If you’re setting up a business for the first time, then there’s so much to think about, from marketing and branding to your USPs, website launches, and everything else. Then there are your employees.

Businesses can grow fast if you get it right, and looking after your employees and having the best policies and processes in place is not only a must but often a legal requirement too.

But what policies should you have in place to protect both yourself and your employees?

Code of Conduct

Firstly, you’re going to need a code of conduct. It’s the basis of many policies and is your essential document for the basic standards that your company expects of its employees and operation as a whole. It will include brand values, as well as more complex matters such as corruption and conflicts of interests, as well as what happens should any employees break the rules noted within the code of conduct.

Health and Safety

Naturally, you don’t want anyone to get injured in your workplace, no matter what type of business you have. All companies should have a health and safety policy and it will include all responsibilities to ensure that everybody remains safe in the workplace.

It should include any risks and the procedures in place to ensure those are met effectively, as well as what should happen in the event of an emergency.

Drug & Alcohol Policy

This could fit within the code of conduct or you may wish to create an entirely separate policy on drugs and alcohol in the workplace. Addiction is on the rise and more and more people have turned to drugs and alcohol as a coping mechanism for the stresses of day-to-day in the current climate. Which naturally isn’t good for business.

There are many different approaches people take with drugs and alcohol in the workplace. Ultimately, it can be a sackable offense to be under the influence at work. However, more and more businesses are adding support to their policies, including potentially visiting a private drug rehab centre and helping an employee get the treatment they need.

Think about whether you want to support employees going through difficult periods, and whether your business can be conducive to that.

Equality Policy

Equality policies are vitally important in protecting people from discrimination and harrassment in the workplace. It can help your business champion diversity and ultimately it’s a process and policy that is in place to ensure there’s no discrimination against people based on their race, gender, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, or disability.

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