a grievance

This information can be included in the employee's written statement or the written statement may refer the employee to a document where they can read it, eg in a staff handbook - see Invest Northern Ireland Employers' Handbook.

If you fail to issue this information in writing, and one of your employees makes an industrial tribunal case against you and wins, you may have to pay up to four weeks' wages on top of any other compensation the tribunal may award.

It's important that your disciplinary rules give examples of the types of behaviour that qualify as gross misconduct, eg fighting, bullying, and stealing. If you find that an employee has committed an act of gross misconduct, you could be entitled to dismiss them summarily without notice or pay in lieu of notice. You should ensure that you comply with the statutory dismissal procedures and the LRA Code of Practice on Discipline and Grievance even when dismissing for gross misconduct.

Read more on disciplinary procedures, hearings, and appeals, handling grievances, and dismissing employees.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see grievance and disciplinary procedures and templates.

Employment document toolkit

If you require further help with drawing up your disciplinary and grievance policies, the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) has a free employment document toolkit. Once you have registered you can get access to their free core employment guides to help you build documents, policies, and procedures for your own organisation.

Bullying and harassment policies

Bullying and harassment are conduct issues and therefore would normally fall under your disciplinary policy. However, many employers have a separate bullying and harassment policy given that such behaviour:

• needs dealing with sensitively
• can amount to gross misconduct
• may involve unlawful discrimination

There is no legislation that is specifically designed to address workplace bullying. However, bullying can be successfully challenged through existing legislation, ie civil, criminal, and employment law.

You have a legal duty to protect the health and safety of your workers. Bullying can also lead to a breakdown in trust and confidence between you and the alleged victim, leading to the employee resigning and claiming constructive dismissal.

Sexual harassment and harassment on the grounds of sex, disability, race, sexual orientation, religion/belief, and age are unlawful. Even if a worker harasses a colleague, the victim can make a discrimination claim against you.

You should have a clear policy on bullying and harassment so that staff understands that it's unacceptable. The policy should also include a procedure for dealing with claims of harassment or bullying should they arise.

It makes good business sense to have workplace policies on issues such as:

• intellectual property
• confidentiality
• social media usage
• use of company facilities
• dress and appearance
• whistleblowing
• the right to search

These help you protect both your tangible and intangible business assets, which, once lost, may be difficult to regain.

Policies on intellectual property protection and confidentiality

If you design products or create other original output, eg music or printed matter, it is important to protect your intellectual property.

Therefore you need a workplace policy that states that:

• any original product or material developed in the course of an employee's work remains the property of the business
• employees have a duty to keep company information confidential

If you intend to rely on any kind of penalty clauses, you should always seek legal advice.

Read more on protecting intellectual property.

Social media workplace policy

The use of social media at work presents responsibilities regarding employees using various sites. Having a written social media policy for your business provides clear guidelines for employees.

Read more on managing employee use of social media. Read the Labour Relations Agency's advice on social media and the employment relationship.

Policies on dress and appearance

You are entitled to set out a code covering how you expect employees to dress and generally present themselves. This is particularly important where there are health and safety issues involved, eg in factories, building sites, or kitchens.

However, you must ensure that these codes are non-discriminatory, particularly in relation to gender and religion/belief. Read the Fair Employment Code of Practice from the Equality Commission.

Policy on the use of company facilities

It's a good idea to set up clear policies about the use of company facilities. In particular, you should have a policy on the use of the internet, email, and telephone.

Most email and internet policies aim to strike a balance between business and personal use. Setting out boundaries will help to minimise the risk of:

• having to take disciplinary action against staff
• a third party taking legal action against you
• harm to your IT system
• leakage of confidential information

In addition, if you intend to monitor staff usage of company facilities then you should carry out an impact assessment in advance of this.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see other key HR policies and templates.

Read more on monitoring and security of staff.

Whistleblowing policies

It is a good idea to have a policy on making protected disclosures - or 'whistleblowing'. This is because it will encourage workers to raise concerns about illegal activities and bad business practices internally - and prevent your business from receiving negative publicity.

Note that you do not need to treat the making of a protected disclosure as a grievance unless:

• the disclosure relates to a matter that the employee could raise as a grievance with you
• the employee intends for the disclosure to constitute the raising of a grievance

Read more on whistleblowing - qualifying disclosures.

Also see discipline, grievance, bullying, and harassment policies.

Right-to-search policies

You may only search an employee if this is allowed under their terms and conditions of employment.

Therefore, if you have a right-to-search policy, you should state that it is contractual. It is also important to remember that you should get an employee's consent before conducting a search.

Your business may need to have a procedure in place to prevent acts of bribery.

You will only need such a procedure if - following an assessment - there is a risk that an agent, subsidiary or other person performing services for your business might carry out such acts.

Under UK law, there is a general offence of bribery, and of bribing a foreign official. Bribery is defined as giving someone financial or other advantages to induce them to perform their functions or activities improperly or to reward them for having already done so.

In addition, there is an offence relating to failure by a business to prevent a person associated with it from committing the above offences on its behalf in order to win business, keep business or gain a business advantage for the organisation.

You will have a statutory defence to the last of these offences if your business has adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery on your behalf.

Preventing bribery

To prevent bribery - and have a defence in case a charge of bribery is made against you - you should:

• assess whether your business is at risk and, if so, the level of that risk
• have an anti-bribery policy in place containing procedures proportionate to the risk you have identified, the scope and size of your business, and the country/countries in which you do business
• use due diligence to assess who you are dealing with and who you appoint to represent you
• communicate, train and raise awareness among employees and business partners
• monitor and review your procedures

Anti-bribery policy

Your anti-bribery policy should:

• include a clear prohibition of the offer, gift or acceptance of bribes
• detail the procedures that should be followed during business transactions
• give guidance on the provision of gifts, hospitality or expenses that may influence the outcome of business transactions
• provide guidance on political and charitable donations, including a prohibition of the payment of donations to political parties or charities that are directly linked to obtaining new business or gaining a business advantage
• require that any donations made in good faith are publicly disclosed

Note that the following are not considered acts of bribery:

• providing genuine business hospitality
• carrying out proportionate and reasonable promotional activities

Having a training policy in place will enable you to plug any skills shortages in your workplace. This is beneficial to employees and will also have a positive impact on business performance.

A training policy can be implemented to allow employees to perform their current role more effectively or support them through a change in role.

You should ensure that your training policy is appropriate. This can be achieved by assessing whether it fits with your business plan and through discussions with employees, eg you may decide to offer training in-house for specific tasks, general company guidance for new starters, or refresher training for existing employees. Develop a staff training plan.

Performance management

Implementing an appraisal system is another way of improving your business performance. It represents a good opportunity to discuss with individual employees both their strengths and weaknesses, areas for development, and agree on new aims and objectives with them.

Businesses commonly carry out appraisals within a few months of a new employee starting or changing role within the business. For established employees, you may decide to use the appraisal system once or twice per year.

Some of the benefits of having appraisal-related performance targets are that employees understand what is expected of them and how these fit into the wider aims of the business. Targets are also a way of gaining useful feedback and ideas on how your business can be more effective in the future. Read more on managing staff performance.

To access templates that you can download, tailor and use, see performance management and staff training templates.

Pay is a key aspect of your relationship with your employees. Setting the right pay rates for your business will likely take into account your need to attract talented employees and retain those that you have already. Above all, pay rewards should be fair, and the process transparent. See how to set the right pay rates.

You may decide to implement a results-related pay system, such as commission or bonuses. These are provided by your business in addition to basic pay and can be used to reward employees who perform at a high level:

• commission is calculated based on the performance of an individual or a team
• bonuses may be connected to the performance of the entire business

Depending on the sector in which your business operates, eg in the catering trade, setting up a tips and gratuities system may be more appropriate. There are some circumstances when tips and gratuities can count towards the national minimum wage. See guidance on tips at work. For further advice on this, you may wish to contact HMRC.

You should be aware that there are certain types of business expenses that are tax deductible and others that are not. They may need to be disclosed to the relevant authorities. Read more on expenses and benefits.

Many personal relationships begin with people meeting at work, and many of these lead to long-term partnerships. This should not be viewed as a problem in itself, but it's important to recognise that relationships at work can cause a number of issues for both employers and the workforce.

Why have a workplace relationships policy?

Any employment policy about relationships at work is intended to ensure that staff don't commit - and are not open to allegations of acts of:

• inappropriate behaviour, including harassment
• favouritism
• abuse of authority
• conflict of interest

It is also intended to ensure that all employees feel confident of fair and consistent treatment without the fear that a relationship will influence their or other employees' treatment or wider working relationships.

