Managing your employees

Jul 7 2005 By the Evening Gazette

Taking on employees for the first time can seem daunting.

You need to work out exactly what staff you need and how to find and recruit them.

As an employer you need to be familiar with legislation that safeguards employee rights.

You also need to set up administrative systems, in order to deduct income tax and National Insurance.

Most importantly you must learn how to effectively manage staff. Those employers who plan ahead and obtain professional support and training are more likely to succeed when they expand their workforce.

What you need to prepare before taking on an employee:

A job description that includes the job title, job purpose, duties, main responsibilities and hours.

A person specification detailing qualifications, experience and skills. This can be used to assess candidates' suitability. You should also consider if a full time, part time or even temporary worker is required.

A competitive salary level and any additional incentives should be costed, including National Insurance contributions.

How do you recruit new staff?

To attract the broadest choice of applicant, you should advertise the job widely in appropriate media.

Conduct face-to-face interviews to match the candidate to your job description, as well as to check the suitability of their personality and compatibility.

Arrange a test for candidates if the skills you require from them are easily measurable.

In order to avoid discrimination ensure that you have fair selection procedures and do not discriminate on the grounds of race, gender, age, disability or pay.

There is extensive legislation designed to prevent discrimination, including the Sex Discrimination Acts 1975 and 1986, the Race Relations Act 1976, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

Keep the documentation on applicants and interviews for about six months in case there are complaints from rejected candidates.

When recruiting workers from outside the UK ensure that all staff have immigration authorisation to work in the UK under the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996.

How do you make the job offer?

Usually a job offer is made verbally, then confirmation is made in writing. Both methods constitute a contract.

Appoint the staff member for an initial probationary period to make sure that they are capable of doing the job.

You should inform unsuccessful candidates by telephone or letter, explaining why they were unsuccessful, for example, that the standard of applicants was high and more experience was required.

The successful applicant must be provided with a written statement of main terms of employment within two months of starting work.

What do you do when the employee starts work?

It is important to carry out an induction in order to make new members of staff feel welcome and to introduce them to the business and their role. Spending time on the induction of new employees will save time and problems later.

When a successful induction programme has been established, it is a good idea to get it down in writing for use with future employees.

You should assess the training needs of the employee and decide early on what training will be required so that the new person can carry out their role effectively.

Training can be informal for example, meetings, formal on-the-job training or external training paid for by the business.

Organise PAYE and National Insurance by contacting your local tax office (Inland Revenue) to arrange Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and National Insurance (NI) for your new employee.

As the employer, you are responsible for deducting income tax and NI contributions from your employee's salary and for paying these deductions to the Inland Revenue regularly.

The Inland Revenue will send you all the information and forms you require and also give advice if you need it.

Ask any new employees to bring their NI number and P45 on the first day. Bank details will also be required if salaries are to be credited directly to a bank account.

Do you need insurance when employing staff?

Employers must be covered by employers' liability insurance which can be obtained through an insurance broker.

By law, employers must have a £5 million minimum cover, most policies insure for £10 million.

Do you need a written health and safety policy?

If your business has fewer than five employees, you do not need to prepare a written health and safety policy.

However, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 led to a number of regulations that affect the health and safety of your staff and you need to comply with these.

The following includes some of the more important issues:

Assessing risks in the workplace.

Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers must undertake an assessment of risk to the health and safety of employees and others who may be affected by the business.

First aid requirements at work, as outlined in the The Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981.

Taking steps to ensure that hazardous substances do not present a danger at work.

Reporting accidents in the workplace, in accordance with the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995.

Ensuring that visual display units like computer screens are not causing eye strain or any other negative impacts.

Making sure that your employees have any protective equipment that they need, in accordance with regulations.

How do you manage staff?

This is a demanding aspect of running a business and should be approached with some basic planning and documentation:

Draw up a personnel policy document to give employees clear and easy access to information about your and their responsibilities in the workplace.

Appraisals are an important way of keeping in touch with employees and giving them feedback on their performance.

Make a point of scheduling appraisals in advance so that they happen as a matter of course, rather than just in response to problems.

Try to get some form of management skills training, this should ensure that you have a few basic pointers to build on.

There are no hard and fast rules, but time management and making people accountable are among the important skills to develop.