A business is only as strong as all the people who are working together to get the enterprise up and running off the ground. While finding and hiring new employees is a journey in itself, the work does not end once an applicant has accepted a job offer. Before welcoming your new employee on board with open arms, there are still a number of steps that you must take in order to comply with your basic legal responsibilities as an employer. 

This blog will guide you through what to do after hiring an employee. Specifically, this blog will cover what workplace infrastructures must already be in place, keeping records of new staff, health and safety obligations, and employment contracts to support your business after hiring new employees.

What must be in place before hiring an employee

Before new employees get started, it is important to make sure the right legal and HR infrastructure is in place in your business to accommodate them. The basic steps you must take include:

1. Registering with HMRC as an employer;
2. Writing staff disciplinary and grievance procedures;
3. Setting up a payroll system;
4. Setting up a workplace pension scheme;
5. Ensuring your premises comply with health and safety legislation and that you have suitable policies and procedures to govern it; and
6. Making sure you have appropriate systems and procedures in place for dealing with personal data of candidates as well as all staff.

A staff handbook would be useful to properly incorporate and store all these policies and procedures for employees. It is also best to decide who will be responsible for HR and supporting newly hired staff members with any problems. Who this is, and if more than one person is required, will depend on the size of your business and your business needs. Importantly, you have to inform your employees and casual workers within two months of their start date who is responsible for dealing with disciplinary matters and staff grievances. 

Keeping records of new staff

For already existing staff and new staff you hire, you should keep the following information/records:

• Personal information: name, address, emergency contact tax code, national insurance details, etc.
  
  
• Employment history: start date, probation period, promotions, end of date of employment (if temporary);

• Terms and conditions: usually included in the contract of employment;

• Absences: sickness, authorised or unauthorised absences, paternity/maternity/shared parental leave (if relevant)

• Training and development;

• Disciplinary and grievance proceedings. 

This information can all be stored internally or in subsisting parts of a personnel system. A personnel system will be practical to deal with all matters relating to payroll, pension provision, health and safety, and data protection.

Keep in mind that for all employers with more than 250 employees, it is a legal requirement to report on the gender pay gap of the workforce every 12 months. 

What health and safety obligations must employers follow after hiring an employee

You, as an employer, have obligations to protect the health, safety, and welfare of your staff members. There is substantial action you must take before new employees arrive and during the first few days of their employment to comply with health and safety law. For example, you must have employer’s liability insurance which covers your staff in case of any work-related accidents or illnesses. You must have a health and safety policy and ensure the workplace complies with health and safety laws. Additionally, you must perform an initial health and safety and fire assessment for your office if you have not done so already.

Furthermore, you should train employees in health and safety procedures by nominating a staff member or director to be in charge of health and safety issues; establishing an emergency evacuation plan; establishing fire-safety and first-aid procedure. This should be adequately related to your new employees on or during their first few days.

When to provide employment contracts to new employees

You should give your new employees their employment contracts after they have been hired, either on or some time before their first day of work. If your business fails to do this, your employee can apply to the Employment Tribunal for a finding of what their terms of employment are and compensation, which can be time consuming and expensive to deal with.

Contracts for employees must include a written statement of certain terms of employment. By law, there are minimum particulars of employment that have to be included:

1. The names of the employer and employee;
2. The date the employment starts and the date the employee’s period of continuous employment begins;
3. How much the employee will be paid, or how their pay will be calculated, how regularly they will be paid;
4. What the expected working hours are and the place of work, including whether the employee may be required to work outside the UK;
5. Holiday entitlement and holiday pay (including bank and public holiday entitlement);
6. The employee’s job title and a brief description of their work;
7. Terms about absence due to incapacity and sick pay;
8. The notice period that the employee must give to end their employment and the notice that you must give them if you want to do so;
9. Terms about pensions and pension schemes;
10. Information about disciplinary and grievance procedures;
11. Details of any collective agreements with trade unions affecting the employment;
12. Information about probationary periods, including any conditions attached to it and how long it lasts;
13. Details of any training entitlement, including whether it is mandatory or if this is something your business will pay for. 

Note that the above points reflect the changes to what should be included in employment contracts made in law on 6 April 2020 and may not apply to employment contracts issued before then. 

Should I make new employees undergo a probationary period

A probationary period is the time during the beginning of an employment relationship where new hires can usually be dismissed with less notice. You can choose how long to make the probationary period, although it is usually between three or six months. A probationary period can be helpful to monitor the employee, their performance, and how well they fit in with the rest of your team. 

A probationary period clause can be inserted into your new employee’s contract. It is important to include the requirement to confirm successful completion of probation in writing to prevent employees from inadvertently passing probation once the time limit has passed.

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