Depending on the size of your business, you may also want to extend the policy to cover other types of relationships, such as those between relatives or family members.

Some companies go so far as to specify in employment contracts that employees can't form an intimate relationship with someone they work with, although this is probably unnecessary in most workplaces.

What types of relationships would a policy cover?

For the purposes of creating a policy, 'intimate relationships' or 'close personal or family relationships' apply to those relationships between people in the same team or department, or between a line manager and one of their team that could potentially be problematic. It does not refer to a straightforward friendship between colleagues.

Issues that could arise include the following:

• If one of the couple is the other's manager, what happens if disciplinary action has to be taken against the employee? Who will do the employee appraisals or performance reviews?
• Does either of the couple have any financial responsibilities, such as authorising expense claims or overtime payments, or deciding pay rates or increases?
• What happens when the employee applies for a post for which the manager would be conducting the interviews? Or when someone related to an existing employee applies for a job? (Conflicts of interest should, where possible, be avoided. This would minimise tribunal risks.)

General policy on relationships at work: what might it cover?

If you choose to have a policy about personal relationships at work, it should clarify the behaviour you expect from employees, eg that the relationship shouldn't affect their work and that there should be no favouritism or preferential treatment, particularly where one employee is more senior than the other.

You may wish to include guidance on what to do if an employee involved in recruitment is aware that a partner, relative, or even a close friend has applied for a job. You could state that they should declare this at the earliest opportunity.

Depending on the position and the employee's own role, you should consider:

• any potential conflict of interest
• how an appointment might affect the working environment
• any resulting risks that the relationship might cause
• what steps could be taken to address these matters

Remember that it can be a positive thing to have friends and family working together, as well as considering the potential risks.

When writing staff policies the main steps are:

• Preparing - collecting information (anonymous staff views can be sought via a survey or series of surveys), opinions, and examining the options. Policies are more likely to be accepted if staff are involved in drawing them up. Involve unions, especially if you have collective agreements that specify they should be consulted, or existing elected employee representatives. Alternatively, set up a joint working group.
• Developing - policies should suit the specific needs of the business.
• Implementing - inform staff and provide training.
• Reviewing - this is to check that the policy is being used and is not damaging the business.

Check that your workplace policies are not unlawfully discriminatory, eg in relation to pay or dress/appearance.

Employment document toolkit

If in doubt, or if you require additional help with drawing up your employment documentation, the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) has a free employment document toolkit. Once registered you can access their free core employment guides to help you build documents, policies, and procedures for your own organisation. Find out about the free employment document toolkit.

How should policies be communicated to staff?

You could inform your staff of workplace policies by:

• displaying them on noticeboards where staff can easily read them
• adding details of them to the company network or intranet
• communicating in presentations
• including in a staff handbook
• including in a collective agreement with a union
• emailing details of your policies to staff
• sending as a written letter to the staff
• consider including any new policy as an item on team meeting agendas
• including in a staff induction programme

Making changes to workplace policies

If you wish to make a change to a policy, you will need the employee to agree to the changes, unless their contract allows you to make such variations without such agreement (typically terms in relation to working hours, place of work, and duties).

If you fail to get employees' agreement, they may be entitled to sue for breach of contract, or resign and claim constructive dismissal. Ultimately it will be up to an Industrial Tribunal to decide on the contractual nature of policies.

Introducing new workplace policies

If you are planning to introduce a new policy in your workplace, you should consider the following:

• What is the purpose of the policy?
• Have you consulted with managers, workers, and their representatives?
• Has someone been given overall responsibility for the policy?
• How are you going to communicate the policy to all workers?
• Have you given workers enough notice about the new policy?
• Have you thought through the potential cost of the policy?
• Does the policy change anyone's employment contract?
• How are you going to monitor and maintain the policy?

There are many advantages to having suitable employment policies in place. For example, setting standards within your business can help with healthy workplace relations.

Benefits of having employment policies

Other advantages of having employment policies can include:

• a reduction in the need for disciplinary and legal action
• increased productivity and morale
• better employee retention
• employees know what is expected of them
• protection from breaches of employment legislation
• a framework where a delegation of decision-making is equitably agreed upon can maintain morale
• providing a means of communicating information to new employees

Clear policy making can also be positive for your business' reputation externally, eg among clients and the local community.

Having suitable policies in place can also make it easier to attract new staff.

To access templates for workplace policies that you can download, tailor, and use, see HR documents and templates.

Employment document toolkit

The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) also has a free employment document toolkit, once employers are registered they can unlock free core employment guides to help them build documents, policies, and procedures for their own organisation.

The employment policies that you have will depend on the size and nature of your business. For example, if your staff operate machinery, it may be a good idea to implement a specific staff policy on drugs and alcohol use. If most of your staff use computers most of the time, you should have an email and internet acceptable use policy.

Common types of employment policies

To access employment policy templates that you can download, tailor, and use for your business, see HR documents and templates.

Employment document toolkit

The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) also has a free employment document toolkit, once employers are registered they can unlock free core employment guides to help them build documents, policies, and procedures for their own organisation.

Employment policies: legal requirements

Note that it is a legal requirement to set out your health and safety policy in writing if you have five or more employees. It is also a legal requirement to set out your disciplinary rules and discipline and grievance procedures in writing.

If, following an assessment, there is a risk that someone performing services for your business might carry out acts of bribery, you will need to have a procedure in place to prevent such acts. Read more on anti-bribery policies.

Communicating your employment policies

A workplace policy can be part of your employee/company handbook or you could set it out in a separate document. However, for your discipline and grievance policies, you must either set them out in a written statement of main terms and conditions of employment or refer in a written statement to a place where the employee can read them, eg the company intranet.

You should make staff aware that your employment policies exist, particularly during the induction process - see induction programme: what to include, and make sure workers can easily access them if necessary, eg by having them pinned up on a noticeboard or put on the company intranet.

Employment policies: contractual status

Workplace policies generally aren't contractually binding unless they expressly state otherwise.

However, terms of some employment policies could be seen as contractually binding through custom and practice, ie where workers follow certain working practices or receive certain benefits over a significant period of time, and ultimately it will be up to an Industrial Tribunal to decide on the contractual nature of policies.

A policy on working time and time off should cover a number of areas.

Leave and absence

Occasionally, your workers will want or need time off.

In certain circumstances, you are legally obliged to give your workers time off, eg to take annual leave, attend health and safety training, time off for dependants, and carry out trade union duties. See parental leave and time off for dependants and allowing time off work.

In other circumstances, you can use your discretion, eg requests involving moving house or looking after a sick relative. However, having policies in place that pre-empt these types of requests will ensure that you deal with such matters consistently.

Working hours

Workers aged 18 years old or above may only work an average of 48 hours per week averaged out over a 17-week period (other limits apply for younger workers). However, they have the right to sign an opt-out agreement, which allows them to work more than this.

It's a good idea to manage these working hours and keep appropriate records. See hours, rest breaks, and the working week.

Overtime

You are not obliged to offer overtime to your workers or require them to work it. However, any overtime policy should still set out the rules on overtime. This is particularly important if your workers have come to expect regular overtime - they could claim it had become a contractual entitlement through custom and practice.

Rates of overtime pay should be agreed with employees, as no minimum statutory levels apply, although you should ensure that workers are paid at least the national minimum wage for all hours worked. See how to manage overtime.

Work-life balance

Encouraging work-life balance is important for your business. To achieve this, and as they are statutory rights, you should definitely have policies on:

• parental leave
• flexible working
• maternity, adoption, and paternity leave and pay

See how to promote good work/life balance in your business.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see time off work policies and procedures.

Workers are protected from discrimination on a wide range of grounds, eg gender, sexual orientation, and age. See how to prevent discrimination and value diversity.

Business benefits of promoting diversity

Many successful businesses go much further and actively promote diversity in both their strategic and human resources policies. If you value everyone as an individual, research shows that diversity can help stimulate creative interaction, motivate employees, and improve business performance.

If you do not yet have an equality and diversity policy in place, you could find it a useful management and recruitment tool. It should:

• explain your business' stance on diversity
• show how you intend to achieve a diverse working environment
• describe how managers and staff can participate in the business's commitment to diversity both within and outside the organisation

It's therefore important that workers contribute to the policy-making process. You can do this by asking them for their views on, for example:

• promoting good relationships in the workplace between individuals, managers, teams, and employers
• treating all workers fairly
• valuing and respecting differences
• understanding workers' needs to balance work and family commitments
• how to communicate with individuals through formal and informal communication channels

Equality guidance for small businesses

The Equality Commission supports businesses and helps to promote good practice in equality, diversity, and inclusion. Read the Equality Commission guidance for small businesses.

