This is a guest post written for us by Michael Truby about how, as your business grows and demands change, you will often need to employ new staff to power the human infrastructure necessary to deliver great products and services. However, employment law, employee demands, and the need to avoid costly mistakes, all mean that it pays to get the hiring process right first time.
Even once applications and interviews are out of the way, there is still work to be done if your new team member is to integrate properly. Here are the top five essentials you need to remember each time you take on a new member of staff.
1. Paperwork
The bureaucracy associated with employment seems to grow year-on-year, so it is essential to understand the legal requirements. Otherwise, you risk all manner of problems, from employment disputes to expensive fines. To make the induction process as smooth as possible, you need to obtain the following paperwork:
- Qualifications. If the role requires specialist qualifications, such as CORGI registration or a medical degree, it is essential that your business obtains certified copies of each for the new employee’s HR file. For completeness, you should also secure copies of any qualification mentioned on the employee’s CV or application form so that you can verify their level of knowledge and experience. You can also ensure that everything is in order and that the role has not been offered based on faulty (or fraudulent) claims.
- Visa and passport or ID. Section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 means that, as of May 2004, it is a criminal offence to employ someone who has no right to work in the UK. Therefore, employers are legally responsible for carrying out document checks to ensure that any potential employee is eligible to work in Britain. It should be a standard requirement of every new employee to produce official identification documents, regardless of where they claim to be from.
To help make collection, verification and storage of this information straightforward, consider investing in one of the available fully integrated HR systems such as SnowdropKCS. Simply record the necessary information once, and it will be permanently logged and instantly accessible. By having these details on a digital record, it is also easier to resolve disputes or prove that company actions were legally compliant in the event of an enquiry or complaint.
2. Contracts
The importance of employment contracts cannot be overstated. It is essential that the new employee is issued with two copies – one to sign and return and one to keep for their own reference.
Your company will need to be able to record when the copies were issued, and when the signed copy indicating agreement was received. Again, your in-house HR system is the ideal place to store copies of the contract, record any future amendments, and create an easily accessible audit trail of the employee’s acceptance of each.
Being able to computerise this process is even more important when you consider that the entire procedure needs to be replicated for every person you employ.
3. Payroll
Along with the paperwork mentioned above, you also need to obtain a valid P45 from each new employee as soon as they start. For staff coming from another role elsewhere, or those re-entering the workforce after a period of unemployment, a P45 is essential. Not only does this help establish their work history and current National Insurance contributions for the current tax year, but it also ensures that you have official confirmation of their tax code.
With a valid P45 you can ensure that the employee is subject to the correct level of PAYE deductions and does not become victim to “emergency” tax rates whilst waiting for official confirmation of their tax code. By getting their salary correct at the first payroll run, you can help prevent the employee becoming jaded early in your working relationship.
Obtaining a P45 and entering it into your payroll system should therefore become a natural part of your induction process for every employee.
4. Induction
Helping familiarise staff with facilities and operating procedures helps them feel like a valued member of your team. It is also essential to prove that your company is meeting its statutory obligations.
Simple tasks such as showing staff where to find fire exits can easily be overlooked, but they are absolutely essential for their safety whilst on your premises. Other job-specific training, such as working at heights or how the company computer systems work, are also critical to ensuring new staff can become productive as quickly as possible.
As before, your business needs the facility to record details of the training courses being delivered to new staff in the company HR system. This helps your human resources department know that staff are fully trained to work safely and helps provide the company with protection in the event of an accident or lawsuit.
5. Probation period
Your employment contract should already clearly outline a probationary period for each new hire, but it is imperative that they fully understand its purpose. It is also essential that a thorough review is undertaken promptly at the end of the probationary period, so that any issues arising during that time can be resolved quickly and effectively.
Ideally, this information should be recorded by your HR team, allowing your team to plan the review meeting, its agenda and any other employment-related issues in advance. If you’re using HR software, you should also be able to automate various tasks, such as generating letters, directly from the system. This helps reduce manual intervention and the time required to perform an otherwise routine part of business.
For the very best results, using HR software to automate the processes outlined in these five tips helps to keep the HR process running smoothly and efficiently, removing many of the headaches associated with new starters. Automation provides a checklist to work through for each employee and a central place to store the information your HR department needs in the event of a dispute or employment problem.
Image credit – new employee by thinkpanama on Flickr
