10 Tips to be a HR Compliant Employer

10 Tips to be a HR Compliant Employer

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Employers should be compliant to their responsibilities fulfilling their specific industry’s regulations as well as employment regulations.

CA Compliance sets out the following 10 Tips to be a HR Compliant Employer:

  1. Contracts of employment: ensure contracts of employment have clear terms and conditions, e.g. make sure your employees are given and fulfil their job descriptions, have signed acceptance of confidentiality and non-disclosure clauses, there is a provision for changes to terms and conditions, etc.
  2. HR policies: ensure up-to-date documents reflect your company’s policies, procedures and practices on which employment practices are covered from initial employment through to termination of employment, e.g., bullying, grievances, disciplinary (the latter must legally be issued to employees within 28 days of commencing employment).
  3. Working time and record-keeping obligations – it is legally mandatory for employers to record the hours their employees work, and equally to ensure that any other external work falls within the aggregate working time legal requirements.
  4. Wages – compliance to the minimum wage payment (€9.15 per hour) is required ensuring employees are in receipt of regular pay slips and are provided with access to a Personal Retirement Savings Account for pension provision.
  5. Leaves from work – ensure staff benefit from their entitled leaves away from their workplace such as annual leave, illness and injury leave (sick leave), maternity leave, parental leave, paternity leave from September 2016, force majeure (emergency) leave, carer’s leave, etc.
  6. Data protection – retention of staff files (their records and data) is mandatory and employees must be given access to the documentation on their personnel records upon request.
  7. Health and safety – risk assessments should be completed on all work activities, and the safety statement must be updated and signed annually.
  8. Employment equality – ensure that the 9 grounds of discrimination are adhered to from recruitment through to termination of employment with equal treatment of persons.
  9. Contract, temporary and part-time employees – part-time staff and contractors should not be treated less favourably to that of a permanent or similar comparator employee.
  10. Termination of employment – retirement, references, short-time working, lay-offs, redundancy, garden leave all need to be treated with care to avoid legislative claims.

Workplace Relations Commission
The Workplace Relations Commission (www.workplacerelations.ie) provides information on rights and obligations under employment, equality, equal status and industrial relations legislation setting out the resolution and redress options available where disputes or potential contraventions arise. The Rights Commissioner Service, the Employment Appeals Tribunal, the Equality Tribunal and the Labour Relations Commission have been superseded by the Workplace Relations Commission. The Workplace Relations Commission hears employee complaints under all employment legislation in the first instance with the exception of the Industrial Relations Act. The Labour Court hears appeals of Adjudication Officers’ decisions of the Workplace Relations Commission in all disputes arising under employment rights and industrial relations enactments.

© CA Compliance Limited 2015