If you have five or more employees, you must by law have a written health and safety policy. The health and safety policy should set out:

• your general approach and objectives in relation to health and safety
• the arrangements you have in place for managing health and safety in your business

However, good health and safety practice means that you should not only have such a policy but also manage it in a way that benefits your business, workers, clients, and local community.

Write a health and safety policy for your business.

Read Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) guidance on health and safety.

Policies to promote staff well-being

To promote the health and well-being of your staff, you also might want to consider policies on specific health-related issues, such as:

• stress at work - see how to deal with stress
• smoking, drugs, and alcohol - see workplace policies on smoking, drugs, and alcohol

To back up your health and safety policies, you may decide to introduce a range of facilities promoting good health amongst your workforce, eg gym access deals (dependant on gym contract terms), advice on how to give up smoking, alcohol or drugs counselling, and routine health check-ups.

The benefits for your business can include the improved overall health of your workers, and improved morale and productivity. See what you need to do about health and safety.

Consultation on health and safety matters

You're required by law to consult your employees on health and safety issues in the workplace and to make them aware of what's in your policy. See how to provide health and safety training and information.

However, you may decide to encourage them to get involved more fully in the process. This could involve devising safety rules, as well as giving useful feedback on how effectively policies are working.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see other key HR policies and templates.

You are required by law to set out your disciplinary rules and disciplinary and grievance procedures, in writing.

It's also common for employers to have a separate bullying and harassment policy for their workplace.

Discipline and grievance policies

You must tell each employee about:

• your disciplinary rules
• your disciplinary/dismissal and grievance procedure
• the name of the person to whom they should appeal if they are unhappy about a disciplinary or dismissal decision, or to seek redress for a grievance

This information can be included in the employee's written statement or the written statement may refer the employee to a document where they can read it, eg in a staff handbook - see Invest Northern Ireland Employers' Handbook.

If you fail to issue this information in writing, and one of your employees makes an industrial tribunal case against you and wins, you may have to pay up to four weeks' wages on top of any other compensation the tribunal may award.

It's important that your disciplinary rules give examples of the types of behaviour that qualify as gross misconduct, eg fighting, bullying, and stealing. If you find that an employee has committed an act of gross misconduct, you could be entitled to dismiss them summarily without notice or pay in lieu of notice. You should ensure that you comply with the statutory dismissal procedures and the LRA Code of Practice on Discipline and Grievance even when dismissing for gross misconduct.

Read more on disciplinary procedures, hearings, and appeals, handling grievances, and dismissing employees.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see grievance and disciplinary procedures and templates.

Employment document toolkit

If you require further help with drawing up your disciplinary and grievance policies, the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) has a free employment document toolkit. Once you have registered you can get access to their free core employment guides to help you build documents, policies, and procedures for your own organisation.

Bullying and harassment policies

Bullying and harassment are conduct issues and therefore would normally fall under your disciplinary policy. However, many employers have a separate bullying and harassment policy given that such behaviour:

• needs dealing with sensitively
• can amount to gross misconduct
• may involve unlawful discrimination

There is no legislation that is specifically designed to address workplace bullying. However, bullying can be successfully challenged through existing legislation, ie civil, criminal, and employment law.

You have a legal duty to protect the health and safety of your workers. Bullying can also lead to a breakdown in trust and confidence between you and the alleged victim, leading to the employee resigning and claiming constructive dismissal.

Sexual harassment and harassment on the grounds of sex, disability, race, sexual orientation, religion/belief, and age are unlawful. Even if a worker harasses a colleague, the victim can make a discrimination claim against you.

You should have a clear policy on bullying and harassment so that staff understands that it's unacceptable. The policy should also include a procedure for dealing with claims of harassment or bullying should they arise.

It makes good business sense to have workplace policies on issues such as:

• intellectual property
• confidentiality
• social media usage
• use of company facilities
• dress and appearance
• whistleblowing
• the right to search

These help you protect both your tangible and intangible business assets, which, once lost, may be difficult to regain.

Policies on intellectual property protection and confidentiality

If you design products or create other original output, eg music or printed matter, it is important to protect your intellectual property.

Therefore you need a workplace policy that states that:

• any original product or material developed in the course of an employee's work remains the property of the business
• employees have a duty to keep company information confidential

If you intend to rely on any kind of penalty clauses, you should always seek legal advice.

Read more on protecting intellectual property.

Social media workplace policy

The use of social media at work presents responsibilities regarding employees using various sites. Having a written social media policy for your business provides clear guidelines for employees.

Read more on managing employee use of social media. Read the Labour Relations Agency's advice on social media and the employment relationship.

Policies on dress and appearance

You are entitled to set out a code covering how you expect employees to dress and generally present themselves. This is particularly important where there are health and safety issues involved, eg in factories, building sites, or kitchens.

However, you must ensure that these codes are non-discriminatory, particularly in relation to gender and religion/belief. Read the Fair Employment Code of Practice from the Equality Commission.

Policy on the use of company facilities

It's a good idea to set up clear policies about the use of company facilities. In particular, you should have a policy on the use of the internet, email, and telephone.

Most email and internet policies aim to strike a balance between business and personal use. Setting out boundaries will help to minimise the risk of:

• having to take disciplinary action against staff
• a third party taking legal action against you
• harm to your IT system
• leakage of confidential information

In addition, if you intend to monitor staff usage of company facilities then you should carry out an impact assessment in advance of this.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see other key HR policies and templates.

Read more on monitoring and security of staff.

Whistleblowing policies

It is a good idea to have a policy on making protected disclosures - or 'whistleblowing'. This is because it will encourage workers to raise concerns about illegal activities and bad business practices internally - and prevent your business from receiving negative publicity.

Note that you do not need to treat the making of a protected disclosure as a grievance unless:

• the disclosure relates to a matter that the employee could raise as a grievance with you
• the employee intends for the disclosure to constitute the raising of a grievance

Read more on whistleblowing - qualifying disclosures.

Also see discipline, grievance, bullying, and harassment policies.

Right-to-search policies

You may only search an employee if this is allowed under their terms and conditions of employment.

Therefore, if you have a right-to-search policy, you should state that it is contractual. It is also important to remember that you should get an employee's consent before conducting a search.

Your business may need to have a procedure in place to prevent acts of bribery.

You will only need such a procedure if - following an assessment - there is a risk that an agent, subsidiary or other person performing services for your business might carry out such acts.

Under UK law, there is a general offence of bribery, and of bribing a foreign official. Bribery is defined as giving someone financial or other advantages to induce them to perform their functions or activities improperly or to reward them for having already done so.

In addition, there is an offence relating to failure by a business to prevent a person associated with it from committing the above offences on its behalf in order to win business, keep business or gain a business advantage for the organisation.

You will have a statutory defence to the last of these offences if your business has adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery on your behalf.

Preventing bribery

To prevent bribery - and have a defence in case a charge of bribery is made against you - you should:

• assess whether your business is at risk and, if so, the level of that risk
• have an anti-bribery policy in place containing procedures proportionate to the risk you have identified, the scope and size of your business, and the country/countries in which you do business
• use due diligence to assess who you are dealing with and who you appoint to represent you
• communicate, train and raise awareness among employees and business partners
• monitor and review your procedures

Anti-bribery policy

Your anti-bribery policy should:

• include a clear prohibition of the offer, gift or acceptance of bribes
• detail the procedures that should be followed during business transactions
• give guidance on the provision of gifts, hospitality or expenses that may influence the outcome of business transactions
• provide guidance on political and charitable donations, including a prohibition of the payment of donations to political parties or charities that are directly linked to obtaining new business or gaining a business advantage
• require that any donations made in good faith are publicly disclosed

Note that the following are not considered acts of bribery:

• providing genuine business hospitality
• carrying out proportionate and reasonable promotional activities

Having a training policy in place will enable you to plug any skills shortages in your workplace. This is beneficial to employees and will also have a positive impact on business performance.

A training policy can be implemented to allow employees to perform their current role more effectively or support them through a change in role.

You should ensure that your training policy is appropriate. This can be achieved by assessing whether it fits with your business plan and through discussions with employees, eg you may decide to offer training in-house for specific tasks, general company guidance for new starters, or refresher training for existing employees. Develop a staff training plan.

