Importantly though, you must include these three policies:

1. Health and safety policy

Safety first, right? It’s in your interest as a business owner to keep your employees healthy, safe and happy, whether they work in your premises or remotely. For this reason, having a policy setting out your general approach and how hazards are eliminated or reduced is super important. You’ll need to do a risk assessment as a first step so you can identify any risks an employee might be exposed to in the office. Can’t think of any?

Although the 2-metre rule isn’t a thing anymore, you’ll need to make sure your employees are kept safe from COVID-19, such as by putting in place one-way systems, sanitation stations and signage reminding people to wash their hands and keep their distance.

On the flip side, some or all of your employees may work remotely, though this doesn’t mean there aren’t still risks. For instance, they should be aware of their fire exits and their desk set-up should be ergonomically appropriate to prevent repetitive stress injuries.

Without that work/home separation, working from home can have its toll on our mental health and so you would be well advised to cover this. Ultimately, you want to make sure that your employees are encouraged to turn to someone in your business if their mental health is suffering (or if they need additional equipment to make them more comfortable).

As a heads up, your health and safety policy only needs to be put into writing when you have five or more employees, otherwise it is OK to explain your policy in training when their employment begins. If you’re writing an employee handbook, just add it in. Remember, it doesn’t have to be War and Peace!

2. Disciplinary/dismissal policy

Your hope will always be that this policy is left in the proverbial drawer collecting dust. However, sometimes you can’t always be lucky with your hire. You’ll need to set out the steps your business will take if your employees do something negative that warrants disciplinary action. This will range from an informal discussion all the way to a written warning. Following due process as set out by employment legislation (which you need to know) is how you’re able to terminate their employment should a series of disciplinary action-worthy events occur and without being hit by an unfair dismissal claim.

3. Grievance policy

Bullying isn’t always left on the playground, regrettably, and so you need to make clear to your employees that any workplace bullying, harassment or unacceptable behaviour will not under any circumstances be tolerated by you. It’s so important to your business that your employees are happy so tell them to whom they should turn to if they a victim of any such bad behaviour.

Your business is serious stuff.. it’s your baby. So follow these steps and do all you can to protect it, yourself and your employees, who you’re going to need if your business is going to grow and flourish!

How can we contact you to find out more?

At Jamieson Law, we pride ourselves on helping small businesses understand their legal obligations and trying to make everything that bit less daunting. This includes helping out with HR support and fixed fee contract reviews and contract drafting services.

If you feel like you could benefit from some one-to-one advice on your responsibilities as an employer, or any other legal matter, please take advantage of our free 15-minute legal advice calls.

These are not sales calls; just our way of giving back to the business community. You can book a slot here calendly.com/jamiesonlaw/15min