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HR Policies and Procedures in UK, Emerging Issues, and Future Implications

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Are you a CIPD student in the United Kingdom? then you are required to keep abreast with emerging issues and future implications of HR policies and procedures in UK. As a people professional you are required to familiarize with developments in people profession due to technological advancements such as artificial intelligence and its impact in workplace and world of work, sustainability issues among others. This blog post will be invaluable to both students and practitioners. It will be a useful resource and reading material for students looking for CIPD assignment answers for level 5 & 7.

Let’s discuss the evolution of HR policies and procedures in UK, emerging issues, and future implications on workplaces. We’ll start with 5 key categories of Britain’s HR policies and procedures. While at it, I shall evaluate the legal framework and legislative backings of common HR policy.

Next, I’ll analyze how emerging trends – such as the gig economy and digital technology tools –  affect modern business regulations.

Thirdly, I’m going to project the future of HR policies in the UK and the consequent implications on the labor market. I’d not leave without telling you of best HR practices for developing and implementing workplace policies in the UK. The curtain finally falls with challenges faced by UK businesses in keeping pace with a flux employment law.

HR Policies and Procedures in UK

Under UK employment law, organizational policies and business procedures that guide workplace compliance takes a front-row seat. The evolution dates back to 1913, when the oldest professional HR body in England took shape.

At inception, it was the Welfare Workers’ Association but in a decade, it became the Institute of Industrial Welfare Workers. Within the first two decades, however, it changed names into the Institute of Labour Management. Today, we fondly call it the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development; CIPD.

HR Policies Align Organizational Strategies to UK Employment Law

The UK legal framework provides transparent and necessary fortifications that legitimize an employer’s HR procedures and policies. Legislative frameworks not only forms the spine of business HR strategies, but also serves the key functions below:

The Vital Role of HR Policies and Procedures in the UK

Role #1. When developed correctly, nothing boosts corporate culture better than policies and procedures. HR can transform noble ideas into action by backing core business philosophies with fair workplace processes, thereby building institutional trust.

Role #2. Any-size business can keep up with trending changes in UK employment law and HR legislation. Policies and procedures help management to project future HR processes through carefully analyzing current workplace developments.

A Very Important Tip!

Even when it’s not a legal requirement, a HR policy maps out an important, clear, and consistent source of guidance / instruction for employees. A single source of “company truth” is easy for staff to understand or adhere to.

Role #3. HR policies and procedures also ensure businesses adequately prepare for crises. Further, business strategies support management to stay abreast with competitors while boosting employer brand.

6 Easy Steps to Create Comprehensive Business Policies and Workplace Procedures

Use these six easy steps to create comprehensive business policies and workplace procedures, even if you’re a beginner people professional!

Step 1: Give the policy or procedure a name, for example “Reward Policy”.

Step 2: Clearly state the policy terms, including definition of terms and any acronyms used.

Step 3: Explain the general and specific purposes of the policy. What does the policy want to accomplish?

Step 4: Establish strict timelines to implement the policy.

Step 5: Identify the employee(s) affected by the policy.

Step 6: Specify a contact person. In an ideal situation, it’s the person who created the policy!

5 Key Categories of HR Policies and Procedures for Organisations in the UK

Describing high-level guidance or daily working responsibilities, a HR policy is a written operational guideline describing employee and management expectations. Depending on the scope and topic, you may wish to retain the company secretary’s legal counsel. They’ll ensure the policy is within UK legislation’s scope.

HR procedures, on the other hand, are step-by-step details on how to execute workplace policies. They are individual to an organization, and every experienced people professional can formulate practical company procedures.

Top 5 Essential HR Policies for any UK Employer

Every business in the UK, whether a start-up or an established company, needs five HR policies namely:

➢     Employee Life Cycle Policies

HR should formulate policies that especially conform to the following phases of an employee’s life cycle:

#1: Direct talent attraction or a staff referral policy.

#2: Recruitment and onboarding policies, such as the employment classification or the employee relations policies.

#3: Worker retention and employee reward policies.

#4: An explicit leave policy covering family leave, shared parental leave, maternity, paternity, and bereavement leave policies.

#5: Learning and employee development policies, for example a performance policy.

#6: Separation, disciplinary, grievances, and dismissal policies.

➢     Workplace Occupational Health & Safety Policy

In the UK, it’s a legal requirement for workplaces to strictly conform to health and safety standards. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act of 1974 fully applies, including all amendments thereof. Workplace safety regulations and state-mandated health requirements serve to prevent or reduce employee injuries.

➢     Compensation and Employee Benefits Policies 

There are two main forms of pension schemes in the UK; defined terminal benefit schemes and retirement planning contributions. HR should liaise with financial advisors while making policies to capture state-sanctioned pension and optional Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) programs.