Performance management

Implementing an appraisal system is another way of improving your business performance. It represents a good opportunity to discuss with individual employees both their strengths and weaknesses, areas for development, and agree on new aims and objectives with them.

Businesses commonly carry out appraisals within a few months of a new employee starting or changing role within the business. For established employees, you may decide to use the appraisal system once or twice per year.

Some of the benefits of having appraisal-related performance targets are that employees understand what is expected of them and how these fit into the wider aims of the business. Targets are also a way of gaining useful feedback and ideas on how your business can be more effective in the future. Read more on managing staff performance.

To access templates that you can download, tailor and use, see performance management and staff training templates.

Pay is a key aspect of your relationship with your employees. Setting the right pay rates for your business will likely take into account your need to attract talented employees and retain those that you have already. Above all, pay rewards should be fair, and the process transparent. See how to set the right pay rates.

You may decide to implement a results-related pay system, such as commission or bonuses. These are provided by your business in addition to basic pay and can be used to reward employees who perform at a high level:

• commission is calculated based on the performance of an individual or a team
• bonuses may be connected to the performance of the entire business

Depending on the sector in which your business operates, eg in the catering trade, setting up a tips and gratuities system may be more appropriate. There are some circumstances when tips and gratuities can count towards the national minimum wage. See guidance on tips at work. For further advice on this, you may wish to contact HMRC.

You should be aware that there are certain types of business expenses that are tax deductible and others that are not. They may need to be disclosed to the relevant authorities. Read more on expenses and benefits.

Many personal relationships begin with people meeting at work, and many of these lead to long-term partnerships. This should not be viewed as a problem in itself, but it's important to recognise that relationships at work can cause a number of issues for both employers and the workforce.

Why have a workplace relationships policy?

Any employment policy about relationships at work is intended to ensure that staff don't commit - and are not open to allegations of acts of:

• inappropriate behaviour, including harassment
• favouritism
• abuse of authority
• conflict of interest

It is also intended to ensure that all employees feel confident of fair and consistent treatment without the fear that a relationship will influence their or other employees' treatment or wider working relationships.

Depending on the size of your business, you may also want to extend the policy to cover other types of relationships, such as those between relatives or family members.

Some companies go so far as to specify in employment contracts that employees can't form an intimate relationship with someone they work with, although this is probably unnecessary in most workplaces.

What types of relationships would a policy cover?

For the purposes of creating a policy, 'intimate relationships' or 'close personal or family relationships' apply to those relationships between people in the same team or department, or between a line manager and one of their team that could potentially be problematic. It does not refer to a straightforward friendship between colleagues.

Issues that could arise include the following:

• If one of the couple is the other's manager, what happens if disciplinary action has to be taken against the employee? Who will do the employee appraisals or performance reviews?
• Does either of the couple have any financial responsibilities, such as authorising expense claims or overtime payments, or deciding pay rates or increases?
• What happens when the employee applies for a post for which the manager would be conducting the interviews? Or when someone related to an existing employee applies for a job? (Conflicts of interest should, where possible, be avoided. This would minimise tribunal risks.)

General policy on relationships at work: what might it cover?

If you choose to have a policy about personal relationships at work, it should clarify the behaviour you expect from employees, eg that the relationship shouldn't affect their work and that there should be no favouritism or preferential treatment, particularly where one employee is more senior than the other.

You may wish to include guidance on what to do if an employee involved in recruitment is aware that a partner, relative, or even a close friend has applied for a job. You could state that they should declare this at the earliest opportunity.

Depending on the position and the employee's own role, you should consider:

• any potential conflict of interest
• how an appointment might affect the working environment
• any resulting risks that the relationship might cause
• what steps could be taken to address these matters

Remember that it can be a positive thing to have friends and family working together, as well as considering the potential risks.

When writing staff policies the main steps are:

• Preparing - collecting information (anonymous staff views can be sought via a survey or series of surveys), opinions, and examining the options. Policies are more likely to be accepted if staff are involved in drawing them up. Involve unions, especially if you have collective agreements that specify they should be consulted, or existing elected employee representatives. Alternatively, set up a joint working group.
• Developing - policies should suit the specific needs of the business.
• Implementing - inform staff and provide training.
• Reviewing - this is to check that the policy is being used and is not damaging the business.

Check that your workplace policies are not unlawfully discriminatory, eg in relation to pay or dress/appearance.

Employment document toolkit

If in doubt, or if you require additional help with drawing up your employment documentation, the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) has a free employment document toolkit. Once registered you can access their free core employment guides to help you build documents, policies, and procedures for your own organisation. Find out about the free employment document toolkit.

How should policies be communicated to staff?

You could inform your staff of workplace policies by:

• displaying them on noticeboards where staff can easily read them
• adding details of them to the company network or intranet
• communicating in presentations
• including in a staff handbook
• including in a collective agreement with a union
• emailing details of your policies to staff
• sending as a written letter to the staff
• consider including any new policy as an item on team meeting agendas
• including in a staff induction programme

Making changes to workplace policies

If you wish to make a change to a policy, you will need the employee to agree to the changes, unless their contract allows you to make such variations without such agreement (typically terms in relation to working hours, place of work, and duties).

If you fail to get employees' agreement, they may be entitled to sue for breach of contract, or resign and claim constructive dismissal. Ultimately it will be up to an Industrial Tribunal to decide on the contractual nature of policies.

Introducing new workplace policies

If you are planning to introduce a new policy in your workplace, you should consider the following:

• What is the purpose of the policy?
• Have you consulted with managers, workers, and their representatives?
• Has someone been given overall responsibility for the policy?
• How are you going to communicate the policy to all workers?
• Have you given workers enough notice about the new policy?
• Have you thought through the potential cost of the policy?
• Does the policy change anyone's employment contract?
• How are you going to monitor and maintain the policy?

There are many advantages to having suitable employment policies in place. For example, setting standards within your business can help with healthy workplace relations.

Benefits of having employment policies

Other advantages of having employment policies can include:

• a reduction in the need for disciplinary and legal action
• increased productivity and morale
• better employee retention
• employees know what is expected of them
• protection from breaches of employment legislation
• a framework where a delegation of decision-making is equitably agreed upon can maintain morale
• providing a means of communicating information to new employees

Clear policy making can also be positive for your business' reputation externally, eg among clients and the local community.

Having suitable policies in place can also make it easier to attract new staff.

To access templates for workplace policies that you can download, tailor, and use, see HR documents and templates.

Employment document toolkit

The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) also has a free employment document toolkit, once employers are registered they can unlock free core employment guides to help them build documents, policies, and procedures for their own organisation.

The employment policies that you have will depend on the size and nature of your business. For example, if your staff operate machinery, it may be a good idea to implement a specific staff policy on drugs and alcohol use. If most of your staff use computers most of the time, you should have an email and internet acceptable use policy.

Common types of employment policies

To access employment policy templates that you can download, tailor, and use for your business, see HR documents and templates.

Employment document toolkit

The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) also has a free employment document toolkit, once employers are registered they can unlock free core employment guides to help them build documents, policies, and procedures for their own organisation.

Employment policies: legal requirements

Note that it is a legal requirement to set out your health and safety policy in writing if you have five or more employees. It is also a legal requirement to set out your disciplinary rules and discipline and grievance procedures in writing.

If, following an assessment, there is a risk that someone performing services for your business might carry out acts of bribery, you will need to have a procedure in place to prevent such acts. Read more on anti-bribery policies.

Communicating your employment policies

A workplace policy can be part of your employee/company handbook or you could set it out in a separate document. However, for your discipline and grievance policies, you must either set them out in a written statement of main terms and conditions of employment or refer in a written statement to a place where the employee can read them, eg the company intranet.

You should make staff aware that your employment policies exist, particularly during the induction process - see induction programme: what to include, and make sure workers can easily access them if necessary, eg by having them pinned up on a noticeboard or put on the company intranet.

Employment policies: contractual status

Workplace policies generally aren't contractually binding unless they expressly state otherwise.

However, terms of some employment policies could be seen as contractually binding through custom and practice, ie where workers follow certain working practices or receive certain benefits over a significant period of time, and ultimately it will be up to an Industrial Tribunal to decide on the contractual nature of policies.

A policy on working time and time off should cover a number of areas.

Leave and absence

Occasionally, your workers will want or need time off.

In certain circumstances, you are legally obliged to give your workers time off, eg to take annual leave, attend health and safety training, time off for dependants, and carry out trade union duties. See parental leave and time off for dependants and allowing time off work.

