Can Legal Forms and Policies Help Make Your Business Legally Compliant?

Under UK law, numerous employee rights and entitlements exist which are fundamental to the relationship of employer and employee but do not form a detailed part of the employment contract. Often, the law implies certain rights into the employment contract or in the course of dealings between the parties.
To avoid legal disputes, it is very important for an employer to reduce such rights and procedures into policy documents in writing. This will provide clarity and certainty to employers and employees alike. The following legal forms detailing such procedures can be purchased online, which will help ensure that your business is legally compliant and will save you time and money:

1. Disciplinary Policy: This legal form details the procedures for disciplining employees in the event of employee wrongdoing or where a breach of company policy occurs. In disciplining employees, including the imposition of sanctions such as oral or written warnings, it is important for the employer to adopt fair procedures. To suspend or dismiss an employee, the employee should be given an opportunity to set forth his side of case. The disciplinary policy will detail the steps to be followed and the stated instances of misbehaviour to which the policy applies.
2. Grievance Policy: This is a legal form which states the procedural remedies an employee can seek where he is aggrieved by a decision of the company or by the actions of his fellow employee. It deals with grievances which are capable of being resolved internally and will set the framework within which an employee can complain. The legal form will also specify the format of meetings and investigations the company will adopt in deciding the validity of such claims.
3. Health & Safety Policy: Under UK law, an employer is obliged to detail the procedures to be adopted in the workplace relating to the health and welfare of employees. This legal form details the steps the company will take ensure in so far as is reasonably practicable the safety, health and welfare of employees and others who may be affected while engaged in their work. The legal form outlines inter alia the company policy in the area of handling hazardous materials, fire and first aid procedures and will name the company officers and staff who will implement this policy.
4. Paternity Policy: This legal form details how a male employee can apply for statutory leave on the birth of his child. The policy contains details on eligibility for leave, how application is to be made and the notice period required by the employer. The legal form will specify the employee’s rights during leave and his entitlement to return to work following leave on the same employment terms.
5. Maternity Policy: This is a very important legal form for employers to have, which can be utilised where leave is claimed. The policy will outline employer/employee rights to notification, ordinary maternity leave, circumstances of additional leave, the right of the employee to be kept informed of company developments and the return of the employee to work. The law relating to maternity entitlement is complex and ever changing, so it is in both the employer’s and employee’s interest to have a clear legal form which details rights and procedures.
6. Parental Leave Policy: Parental leave is a statutory entitlement allowing for additional leave which can be invoked by an employee who becomes a parent. This legal form outlines the rights and entitlement to apply for such leave and how the employer must apply due consideration to such requests. It also specifies situations where leave in the manner and form claimed can be refused.
7. Flexitime Policy: Employers have a legal duty to consider the requests of employees to have flexibility in their working terms and conditions. This legal form details how an employee goes about requesting such flexibility and the circumstances where an employer will decide to agree or decline flexibility in the hours or location worked.
8. Alcohol Policy: An employer may enforce rules regarding the consumption of alcohol or intoxicants by employees in the workplace or during work time. This legal form outlines the situations where such consumption will amount to a breach of company policy with the consequences of disciplinary sanction.
9. Smoke Free Policy: Under recent UK law, smoking in the workplace has been outlawed. This legal form will specify the situations and places where smoking is restricted and the steps an employer is requested to take to ensure the workplace is a smoke free environment.

Legal forms and policies will assist an employer in his quest to make his business legally compliant. Legal forms are inexpensive, provide clarity to a wide variety of employment situations and will help avoid unpleasant, costly and damaging employ