29 January 2025
As an outsourced HR company, part of the work we do with clients and even our own team is making sure we have solid HR policies in place.
HR policies aren’t there just to fulfil legal obligations, and a lot of them aren’t one-and-done documents. They’re a framework for fair and consistent treatment of your team members. We’ve seen many times how a conscientious employer or business owner has worked to have policies and processes in place that don’t just tick a box when it comes to compliance. Well-crafted policies are ones that also promote their employees’ well-being and support their rights in the workplace.
We’re not just saying this because this is our line of work—we read about so many cases in the news about businesses being held liable for not complying with employment law. The thing about employment law in Australia is that it’s very complex because there’s changes and updates to it, which makes it a little tricky to navigate, especially when you’re not familiar with its ins and outs! It’s always a good idea to revisit and familiarise yourself with your organisation’s HR policies after a break—which is why the start of a calendar year is the best way to do it.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed at the thought of reviewing all your policies, that’s okay! We’ve outlined some steps to guide you in doing this.
This might seem like a daunting step if you don’t have a list ready, or if you don’t have an HR department that could have this on hand. What we suggest is looking at your employee handbook and employment contracts to see which policies are in place.
The employee handbook should have a comprehensive list of your organisation’s policies. Standard inclusions to look for in an employee handbook are:
Having policies like these in place means your team gets transparency about your business’s protocols. See a policy here that your employee handbook doesn’t have? We can help you craft policies for your business—contact our team for information.
Another area to look at are your existing Position Descriptions (or PDs) and employment contracts. These aren’t directly related to the policies you have in place, but you’ll see why we want to take a look at them in the next step.
This step includes making sure your current policies are up to date with employment law updates and changes in legislation. Our Fact Sheets are a great resource for these updates.
Are your PDs and employment contracts also updated? It might have been a while since you last looked at them, and it’s crucial to ensure that they’re in line with award rates. Wage theft is a criminal offence under the Fair Work Act, and a corporate culture that is indifferent to wage and hour obligations can be deemed complicit in underpayment practices, even if these practices are unintentional. Employers are strongly encouraged to cultivate a workplace environment centred on compliance, accountability, and proactive measures. Reviewing current policies and documentation, as well as updating them based on what the law says, is a proactive measure done by conscientious employers.
Updating your HR policies and documentation like position descriptions and employment contracts can be a time-consuming task. If you don’t have the resources to do this, we suggest getting in touch with us—we’re third-party HR consultants who are familiar with employment law and can review your documentation and make suggestions on changes you can make.
If you’ve made any changes to your policies and documentation, the next most important thing on the list should be communicating these changes with the rest of the company. Make sure to communicate changes with not just the management, but also all the team members who might be affected by the changes. If there are changes to the handbook, make sure to resend the handbook, highlighting the policies that have been updated.
You can also consider training sessions to help your people understand new policies. These don’t have to be hour-long, intensive sessions—just prepare a list of the changes and have them on hand when you conduct the session.
Think outside of the box when presenting the changes as well! While informative, presentations and slideshows might not capture the attention of people, and they might not be interested in these important updates. How about making it a team-building activity by doing the update meeting on a team lunch, where you can also field questions that your people might have? This approach is an effective way of engaging people, and ensures the time spent has been productive.
With the constantly changing landscape of employment law in Australia, it’s important to always be on top of them. This also involves reviewing and updating company policies to reflect changes.
HR policy audits and the work that goes into revising and updating them are never easy tasks, but they’re ones that our team are experienced in. Contact us today to see how we can help you achieve compliance through reviewing and updating your HR policies!