In other circumstances, you can use your discretion, eg requests involving moving house or looking after a sick relative. However, having policies in place that pre-empt these types of requests will ensure that you deal with such matters consistently.

Working hours

Workers aged 18 years old or above may only work an average of 48 hours per week averaged out over a 17-week period (other limits apply for younger workers). However, they have the right to sign an opt-out agreement, which allows them to work more than this.

It's a good idea to manage these working hours and keep appropriate records. See hours, rest breaks, and the working week.

Overtime

You are not obliged to offer overtime to your workers or require them to work it. However, any overtime policy should still set out the rules on overtime. This is particularly important if your workers have come to expect regular overtime - they could claim it had become a contractual entitlement through custom and practice.

Rates of overtime pay should be agreed with employees, as no minimum statutory levels apply, although you should ensure that workers are paid at least the national minimum wage for all hours worked. See how to manage overtime.

Work-life balance

Encouraging work-life balance is important for your business. To achieve this, and as they are statutory rights, you should definitely have policies on:

• parental leave
• flexible working
• maternity, adoption, and paternity leave and pay

See how to promote good work/life balance in your business.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see time off work policies and procedures.

Workers are protected from discrimination on a wide range of grounds, eg gender, sexual orientation, and age. See how to prevent discrimination and value diversity.

Business benefits of promoting diversity

Many successful businesses go much further and actively promote diversity in both their strategic and human resources policies. If you value everyone as an individual, research shows that diversity can help stimulate creative interaction, motivate employees, and improve business performance.

If you do not yet have an equality and diversity policy in place, you could find it a useful management and recruitment tool. It should:

• explain your business' stance on diversity
• show how you intend to achieve a diverse working environment
• describe how managers and staff can participate in the business's commitment to diversity both within and outside the organisation

It's therefore important that workers contribute to the policy-making process. You can do this by asking them for their views on, for example:

• promoting good relationships in the workplace between individuals, managers, teams, and employers
• treating all workers fairly
• valuing and respecting differences
• understanding workers' needs to balance work and family commitments
• how to communicate with individuals through formal and informal communication channels

Equality guidance for small businesses

The Equality Commission supports businesses and helps to promote good practice in equality, diversity, and inclusion. Read the Equality Commission guidance for small businesses.

If you have five or more employees, you must by law have a written health and safety policy. The health and safety policy should set out:

• your general approach and objectives in relation to health and safety
• the arrangements you have in place for managing health and safety in your business

However, good health and safety practice means that you should not only have such a policy but also manage it in a way that benefits your business, workers, clients, and local community.

Write a health and safety policy for your business.

Read Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) guidance on health and safety.

Policies to promote staff well-being

To promote the health and well-being of your staff, you also might want to consider policies on specific health-related issues, such as:

• stress at work - see how to deal with stress
• smoking, drugs, and alcohol - see workplace policies on smoking, drugs, and alcohol

To back up your health and safety policies, you may decide to introduce a range of facilities promoting good health amongst your workforce, eg gym access deals (dependant on gym contract terms), advice on how to give up smoking, alcohol or drugs counselling, and routine health check-ups.

The benefits for your business can include the improved overall health of your workers, and improved morale and productivity. See what you need to do about health and safety.

Consultation on health and safety matters

You're required by law to consult your employees on health and safety issues in the workplace and to make them aware of what's in your policy. See how to provide health and safety training and information.

However, you may decide to encourage them to get involved more fully in the process. This could involve devising safety rules, as well as giving useful feedback on how effectively policies are working.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see other key HR policies and templates.

You are required by law to set out your disciplinary rules and disciplinary and grievance procedures, in writing.

It's also common for employers to have a separate bullying and harassment policy for their workplace.

Discipline and grievance policies

You must tell each employee about:

• your disciplinary rules
• your disciplinary/dismissal and grievance procedure
• the name of the person to whom they should appeal if they are unhappy about a disciplinary or dismissal decision, or to seek redress for a grievance

This information can be included in the employee's written statement or the written statement may refer the employee to a document where they can read it, eg in a staff handbook - see Invest Northern Ireland Employers' Handbook.

If you fail to issue this information in writing, and one of your employees makes an industrial tribunal case against you and wins, you may have to pay up to four weeks' wages on top of any other compensation the tribunal may award.

It's important that your disciplinary rules give examples of the types of behaviour that qualify as gross misconduct, eg fighting, bullying, and stealing. If you find that an employee has committed an act of gross misconduct, you could be entitled to dismiss them summarily without notice or pay in lieu of notice. You should ensure that you comply with the statutory dismissal procedures and the LRA Code of Practice on Discipline and Grievance even when dismissing for gross misconduct.

Read more on disciplinary procedures, hearings, and appeals, handling grievances, and dismissing employees.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see grievance and disciplinary procedures and templates.

Employment document toolkit

If you require further help with drawing up your disciplinary and grievance policies, the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) has a free employment document toolkit. Once you have registered you can get access to their free core employment guides to help you build documents, policies, and procedures for your own organisation.

Bullying and harassment policies

Bullying and harassment are conduct issues and therefore would normally fall under your disciplinary policy. However, many employers have a separate bullying and harassment policy given that such behaviour:

• needs dealing with sensitively
• can amount to gross misconduct
• may involve unlawful discrimination

There is no legislation that is specifically designed to address workplace bullying. However, bullying can be successfully challenged through existing legislation, ie civil, criminal, and employment law.

You have a legal duty to protect the health and safety of your workers. Bullying can also lead to a breakdown in trust and confidence between you and the alleged victim, leading to the employee resigning and claiming constructive dismissal.

Sexual harassment and harassment on the grounds of sex, disability, race, sexual orientation, religion/belief, and age are unlawful. Even if a worker harasses a colleague, the victim can make a discrimination claim against you.

You should have a clear policy on bullying and harassment so that staff understands that it's unacceptable. The policy should also include a procedure for dealing with claims of harassment or bullying should they arise.

It makes good business sense to have workplace policies on issues such as:

• intellectual property
• confidentiality
• social media usage
• use of company facilities
• dress and appearance
• whistleblowing
• the right to search

These help you protect both your tangible and intangible business assets, which, once lost, may be difficult to regain.

Policies on intellectual property protection and confidentiality

If you design products or create other original output, eg music or printed matter, it is important to protect your intellectual property.

Therefore you need a workplace policy that states that:

• any original product or material developed in the course of an employee's work remains the property of the business
• employees have a duty to keep company information confidential

If you intend to rely on any kind of penalty clauses, you should always seek legal advice.

Read more on protecting intellectual property.

Social media workplace policy

The use of social media at work presents responsibilities regarding employees using various sites. Having a written social media policy for your business provides clear guidelines for employees.

Read more on managing employee use of social media. Read the Labour Relations Agency's advice on social media and the employment relationship.

Policies on dress and appearance

You are entitled to set out a code covering how you expect employees to dress and generally present themselves. This is particularly important where there are health and safety issues involved, eg in factories, building sites, or kitchens.

However, you must ensure that these codes are non-discriminatory, particularly in relation to gender and religion/belief. Read the Fair Employment Code of Practice from the Equality Commission.

Policy on the use of company facilities

It's a good idea to set up clear policies about the use of company facilities. In particular, you should have a policy on the use of the internet, email, and telephone.

Most email and internet policies aim to strike a balance between business and personal use. Setting out boundaries will help to minimise the risk of:

• having to take disciplinary action against staff
• a third party taking legal action against you
• harm to your IT system
• leakage of confidential information

In addition, if you intend to monitor staff usage of company facilities then you should carry out an impact assessment in advance of this.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see other key HR policies and templates.

Read more on monitoring and security of staff.

Whistleblowing policies

It is a good idea to have a policy on making protected disclosures - or 'whistleblowing'. This is because it will encourage workers to raise concerns about illegal activities and bad business practices internally - and prevent your business from receiving negative publicity.

Note that you do not need to treat the making of a protected disclosure as a grievance unless:

• the disclosure relates to a matter that the employee could raise as a grievance with you
• the employee intends for the disclosure to constitute the raising of a grievance

Read more on whistleblowing - qualifying disclosures.

Also see discipline, grievance, bullying, and harassment policies.

Right-to-search policies

You may only search an employee if this is allowed under their terms and conditions of employment.

Therefore, if you have a right-to-search policy, you should state that it is contractual. It is also important to remember that you should get an employee's consent before conducting a search.

Your business may need to have a procedure in place to prevent acts of bribery.

You will only need such a procedure if - following an assessment - there is a risk that an agent, subsidiary or other person performing services for your business might carry out such acts.

