Setting up business in the UK – Key considerations regarding staff

When it comes to setting up business in the UK one of the key things you need to think about is who is going to operate that business for you. Your staff are crucial to the successful operation of your business and it’s important to ensure they are properly recruited and engaged and that you have the correct framework and procedures in place to manage your relationship going forward.

So what are the key things to consider at an early stage?

1. How do you want to engage your staff? – In the UK there are broadly three types of employment status: employees, workers or self-employed. There are different rights attached to each status with employees having the most protection and the self-employed having the least. It is important to establish what is right for your business and then to engage individuals on the relevant status correctly. There have been lots of cases recently where employers have labelled the relationship as self-employed and the courts have found that it is in fact a worker status relationship meaning the individuals had more rights than has been granted to them.
2. Paperwork – Once you know how you will be engaging your staff; you need to ensure you have the correct paperwork in place to engage them. Do you need a contract of employment or a consultancy agreement? What needs to go in the document? Particular attention needs to be paid to employees who must be given a written statement of terms, setting out particular information, within two months of employment starting.
3. Policies – As well as documentation to formally engage the individuals, you are also going to need certain policies which will set out how the relationship will be managed. For example, you need a disciplinary and grievance policy which will set out how issues of misconduct will be handled by the company and how an individual can seek redress for any concerns they have with their employment.
4. Collecting data – It is an inevitable consequence of employing staff that you will need to collect their personal information such as name, address, employment history etc. In May 2018, strict new laws were introduced which set out an employer’s obligation with regards to the personal data they collect. Breaches of these laws can result in substantial fines and so a business will need to ensure it has the basic requirements in place to ensure compliance.

These are just some of the considerations you will need to think about in setting up your employment framework.

How can Clarkslegal LLP help?

At Clarkslegal we have extensive experience in advising on the employment relationship from start to finish including with regards to any disputes that may arise. We can advise you on the relevant issues as well as draft any necessary paperwork.

We are also able to supply you with an HR professional on a flexible basis, through our human resource consultancy, Forbury People Limited (www.forburypeople.com) who can assist you in all things staff related including helping you to recruit and train your staff.