Company Policies Needed

[ipsg.glf]

I'm involved with a local communtiy venture which is shortly going to go Limited Company (then Charitable Status) and will be employing people.

I need the whoel kaboodle when it coms to Health and Safety Policies, Environment Policies, Child Protection Policies, Employment Contracts, etc..

I believe it is possible to buy these off the shelf and then simply add Company details. Anyone been there, done that?

[Eric Mc]

You mean that they aren't your REAL policies, just policies that put you in a good light with those who might provide you with funding?

[ipsg.glf]

Eric

No. (It's a long story but what started out as a small community venture has mushroomed like no-one expected so I now need to make sure that we have all of the appropriate policies in place.

We are self-sufficient so don't need external funding. I just need to ensure that we have relevant policies that the board can review and adopt.

[Eric Mc]

The trouble with "Standard" anything is that they may not apply to your company's situation.

What I would do is make a list of the things YOU would like to see regarding such policies. To do that you would need to create a list of the reas where you think the company NEEDS a policy.

[Leftie]

Eric Mc said:

The trouble with "Standard" anything is that they may not apply to your company's situation.

What I would do is make a list of the things YOU would like to see regarding such policies. To do that you would need to create a list of the reas where you think the company NEEDS a policy.

I don't think need comes into it Eric. With govt. tender snd grants, they insist in it, whether or not it is entirely relevant to the contractor the contractor.

We are a 2 man band working from a home office and carrying out a desk based service yet they insist on seeing our EO (0-10 pages), security and disater recovery policies (89 pages), as well as H&S policies (24 pages), along with our QA policy (8 pages), environmental policy (5 pages), and now our sub-contract policy (2 pages). We would spend our lives writing irrelavant policies if Word didn't have a find and replace facility. You do still need to read them and delete irrelevant stuff (like which sub committees report to which board level committees).

[Eric Mc]

One of your company policies could be that you don't waste time trying to comply with nonsensical government policies

[ipsg.glf]

Eric Mc said:

The trouble with "Standard" anything is that they may not apply to your company's situation.

What I would do is make a list of the things YOU would like to see regarding such policies. To do that you would need to create a list of the reas where you think the company NEEDS a policy.

Eric

I was hoping to be able to buy all of these things "off the shelf" by providing some detals about what type of company we are, our ethos, what we do, etc..

[Eric Mc]

I wouldn't know where to start on such a requirement, but, judging from what Leftie has said, it is probably a growth industry, There must be some businesses out there supplying such information.

Talk about "Work Creation"?

[timja]

ipsg.glf said:

I'm involved with a local communtiy venture which is shortly going to go Limited Company (then Charitable Status) and will be employing people.

I need the whoel kaboodle when it coms to Health and Safety Policies, Environment Policies, Child Protection Policies, Employment Contracts, etc..

I believe it is possible to buy these off the shelf and then simply add Company details. Anyone been there, done that?

Hi,

I use a company called Peninsula for Employment advice and they developed contracts and all HR documents needed with us. They send regular updates as legislation changes to make sure you stay legal and have 24hr advice line if you have any issues. www.peninsula-uk.com - If you decide to go with them, please PM me for my details as they will send me a free gift for recomendation! (would recommend them regardless of free gift though!) They have sent through lots of example letters for numerous situations that we have been able to adapt for our needs.

When you start, you get forms covering any usual employment areas to really set you up on their system. If you get ANY employment issues, give them a call, take their advice then if e.g. an employment tribunal for wrongful dismissal occurs - as long as you have taken their advice - you are covered for up to £2million (or £1mil?)

They also offer a Health and safety advice service, although we have not started using them for it yet.

Environmental Policy advice: www.envirowise.gov.uk/page.aspx?o=Ref012

You will find that most people look for similar businesses and copy bits from all over the place to fit their particular company! - Similar for child protection policys, read other peoples ones then adapt to suit your business.


Hope this helps,

Tim.

[timja]

Oh, and don't forget the smoking legislation taking effect 1st July! - Just been looking into that today!

All info you may need is here, and can order no smoking signs/posters etc: www.smokefreeengland.co.uk/

[ipsg.glf]

Tim

Thanks for that. The trigger for this was an insurance reminder for premises. I'll post exactly what they would like to see when I'm back in the office (Friday).

In the meantime, I'll have a nosey round that website and will PM you accordingly.

Many thanks

[insurance_jon]

www.businessbuilder.co.uk

[ipsg.glf]

insurance_jon said:

www.businessbuilder.co.uk

Jon

Thanks for that but it appears to be a holding page only.

[tigger1]

Rather than buying "ready-made" ones that you need to modify, why not just go somewhere like an NHS trust webpage and download them all from there, and then modify them as necessary?

[BliarOut]

www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?topicId=1073858805

Has an online guide you can complete telling you all the legislation/licences you need etc.

If you're a member of the FSB you can also download just about everything you'll need from there.