Under UK law, there is a general offence of bribery, and of bribing a foreign official. Bribery is defined as giving someone financial or other advantages to induce them to perform their functions or activities improperly or to reward them for having already done so.

In addition, there is an offence relating to failure by a business to prevent a person associated with it from committing the above offences on its behalf in order to win business, keep business or gain a business advantage for the organisation.

You will have a statutory defence to the last of these offences if your business has adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery on your behalf.

Preventing bribery

To prevent bribery - and have a defence in case a charge of bribery is made against you - you should:

• assess whether your business is at risk and, if so, the level of that risk
• have an anti-bribery policy in place containing procedures proportionate to the risk you have identified, the scope and size of your business, and the country/countries in which you do business
• use due diligence to assess who you are dealing with and who you appoint to represent you
• communicate, train and raise awareness among employees and business partners
• monitor and review your procedures

Anti-bribery policy

Your anti-bribery policy should:

• include a clear prohibition of the offer, gift or acceptance of bribes
• detail the procedures that should be followed during business transactions
• give guidance on the provision of gifts, hospitality or expenses that may influence the outcome of business transactions
• provide guidance on political and charitable donations, including a prohibition of the payment of donations to political parties or charities that are directly linked to obtaining new business or gaining a business advantage
• require that any donations made in good faith are publicly disclosed

Note that the following are not considered acts of bribery:

• providing genuine business hospitality
• carrying out proportionate and reasonable promotional activities

Having a training policy in place will enable you to plug any skills shortages in your workplace. This is beneficial to employees and will also have a positive impact on business performance.

A training policy can be implemented to allow employees to perform their current role more effectively or support them through a change in role.

You should ensure that your training policy is appropriate. This can be achieved by assessing whether it fits with your business plan and through discussions with employees, eg you may decide to offer training in-house for specific tasks, general company guidance for new starters, or refresher training for existing employees. Develop a staff training plan.

Performance management

Implementing an appraisal system is another way of improving your business performance. It represents a good opportunity to discuss with individual employees both their strengths and weaknesses, areas for development, and agree on new aims and objectives with them.

Businesses commonly carry out appraisals within a few months of a new employee starting or changing role within the business. For established employees, you may decide to use the appraisal system once or twice per year.

Some of the benefits of having appraisal-related performance targets are that employees understand what is expected of them and how these fit into the wider aims of the business. Targets are also a way of gaining useful feedback and ideas on how your business can be more effective in the future. Read more on managing staff performance.

To access templates that you can download, tailor and use, see performance management and staff training templates.

Pay is a key aspect of your relationship with your employees. Setting the right pay rates for your business will likely take into account your need to attract talented employees and retain those that you have already. Above all, pay rewards should be fair, and the process transparent. See how to set the right pay rates.

You may decide to implement a results-related pay system, such as commission or bonuses. These are provided by your business in addition to basic pay and can be used to reward employees who perform at a high level:

• commission is calculated based on the performance of an individual or a team
• bonuses may be connected to the performance of the entire business

Depending on the sector in which your business operates, eg in the catering trade, setting up a tips and gratuities system may be more appropriate. There are some circumstances when tips and gratuities can count towards the national minimum wage. See guidance on tips at work. For further advice on this, you may wish to contact HMRC.

You should be aware that there are certain types of business expenses that are tax deductible and others that are not. They may need to be disclosed to the relevant authorities. Read more on expenses and benefits.

Many personal relationships begin with people meeting at work, and many of these lead to long-term partnerships. This should not be viewed as a problem in itself, but it's important to recognise that relationships at work can cause a number of issues for both employers and the workforce.

Why have a workplace relationships policy?

Any employment policy about relationships at work is intended to ensure that staff don't commit - and are not open to allegations of acts of:

• inappropriate behaviour, including harassment
• favouritism
• abuse of authority
• conflict of interest

It is also intended to ensure that all employees feel confident of fair and consistent treatment without the fear that a relationship will influence their or other employees' treatment or wider working relationships.

Depending on the size of your business, you may also want to extend the policy to cover other types of relationships, such as those between relatives or family members.

Some companies go so far as to specify in employment contracts that employees can't form an intimate relationship with someone they work with, although this is probably unnecessary in most workplaces.

What types of relationships would a policy cover?

For the purposes of creating a policy, 'intimate relationships' or 'close personal or family relationships' apply to those relationships between people in the same team or department, or between a line manager and one of their team that could potentially be problematic. It does not refer to a straightforward friendship between colleagues.

Issues that could arise include the following:

• If one of the couple is the other's manager, what happens if disciplinary action has to be taken against the employee? Who will do the employee appraisals or performance reviews?
• Does either of the couple have any financial responsibilities, such as authorising expense claims or overtime payments, or deciding pay rates or increases?
• What happens when the employee applies for a post for which the manager would be conducting the interviews? Or when someone related to an existing employee applies for a job? (Conflicts of interest should, where possible, be avoided. This would minimise tribunal risks.)

General policy on relationships at work: what might it cover?

If you choose to have a policy about personal relationships at work, it should clarify the behaviour you expect from employees, eg that the relationship shouldn't affect their work and that there should be no favouritism or preferential treatment, particularly where one employee is more senior than the other.

You may wish to include guidance on what to do if an employee involved in recruitment is aware that a partner, relative, or even a close friend has applied for a job. You could state that they should declare this at the earliest opportunity.

Depending on the position and the employee's own role, you should consider:

• any potential conflict of interest
• how an appointment might affect the working environment
• any resulting risks that the relationship might cause
• what steps could be taken to address these matters

Remember that it can be a positive thing to have friends and family working together, as well as considering the potential risks.

When writing staff policies the main steps are:

• Preparing - collecting information (anonymous staff views can be sought via a survey or series of surveys), opinions, and examining the options. Policies are more likely to be accepted if staff are involved in drawing them up. Involve unions, especially if you have collective agreements that specify they should be consulted, or existing elected employee representatives. Alternatively, set up a joint working group.
• Developing - policies should suit the specific needs of the business.
• Implementing - inform staff and provide training.
• Reviewing - this is to check that the policy is being used and is not damaging the business.

Check that your workplace policies are not unlawfully discriminatory, eg in relation to pay or dress/appearance.

Employment document toolkit

If in doubt, or if you require additional help with drawing up your employment documentation, the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) has a free employment document toolkit. Once registered you can access their free core employment guides to help you build documents, policies, and procedures for your own organisation. Find out about the free employment document toolkit.

How should policies be communicated to staff?

You could inform your staff of workplace policies by:

• displaying them on noticeboards where staff can easily read them
• adding details of them to the company network or intranet
• communicating in presentations
• including in a staff handbook
• including in a collective agreement with a union
• emailing details of your policies to staff
• sending as a written letter to the staff
• consider including any new policy as an item on team meeting agendas
• including in a staff induction programme

Making changes to workplace policies

If you wish to make a change to a policy, you will need the employee to agree to the changes, unless their contract allows you to make such variations without such agreement (typically terms in relation to working hours, place of work, and duties).

If you fail to get employees' agreement, they may be entitled to sue for breach of contract, or resign and claim constructive dismissal. Ultimately it will be up to an Industrial Tribunal to decide on the contractual nature of policies.

Introducing new workplace policies

If you are planning to introduce a new policy in your workplace, you should consider the following:

• What is the purpose of the policy?
• Have you consulted with managers, workers, and their representatives?
• Has someone been given overall responsibility for the policy?
• How are you going to communicate the policy to all workers?
• Have you given workers enough notice about the new policy?
• Have you thought through the potential cost of the policy?
• Does the policy change anyone's employment contract?
• How are you going to monitor and maintain the policy?

There are many advantages to having suitable employment policies in place. For example, setting standards within your business can help with healthy workplace relations.

Benefits of having employment policies

Other advantages of having employment policies can include:

• a reduction in the need for disciplinary and legal action
• increased productivity and morale
• better employee retention
• employees know what is expected of them
• protection from breaches of employment legislation
• a framework where a delegation of decision-making is equitably agreed upon can maintain morale
• providing a means of communicating information to new employees

Clear policy making can also be positive for your business' reputation externally, eg among clients and the local community.

Having suitable policies in place can also make it easier to attract new staff.

To access templates for workplace policies that you can download, tailor, and use, see HR documents and templates.

Employment document toolkit

The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) also has a free employment document toolkit, once employers are registered they can unlock free core employment guides to help them build documents, policies, and procedures for their own organisation.

