Law briefing by Sally Togher
Policies and procedures should contain policy statements and guidance. They should be separate from the Contract of Employment in order that they do not have contractual effect, so that if the employer makes any slight deviation from them (due to exceptional or unusual circumstances) it will not result in a breach of contract claim.
Policies and procedures can be stand alone documents, but often employers find the best way to keep them together is in a staff handbook. Employers should either issue a copy of this to employees or provide a copy on induction and ask employees to sign to confirm they have read the contents and then keep the handbook in an accessible place.
The benefits of having policies and procedures in place are far reaching. Firstly, they are a good tool for establishing and communicating rules to employees. They are also a useful method of providing guidelines and procedures, such as how to book holidays. Clear procedures will avoid misunderstandings and save management time in answering the same questions over and over again.
Secondly, they give a business a professional image. A comprehensive staff handbook with a welcoming introduction and a mission statement gives prospective and new employees a good first impression and makes existing employees feel valued.
Thirdly, from a legal point of view, they can prevent disputes occurring or alternatively, form a crucial piece of evidence should a claim be brought. As a preventative tool, the disciplinary procedure for example will make clear what behaviour could amount to gross misconduct and thus could prevent an employee doing this.
Some advantages of having policies and procedures if claims are brought are:
- Current case law suggests that in unfair dismissal claims of employees dismissed due to misuse of the internet, it is essential that employees have been informed in advance that misuse could result in dismissal. It should be expressly stated in the IT policy and also listed as an example of gross misconduct in the disciplinary procedure. If it is not then current case law suggests that the dismissal will be held unfair. It is to be remembered that the current maximum compensation award for unfair dismissal is £58,400!!
- An Equal Opportunities policy is a crucial starting point in defending any discrimination claim. It shows that the employer has given thought to the issue of discrimination and made clear to its employees that this will not be tolerated. An employer who does not have such a policy in place very often starts off “on the back foot” in an Employment Tribunal hearing. The importance here is that compensation for discrimination is not subject to any maximum cap and is therefore potentially unlimited.
We strongly recommend Employers have clear and comprehensive policies and procedures in place, relevant to their business and issue these to all employees.
October 2005
Sally Archibald is an associate solicitor who specialises in employment law - email sally.archibald@raworths.co.uk