➢     Equal Opportunities and Anti-discrimination Policies

According to The Employment Act (2010), employees, contingent workers, and job applicants should receive equal treatment regardless of:

  • Disability
  • Race
  • Age
  • Gender, sexual orientation, or gender reassignment
  • Marriage, civil partnership, pregnancy, and maternity
  • Religious beliefs, or

Check out more info here: DEI and Anti-discrimination Legislation in the UK.

➢     Data Protection and Employee Privacy Policies

Under the GDPR (UK) Compliance standards, HR policies must provide an employee with full personal data protection throughout their tenure by law. It is the obligation of employers to guard sensitive worker information against cyber attacks or data phishing.

Emerging Issues in UK’s Workplace Policies and Procedures 

It’s important for organizations to continuously adapt to emerging issues in UK workplaces through reviewing policies and procedures. This flexibility allows people professionals to adjust their organization’s recruitment strategies or to roll out new technologies that address emerging labor market trends.

Modern HR policies and workplace procedures in the UK continuously draw from emerging issues such as:

❖     The Gig Economy and Flexible Working Arrangements

The insurgence of working remotely, hybrid model of work, and the gig economy pushed rapid changes in UK workplace policies. To better manage this flexibility, HR procedures and policies must adapt to the improved worker autonomy and yield better work-life balance. Remote working and the gig economy in the UK comes with legal implications, such as the health and safety of employees.

Yet Another Tip…

There are 5 types of flexible working arrangements in the UK today: The four-day workweek, Hybrid workplaces, Full Remote working, Flextime, and the Results-only (gig / zero-hour contract) model.

Today, people professionals in the UK must advance institutional policy recommendations for managing non-traditional workers. The state approves workplace policies and procedures after considering factors such as:

  • Any taxation applicable to freelance workers’ pay.
  • Immigration concerns (especially for hybrid workers).
  • Employee benefits, remuneration, insurance cover, payroll management, and reward systems.

Also Read: How Managers Support Employees’ Work-Life Balance

❖     Digital Transformation in HR

UK’s HR professionals cannot ignore the impacts of AI in talent acquisition and automation of HR policy development. But this comes at a cost: digital transformation in HR is laden with data security challenges and scores negatively in ethical policy considerations.

Modern HR policies and procedures in the UK carry the predictive insights of analytical, data-driven decision making.

The Future of Work and HR Policy Trends in UK

Predictive workforce planning technologies will help talent managers in the UK will abet the analysis of current HR status and identify future needs. The following two characteristics will inform future HR policies and procedures in the UK:

i) Hyperautomation technologies will streamline employee onboarding. Organizations will increase the use of AI and other advanced suite tools like Robotic Process Automation (RPA),Business Process Management (BPM), or Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Consequently, companies will cut down on the labor-intensive onboarding processes.

Hyperautomation will also readily affect organizational culture through the introduction of massive changes in employment law and statutory regulations.

ii) In the future, the UK labor landscape will see developments such as:

  • Benefits, pay, and taxation / insurance policies will witness tectonic shifts.
  • Repeals and significant amendments of trade union laws, more so introduction of a right to “switch off”.

Best HR Practices for Developing and Implementing HR Policies in the UK

The best framework for effective HR policy and procedure development in the UK uses the following steps:

  1. Analyze your organizational HR policy status using digital technologies.
  • Identify short, medium, and long term future HR needs using predictive softwares and digital HRM tools.
  • Update existing HR procedure objectives and policy goals to align with modern labor market trends.
  • Analyze competitors, and note their efforts in meeting HR demand and supply trends.
  • Using the above insights and evidence of the studies, develop composite HR action plans.
  • Implement the strategies in (e) above.
  • Constantly evaluate and routinely review HR policies and procedures to maintain relevance. Carry out HR audits and spontaneous compliance checks using the most convenient Workplace Diversity Metrics tools.

See Also: Methods for monitoring and evaluating HR policy effectiveness.

Caution!

Always involve stakeholders and keep legal counsel when developing and implementing HR procedures and policies in the UK!

Challenges Faced by UK Companies in Keeping Pace with Flux Employment Law

Even experienced HR professionals in the UK face the following challenges in keeping pace with fluid employment law:

  • New HR policies and procedures spark resistance.
  • Organizations face a shortage of resources to implement rapidly-morphing strategies.
  • There are major impacts of political interference in the UK’s HR issues.
  • Communication breakdowns; where employees don’t know the content of amended HR policies and procedures.
  • Poor HR policy SWOT analysis, leaving open fields for Threats to outshadow the strengths and opportunities of policies and procedures.
  • Sometimes, employee competencies and organizational structure hinder effective formulation and implementation of HR policies and procedures in the UK. Also, employee bias, power relations between staff and HRM, managerial experience / expertise, and supporting philosophies are the problem.