The employment policies that you have will depend on the size and nature of your business. For example, if your staff operate machinery, it may be a good idea to implement a specific staff policy on drugs and alcohol use. If most of your staff use computers most of the time, you should have an email and internet acceptable use policy.

Common types of employment policies

To access employment policy templates that you can download, tailor, and use for your business, see HR documents and templates.

Employment document toolkit

The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) also has a free employment document toolkit, once employers are registered they can unlock free core employment guides to help them build documents, policies, and procedures for their own organisation.

Employment policies: legal requirements

Note that it is a legal requirement to set out your health and safety policy in writing if you have five or more employees. It is also a legal requirement to set out your disciplinary rules and discipline and grievance procedures in writing.

If, following an assessment, there is a risk that someone performing services for your business might carry out acts of bribery, you will need to have a procedure in place to prevent such acts. Read more on anti-bribery policies.

Communicating your employment policies

A workplace policy can be part of your employee/company handbook or you could set it out in a separate document. However, for your discipline and grievance policies, you must either set them out in a written statement of main terms and conditions of employment or refer in a written statement to a place where the employee can read them, eg the company intranet.

You should make staff aware that your employment policies exist, particularly during the induction process - see induction programme: what to include, and make sure workers can easily access them if necessary, eg by having them pinned up on a noticeboard or put on the company intranet.

Employment policies: contractual status

Workplace policies generally aren't contractually binding unless they expressly state otherwise.

However, terms of some employment policies could be seen as contractually binding through custom and practice, ie where workers follow certain working practices or receive certain benefits over a significant period of time, and ultimately it will be up to an Industrial Tribunal to decide on the contractual nature of policies.

A policy on working time and time off should cover a number of areas.

Leave and absence

Occasionally, your workers will want or need time off.

In certain circumstances, you are legally obliged to give your workers time off, eg to take annual leave, attend health and safety training, time off for dependants, and carry out trade union duties. See parental leave and time off for dependants and allowing time off work.

In other circumstances, you can use your discretion, eg requests involving moving house or looking after a sick relative. However, having policies in place that pre-empt these types of requests will ensure that you deal with such matters consistently.

Working hours

Workers aged 18 years old or above may only work an average of 48 hours per week averaged out over a 17-week period (other limits apply for younger workers). However, they have the right to sign an opt-out agreement, which allows them to work more than this.

It's a good idea to manage these working hours and keep appropriate records. See hours, rest breaks, and the working week.

Overtime

You are not obliged to offer overtime to your workers or require them to work it. However, any overtime policy should still set out the rules on overtime. This is particularly important if your workers have come to expect regular overtime - they could claim it had become a contractual entitlement through custom and practice.

Rates of overtime pay should be agreed with employees, as no minimum statutory levels apply, although you should ensure that workers are paid at least the national minimum wage for all hours worked. See how to manage overtime.

Work-life balance

Encouraging work-life balance is important for your business. To achieve this, and as they are statutory rights, you should definitely have policies on:

• parental leave
• flexible working
• maternity, adoption, and paternity leave and pay

See how to promote good work/life balance in your business.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see time off work policies and procedures.

Workers are protected from discrimination on a wide range of grounds, eg gender, sexual orientation, and age. See how to prevent discrimination and value diversity.

Business benefits of promoting diversity

Many successful businesses go much further and actively promote diversity in both their strategic and human resources policies. If you value everyone as an individual, research shows that diversity can help stimulate creative interaction, motivate employees, and improve business performance.

If you do not yet have an equality and diversity policy in place, you could find it a useful management and recruitment tool. It should:

• explain your business' stance on diversity
• show how you intend to achieve a diverse working environment
• describe how managers and staff can participate in the business's commitment to diversity both within and outside the organisation

It's therefore important that workers contribute to the policy-making process. You can do this by asking them for their views on, for example:

• promoting good relationships in the workplace between individuals, managers, teams, and employers
• treating all workers fairly
• valuing and respecting differences
• understanding workers' needs to balance work and family commitments
• how to communicate with individuals through formal and informal communication channels

Equality guidance for small businesses

The Equality Commission supports businesses and helps to promote good practice in equality, diversity, and inclusion. Read the Equality Commission guidance for small businesses.

If you have five or more employees, you must by law have a written health and safety policy. The health and safety policy should set out:

• your general approach and objectives in relation to health and safety
• the arrangements you have in place for managing health and safety in your business

However, good health and safety practice means that you should not only have such a policy but also manage it in a way that benefits your business, workers, clients, and local community.

Write a health and safety policy for your business.

Read Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) guidance on health and safety.

Policies to promote staff well-being

To promote the health and well-being of your staff, you also might want to consider policies on specific health-related issues, such as:

• stress at work - see how to deal with stress
• smoking, drugs, and alcohol - see workplace policies on smoking, drugs, and alcohol

To back up your health and safety policies, you may decide to introduce a range of facilities promoting good health amongst your workforce, eg gym access deals (dependant on gym contract terms), advice on how to give up smoking, alcohol or drugs counselling, and routine health check-ups.

The benefits for your business can include the improved overall health of your workers, and improved morale and productivity. See what you need to do about health and safety.

Consultation on health and safety matters

You're required by law to consult your employees on health and safety issues in the workplace and to make them aware of what's in your policy. See how to provide health and safety training and information.

However, you may decide to encourage them to get involved more fully in the process. This could involve devising safety rules, as well as giving useful feedback on how effectively policies are working.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see other key HR policies and templates.

You are required by law to set out your disciplinary rules and disciplinary and grievance procedures, in writing.

It's also common for employers to have a separate bullying and harassment policy for their workplace.

Discipline and grievance policies

You must tell each employee about:

• your disciplinary rules
• your disciplinary/dismissal and grievance procedure
• the name of the person to whom they should appeal if they are unhappy about a disciplinary or dismissal decision, or to seek redress for a grievance

This information can be included in the employee's written statement or the written statement may refer the employee to a document where they can read it, eg in a staff handbook - see Invest Northern Ireland Employers' Handbook.

If you fail to issue this information in writing, and one of your employees makes an industrial tribunal case against you and wins, you may have to pay up to four weeks' wages on top of any other compensation the tribunal may award.

It's important that your disciplinary rules give examples of the types of behaviour that qualify as gross misconduct, eg fighting, bullying, and stealing. If you find that an employee has committed an act of gross misconduct, you could be entitled to dismiss them summarily without notice or pay in lieu of notice. You should ensure that you comply with the statutory dismissal procedures and the LRA Code of Practice on Discipline and Grievance even when dismissing for gross misconduct.

Read more on disciplinary procedures, hearings, and appeals, handling grievances, and dismissing employees.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see grievance and disciplinary procedures and templates.

Employment document toolkit

If you require further help with drawing up your disciplinary and grievance policies, the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) has a free employment document toolkit. Once you have registered you can get access to their free core employment guides to help you build documents, policies, and procedures for your own organisation.

Bullying and harassment policies

Bullying and harassment are conduct issues and therefore would normally fall under your disciplinary policy. However, many employers have a separate bullying and harassment policy given that such behaviour:

• needs dealing with sensitively
• can amount to gross misconduct
• may involve unlawful discrimination

There is no legislation that is specifically designed to address workplace bullying. However, bullying can be successfully challenged through existing legislation, ie civil, criminal, and employment law.

You have a legal duty to protect the health and safety of your workers. Bullying can also lead to a breakdown in trust and confidence between you and the alleged victim, leading to the employee resigning and claiming constructive dismissal.

Sexual harassment and harassment on the grounds of sex, disability, race, sexual orientation, religion/belief, and age are unlawful. Even if a worker harasses a colleague, the victim can make a discrimination claim against you.

You should have a clear policy on bullying and harassment so that staff understands that it's unacceptable. The policy should also include a procedure for dealing with claims of harassment or bullying should they arise.

It makes good business sense to have workplace policies on issues such as:

• intellectual property
• confidentiality
• social media usage
• use of company facilities
• dress and appearance
• whistleblowing
• the right to search

These help you protect both your tangible and intangible business assets, which, once lost, may be difficult to regain.

Policies on intellectual property protection and confidentiality

If you design products or create other original output, eg music or printed matter, it is important to protect your intellectual property.

Therefore you need a workplace policy that states that:

• any original product or material developed in the course of an employee's work remains the property of the business
• employees have a duty to keep company information confidential

If you intend to rely on any kind of penalty clauses, you should always seek legal advice.

Read more on protecting intellectual property.

Social media workplace policy

The use of social media at work presents responsibilities regarding employees using various sites. Having a written social media policy for your business provides clear guidelines for employees.

