Recently, we’ve seen an increase in small to medium-sized businesses seeking advice on tightening up their HR infrastructure– including contracts of employment. Here are 4 key reasons why people come to us:
- They need protection and security for employer and employee alike.
- They want to avoid a repeat of a situation they now know could have been avoided with the benefit of a specialist’s experience. Free templates are free for a reason!
- The conversation about the terms has become important at the point of dispute. We know documents support conversations, they don’t replace the need for them.
- There’s an increase in understanding about discrimination. Terms of employment need to be inclusive for everyone. It’s not difficult to get right, but it’s not difficult to miss something either. It’s worth getting your ideas checked out before committing them to writing you’ll need to rely on later.
The language and tone of typical employment contracts will always be very formal, so they don’t lend themselves towards straightforward conversations. This can become a little confusing for employees and employers. However, while they are unlikely to ever sound friendly, the language can be adjusted to reflect your desired employment relationship and set it off to a good start..
And, from tribunal outcomes and our own experience, we know it isn’t necessarily what’s written down in a contract that gets relied on in a dispute. In making a judgement, a tribunal will place significant emphasis on how a contract is ‘carried out in practice’.
If you’d like to review your HR infrastructure, contact us today to find out about the cost-effective packages we’ve developed specifically for companies with between 11- 75 employees.
