Employing staff essentials

In this section you will find key policies and procedures covering the essential aspects of directly employing staff. See our Freelancers section for more specific information about working with Freelancers.

Employment contracts

All employees need an employment contract. Contracts should be provided as soon as someone new starts working with your organisation, and they should give details of their terms and conditions of employment. All employment contracts should include:

• How many days and hours of work, including if they vary
• How long the job is expected to last, if it is fixed term
• What the holiday entitlement is and whether this includes Public Holidays
• How much and how often the employee will be paid
• Where the employee will work and if this varies, where the other locations are and how often this will happen

Essential policies and procedures

As a minimum, all organisations employing people should have disciplinary, grievance and health and safety policies. We've developed templates for essential policies that you can adapt to suit your organisation. See below for the templates. For more policies and procedures, have a look in the section called key HR policies and procedures.

Staff handbooks

A staff handbook is a great way to keep all of your essential information in one place. This can contain a range of information, both formal policies and procedures and informal information about your organisation. This should be a document that is reviewed and updated frequently. Here are some of the things you could include in your own staff handbook:

• Your organisation's values and objectives
• How employees request time off, including flexible working and parental leave
• Your approach to diversity, equity and inclusion
• Health and safety at work