Read more on managing employee use of social media. Read the Labour Relations Agency's advice on social media and the employment relationship.

Policies on dress and appearance

You are entitled to set out a code covering how you expect employees to dress and generally present themselves. This is particularly important where there are health and safety issues involved, eg in factories, building sites, or kitchens.

However, you must ensure that these codes are non-discriminatory, particularly in relation to gender and religion/belief. Read the Fair Employment Code of Practice from the Equality Commission.

Policy on the use of company facilities

It's a good idea to set up clear policies about the use of company facilities. In particular, you should have a policy on the use of the internet, email, and telephone.

Most email and internet policies aim to strike a balance between business and personal use. Setting out boundaries will help to minimise the risk of:

• having to take disciplinary action against staff
• a third party taking legal action against you
• harm to your IT system
• leakage of confidential information

In addition, if you intend to monitor staff usage of company facilities then you should carry out an impact assessment in advance of this.

To access templates that you can download, tailor, and use, see other key HR policies and templates.

Read more on monitoring and security of staff.

Whistleblowing policies

It is a good idea to have a policy on making protected disclosures - or 'whistleblowing'. This is because it will encourage workers to raise concerns about illegal activities and bad business practices internally - and prevent your business from receiving negative publicity.

Note that you do not need to treat the making of a protected disclosure as a grievance unless:

• the disclosure relates to a matter that the employee could raise as a grievance with you
• the employee intends for the disclosure to constitute the raising of a grievance

Read more on whistleblowing - qualifying disclosures.

Also see discipline, grievance, bullying, and harassment policies.

Right-to-search policies

You may only search an employee if this is allowed under their terms and conditions of employment.

Therefore, if you have a right-to-search policy, you should state that it is contractual. It is also important to remember that you should get an employee's consent before conducting a search.

Your business may need to have a procedure in place to prevent acts of bribery.

You will only need such a procedure if - following an assessment - there is a risk that an agent, subsidiary or other person performing services for your business might carry out such acts.

Under UK law, there is a general offence of bribery, and of bribing a foreign official. Bribery is defined as giving someone financial or other advantages to induce them to perform their functions or activities improperly or to reward them for having already done so.

In addition, there is an offence relating to failure by a business to prevent a person associated with it from committing the above offences on its behalf in order to win business, keep business or gain a business advantage for the organisation.

You will have a statutory defence to the last of these offences if your business has adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery on your behalf.

Preventing bribery

To prevent bribery - and have a defence in case a charge of bribery is made against you - you should:

• assess whether your business is at risk and, if so, the level of that risk
• have an anti-bribery policy in place containing procedures proportionate to the risk you have identified, the scope and size of your business, and the country/countries in which you do business
• use due diligence to assess who you are dealing with and who you appoint to represent you
• communicate, train and raise awareness among employees and business partners
• monitor and review your procedures

Anti-bribery policy

Your anti-bribery policy should:

• include a clear prohibition of the offer, gift or acceptance of bribes
• detail the procedures that should be followed during business transactions
• give guidance on the provision of gifts, hospitality or expenses that may influence the outcome of business transactions
• provide guidance on political and charitable donations, including a prohibition of the payment of donations to political parties or charities that are directly linked to obtaining new business or gaining a business advantage
• require that any donations made in good faith are publicly disclosed

Note that the following are not considered acts of bribery:

• providing genuine business hospitality
• carrying out proportionate and reasonable promotional activities

Having a training policy in place will enable you to plug any skills shortages in your workplace. This is beneficial to employees and will also have a positive impact on business performance.

A training policy can be implemented to allow employees to perform their current role more effectively or support them through a change in role.

You should ensure that your training policy is appropriate. This can be achieved by assessing whether it fits with your business plan and through discussions with employees, eg you may decide to offer training in-house for specific tasks, general company guidance for new starters, or refresher training for existing employees. Develop a staff training plan.

Performance management

Implementing an appraisal system is another way of improving your business performance. It represents a good opportunity to discuss with individual employees both their strengths and weaknesses, areas for development, and agree on new aims and objectives with them.

Businesses commonly carry out appraisals within a few months of a new employee starting or changing role within the business. For established employees, you may decide to use the appraisal system once or twice per year.

Some of the benefits of having appraisal-related performance targets are that employees understand what is expected of them and how these fit into the wider aims of the business. Targets are also a way of gaining useful feedback and ideas on how your business can be more effective in the future. Read more on managing staff performance.

To access templates that you can download, tailor and use, see performance management and staff training templates.

Pay is a key aspect of your relationship with your employees. Setting the right pay rates for your business will likely take into account your need to attract talented employees and retain those that you have already. Above all, pay rewards should be fair, and the process transparent. See how to set the right pay rates.

You may decide to implement a results-related pay system, such as commission or bonuses. These are provided by your business in addition to basic pay and can be used to reward employees who perform at a high level:

• commission is calculated based on the performance of an individual or a team
• bonuses may be connected to the performance of the entire business

Depending on the sector in which your business operates, eg in the catering trade, setting up a tips and gratuities system may be more appropriate. There are some circumstances when tips and gratuities can count towards the national minimum wage. See guidance on tips at work. For further advice on this, you may wish to contact HMRC.

You should be aware that there are certain types of business expenses that are tax deductible and others that are not. They may need to be disclosed to the relevant authorities. Read more on expenses and benefits.

Many personal relationships begin with people meeting at work, and many of these lead to long-term partnerships. This should not be viewed as a problem in itself, but it's important to recognise that relationships at work can cause a number of issues for both employers and the workforce.

Why have a workplace relationships policy?

Any employment policy about relationships at work is intended to ensure that staff don't commit - and are not open to allegations of acts of:

• inappropriate behaviour, including harassment
• favouritism
• abuse of authority
• conflict of interest

It is also intended to ensure that all employees feel confident of fair and consistent treatment without the fear that a relationship will influence their or other employees' treatment or wider working relationships.

Depending on the size of your business, you may also want to extend the policy to cover other types of relationships, such as those between relatives or family members.

Some companies go so far as to specify in employment contracts that employees can't form an intimate relationship with someone they work with, although this is probably unnecessary in most workplaces.

What types of relationships would a policy cover?

For the purposes of creating a policy, 'intimate relationships' or 'close personal or family relationships' apply to those relationships between people in the same team or department, or between a line manager and one of their team that could potentially be problematic. It does not refer to a straightforward friendship between colleagues.

Issues that could arise include the following:

• If one of the couple is the other's manager, what happens if disciplinary action has to be taken against the employee? Who will do the employee appraisals or performance reviews?
• Does either of the couple have any financial responsibilities, such as authorising expense claims or overtime payments, or deciding pay rates or increases?
• What happens when the employee applies for a post for which the manager would be conducting the interviews? Or when someone related to an existing employee applies for a job? (Conflicts of interest should, where possible, be avoided. This would minimise tribunal risks.)

General policy on relationships at work: what might it cover?

If you choose to have a policy about personal relationships at work, it should clarify the behaviour you expect from employees, eg that the relationship shouldn't affect their work and that there should be no favouritism or preferential treatment, particularly where one employee is more senior than the other.

You may wish to include guidance on what to do if an employee involved in recruitment is aware that a partner, relative, or even a close friend has applied for a job. You could state that they should declare this at the earliest opportunity.

Depending on the position and the employee's own role, you should consider:

• any potential conflict of interest
• how an appointment might affect the working environment
• any resulting risks that the relationship might cause
• what steps could be taken to address these matters

Remember that it can be a positive thing to have friends and family working together, as well as considering the potential risks.

When writing staff policies the main steps are:

• Preparing - collecting information (anonymous staff views can be sought via a survey or series of surveys), opinions, and examining the options. Policies are more likely to be accepted if staff are involved in drawing them up. Involve unions, especially if you have collective agreements that specify they should be consulted, or existing elected employee representatives. Alternatively, set up a joint working group.
• Developing - policies should suit the specific needs of the business.
• Implementing - inform staff and provide training.
• Reviewing - this is to check that the policy is being used and is not damaging the business.

Check that your workplace policies are not unlawfully discriminatory, eg in relation to pay or dress/appearance.

Employment document toolkit

If in doubt, or if you require additional help with drawing up your employment documentation, the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) has a free employment document toolkit. Once registered you can access their free core employment guides to help you build documents, policies, and procedures for your own organisation. Find out about the free employment document toolkit.

How should policies be communicated to staff?

You could inform your staff of workplace policies by: