Workplace policies can come in a variety of formats, I’ve seen everything from a simple 2 paragraph statement to a 30 page framework. But if you’re an organisation without any dedicated or appropriately experienced HR personnel how can you expect to be able to act within the constraints of employment legislation if your policies are brief, vague or not compliant to legislation?
There are plenty of places to obtain workplace policies on the internet, generally they are relatively cheap, you insert your business name and you’re off and running, but generic policies don’t always work from business to business. Your policies need to be reflective of your workplace & peculiarities of your industry. In addition most of these policies only contain basic information and will then include a “insert procedure here” paragraph, without the appropriate knowledge how can you ensure your content isn’t just best practice but legal?
The key to getting policies right isn’t just understanding industry and the workplace, but understanding the law. It’s the difference between knowing legally what steps must be taken during employee discipline or termination to ensure you don’t end up on the wrong side of a Fair Work decision & just copying another companies policies off the internet. Policies also detail how issues will be managed, so that there are clear consequences for unacceptable behaviours or poor performance. Even if certain behaviours are obviously not acceptable, there could be confusion over their severity. What you think is a ‘sackable’ offence might be viewed by an employee as something that just warrants a warning. This type of confusion can easily lead to unfair dismissal claims, so eliminating confusion reduces the risk of such a claim.
The People & Culture Office policies reflect contemporary human resource practice, offer step by step procedures and are fully compliant to Australian workplace law and legislation. They have been written with the average employee in mind; that is anyone in the business can pick up the policy and understand exactly what is expected of them and what procedure should be followed to achieve the desired outcome.
Policies should add value to your business, whether it’s a Recruitment & Selection Policy to guide you to recruit employees of the highest standard or an EEO, Bullying & Harassment Policy that covers off the relevant legislation, if your policies are too vague, don’t provide guidance and protect you from legal action then you aren’t getting the value from them that you should.
Based in Kalgoorlie, The People & Culture Office is an independent HR Consultant who can partner with you to offer a one stop HR solution, we only charge you for the work we perform; no contracts, no annual or monthly fees, just quality service. Click here to learn more
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