What are HR policies and procedures?
HR policies and procedures have many functions. They impact the employment relationship and culture by guiding workplace behaviour, supporting legal compliance, outlining disciplinary procedures and reducing risk.
Common HR policies include those for code of conduct, health and safety, leave and attendance, harassment, social media and flexible working.
Let’s examine more closely the key purposes of HR policies and procedures:
- Setting company policy and providing formal guidelines on employee roles, responsibilities and workplace conduct to support both the employer and employees
- Acting as an intermediary between employees and leadership to encourage positive employee relations and maintain a fair and inclusive workplace with equal opportunities for all
- Establishing comprehensive formal guidelines for health and safety, disciplinary action and dismissal and grievance policies
- Clarifying employee rights, for instance, a sickness and absence policy that outlines attendance and reporting procedures
- Supporting compliance with legal frameworks and regulations such as UK employment law and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (required for businesses with five or more employees).
- Reducing legal risks and providing legal protection against employment tribunal claims (e.g. unfair dismissal) or other legal challenges, with thorough disciplinary and grievance policies
- Supplementing the written employment contract and reinforcing company culture (when incorporating key HR policies and procedures within the employee handbook)
- Incorporating flexible working policies to support work-life balance and employee retention
Human resources roles and responsibilities
The HR department plays a core role in SME business operations by directing strategy and developing workplace policies. These professionals shape organisational structure and culture, guiding leadership, managing compensation and promoting inclusivity. They ensure compliance with UK law and health and safety regulations, handle risk management, support employee development and engagement and oversee recruitment and onboarding processes.
Next, we’ll break down the various facets of running a business that HR policies and procedures affect.
Structure of the organisation
HR policies and procedures form the foundation of the employee-employer relationship by setting clear expectations for workplace behaviour. Core HR policies cover essential areas like work schedules, health and safety, and performance monitoring, while also establishing formal disciplinary and grievance procedures.
Leadership guidance
The HR department plays a key role in strategic management, with team members often participating in senior leadership meetings and contributing to decisions on engagement, recruitment and employee development. HR policies and procedures clarify leadership roles and support maintaining discipline in the workplace. HR professionals can also advise you on best practices for leadership, policy implementation, relevant UK laws and compliance.
Salaries and compensation
HR policies often set the structure for wages and even salary bands within an organisation. This helps ensure fair wages based on experience and responsibilities, meeting legal obligations, and keeping salaries competitive to attract highly skilled candidates.
Fairness in the workplace
The HR team has a duty to represent all employees fairly. HR policies are designed to promote equal opportunities, fair treatment and an inclusive workplace, ensuring that employees with protected characteristics are safeguarded from discrimination.
Disciplinary action is one example of how these policies uphold fairness: employers and HR teams are required to follow set procedures to ensure consistency.
Such policies are required to align with the ACAS Code of Practice, which states that an organisation needs to have written disciplinary and grievance practices. These frameworks enable teams to make legally compliant decisions based on facts rather than emotions and allow anyone involved to raise concerns when needed.
Legal obligations and health and safety policy
HR strategy incorporates legal obligations to ensure policies minimise the risk of financial penalties and employment tribunal claims.
Certain policies, such as health and safety policies, a disciplinary and dismissal policy and a data protection policy, are legally required and need to align with relevant legislative provisions (for example, UK GDPR and the Data Use and Access Act 2025). HR policies help protect your company from both legal and financial risks.
HR professionals with a sound understanding of UK employment law are often best placed to develop compliant policies for health and safety, grievances and data protection. They can also advise employers on general good practice and the nuances of the employment relationship.
Risk management
Implementing HR policies that ensure the work environment is safe for employees forms part of risk management. Health and safety policies, regular risk assessments and strict adherence to regulations are fundamental to protecting employees.
In the UK, under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, a written health and safety policy is a mandatory workplace policy for businesses with five or more employees. This policy must detail the ‘arrangements’ for managing health and safety, which includes the procedures for conducting risk assessments and providing employee training.
The HR team can also help ensure compliance by raising awareness of health and safety policies and procedures in the workplace and educating others about the relevant requirements and protections of employment law.
Employee development
HR staff are often also responsible for creating the framework for employee training and development. Employee training can lead to greater career opportunities for employees, which typically impacts employee engagement and progression. As part of a commitment to fairness, any HR policies and procedures around employee development ideally ensure equal opportunities for all.
Employee engagement
Companies with strong employee engagement often deliver better performance. Employee morale and overall satisfaction can influence behaviour, engagement and productivity. HR policies play a key role in both employee engagement and creating a positive work environment. In addition, members of the HR team may be responsible for encouraging engagement and a feedback culture via employee satisfaction surveys.
Recruitment process and new employee onboarding
The recruitment process is typically the responsibility of HR in small and medium businesses, from screening and scheduling interviews to finalising hiring and onboarding new recruits.
Depending on your structure, the HR team may also create the employee handbook, manage contracts, and design onboarding procedures. Educating employees on your company’s HR policies and procedures also plays an important role in onboarding.
The impact of HR policies on employee attitude and performance
HR policies help define expectations in the workplace for businesses of all sizes. They are also part of shaping employee attitude and performance.
For example, policies on flexible working arrangements or equal opportunities often improve employee satisfaction and retention by helping staff with work-life balance and professional development.
An employee handbook can consolidate key HR policies, such as the data protection policy, health and safety policy, disciplinary procedures and grievance policies, to support legal compliance and employee wellbeing.
Providing access to mental health support, outlining statutory sick pay entitlements and allowing employees to formally raise concerns through grievance procedures are also valuable elements in boosting employee wellbeing and demonstrating corporate responsibility.
Beyond formal policy writing, the following strategies can actively boost employee performance and wellbeing.
Regular communication
Keeping employees informed helps them feel valued. Consider regularly issuing information and updates on topics such as changes to your HR policies, communicating about company benefits, welcoming a new employee or even celebrating someone’s birthday.
This can help colleagues feel connected and that they are part of a team.
Encourage feedback
Employee satisfaction surveys are a common way to collect feedback from employees. Beyond just collecting this feedback, it is important to ensure that employees feel heard and that necessary actions are taken to improve their wellbeing.
Robust grievance procedures play a role here, both as good practice and in compliance.
Create empowering experiences
Encouraging people to work autonomously and think creatively can generate enthusiasm, leading to improved performance and a more positive work environment.
It can also foster a climate of innovation that can help you get ahead of the competition.
Offer regular recognition
Aim to reward employees regularly for their performance and dedication to the business. One way to do this is by introducing incentive schemes or reward programmes. Recognition of employee effort can be a key part of company culture, making staff feel appreciated and important.
HR policies drive essential business functions, ranging from recruitment and engagement to day-to-day administration. Structuring HR policies around engagement and investing in your employees can also encourage loyalty and improve performance.
