In our opinion when you are an HR consultant, you can often find yourself having in-depth conversations about how business owners can avoid legal action or help with an issue. However, we offer services that go way beyond that add real value to your business, we can help boost your profits, create a happier and more productive workforce and achieve big strategic goals.
Although steering clear of expensive and potentially reputation-damaging legal action is something that many business owners are very keen to do, for obvious reasons, if you’re worried about ending up on the wrong side of employment law, then it’s important that you take some positive steps towards minimising the risk.
Let’s take a look at how HR Revolution could help you keep your business practices compliant, up to date, and above board.
Know the law
As a business owner, it’s your responsibility to keep up to date with the law. New pieces of legislation are passed on a regular basis, so it’s vital that you stay on the ball. The last thing that you want is to find out that new provisions came into force, rendering your existing policies and procedures unlawful.
This might seem like a huge burden, but it doesn’t have to be. HR Revolution will ensure that you get the information that you need well in advance, and are given useful, practical advice so you can implement the necessary changes.
Implement consistent people policies
People policies are there for good reason; they outline acceptable standards of behaviour, make your expectations clear, and map out what will happen if a problem occurs. If you decide though that they should only be applied to some employees some of the time, then you could be accused of discrimination.
The bottom line here is that your whole workforce should be held to the same standards. You’ve no doubt spent a great deal of time creating and implementing your policies. They’re there to help you, so use them properly!
Always keep records
If problems arise, having a comprehensive paper trail can be extremely useful. Your documentation should clearly outline the details of each stage of everyday employment situations, such as absences, performance discussions, grievances and so on.
You can find solutions that will allow you to safely store information of this nature online, or on secure systems. This isn’t always necessary, but it will absolutely save you time in the long run and make sure that your records are up to date, accurate, and confidential.
Give your managers the capability they need
As your business grows, it’s unlikely that you’ll be personally handling all people management practices and if you ensure your managers have the HR training they need, you could avoid finding yourself in a situation whereby your operations aren’t compliant with the law.
It’s down to you to make sure that your managers are consistently compliant. When you invest in your leadership team, you’ll find that many potentially volatile incidents can be quickly defused before they spiral out of control.
Not many business owners would intentionally break the law when it comes to how they treat their greatest asset – their employees, but if you aren’t vigilant, you could find yourself in a tricky situation.
If you’ve decided that it’s time to take control when it comes to complying with employment legislation, then get in touch.
