Once upon a time, a business owner had a great idea to start employing people to help relieve some of the workload pressure on him, and to make more money by increasing capacity and winning some new business.

He dusted off the contract of employment that was given to him in his last job 4 years ago and copied the bits that he thought were relevant to the new employee. But he had a nagging doubt that things were not quite ‘legit’.

Yet again, he lay awake at night wondering “how do I know that I’ve done everything that I should have done?”, “what if I get sued?”, “am I paying them properly?” “have I provided a safe place to work?”, “is my business protected?”.

A passing fairy heard his woes and said “Don’t worry, sometimes we just don’t know what we don’t know, but I know what it takes to be a savvy employer, and these are my top 5 recommendations:

1. If you haven’t done so already, you must set yourself up legally as an employer with HMRC;
2. It’s vital that you gain an understanding of the framework of the employment relationship and your responsibilities as an employer;
3. Clarifying your work-related expectations at the outset can save you a lot of wasted time and chances because your staff “didn’t know”;
4. A robust contract of employment that fits your business and the role that you are issuing it for is essential; and
5. Introducing a system for administering day to day HR, whether that is templates, spreadsheets and notes or software, will make people management so much easier if you end up in a dispute or process with an employee.

“Thanks for the advice, but where do I start?” the new employer asked. The fairy smiled kindly and told him that the lawyers and HR specialists at Guardian had created something called The People Pack that could help him.

“It includes their Employee Number One Masterclass and Workbook which reveals how to set yourself up for success; a Guide to Contracts and a master Contract of Employment template drafted by lawyers with their notes included to help you prepare a bespoke Contract for your business; a starter pack of essential HR forms, letters, policies and procedures; a trial of Breathe HR software and a 2023 People Manager’s Diary to record all of your key interactions with staff.” she said.

He breathed a sigh of relief and asked the fairy where to find The People Pack.

“On their website, guardian.online/the-people-pack” said the fairy who then disappeared in a cloud of glitter!

The new employer made a note of the web address, vowing to buy The People Pack in the morning, lay his head back on his pillow and slept better than he had in months.

THE END