As we know, there are over 50 pieces of employment legislation protecting employee rights in the workplace and the onus is on the employer to abide by the obligations set out in this legislation. With the many legislative updates that we have seen in last number of years, it is important to ensure that employers and managers are up to date with these obligations. 

An effective way to ascertain if there are any issues with legal compliance is to have a HR Audit undertaken. The following are examples of legal obligations which can be assessed through a comprehensive audit:

Contracts of Employment

• Are your staff contracts up to date covering all relevant legislation?
• Are the contracts given to new employees within the set timeframe?

Dismissal policy and procedures

• Do you have a comprehensive policy that has been reviewed in line with best practice and recent case law?
• Do you have an acceptance process signed off by your employees?
• Is this policy given to new employees within the set timeframe?

Bullying, Harassment and Sexual Harassment

• Do you have a comprehensive policy that has been reviewed in line with best practice and recently introduced Codes of Practice?
• Do you have an acceptance process signed off by your employees?
• Is this policy given to new employees within the set timeframe?

All hours worked and breaks taken by employees must be recorded by employers

• How are you currently doing this?
• Are all work permits or immigration permission stamps in date?

A comprehensive HR Audit will not only cover the above areas of legal compliance but will also look at all areas of the employment journey to advise on how this can be improved.

• Recruitment and Selection: A comprehensive audit will review your current procedure of recruitment and selection and advise on best practice advertising, shortlisting, interviews, offers and rejections.

• Induction & Training: Induction is the first training an employee receives in the workplace and so it is advised that induction should be standardized across the board to ensure that all employees receive the same information from the outset. Induction and basic skills training assists employees to attain the required standard more quickly and reduces the learning cost of the new job. Employees who have undertaking a training programme provide better quality goods and services. Staff who have been properly inducted and trained tend to remain longer with the organisation and achieve greater job satisfaction. 

• Employee Handbooks: As well as the policies that are required by law, an auditor should review all other policies that may be in place or should be in place and assist in the drafting of these. 

• Probation Management: Probation is a key period in the employment journey. Regular probationary reviews should take place with all new employees during their probation period to ensure that they reach the company standards as quickly as possible. A HR Audit will identify any guidance required on supporting documentation for the probation process in your organisation. 

• Performance Management: Performance management allows for the Company to monitor past performance against agreed standards, to identify ongoing training needs, to improve future work performance, to identify employee potential, to give feedback to employees and as a formal record of the discussion of any poor performance issues.  Performance reviews should be conducted at least once a year. The performance of the organisation depends directly on the performance of the staff. Improved performance will not just happen, it needs to be planned and it involves allowing staff to understand the bigger picture and the role they play in it. 

• Employee Communication & Engagement: A comprehensive audit should review all communication and engagement tools in use and available to the Company and make recommendations on how this can be improved. 

• Employee Files and Data Protection: GDPR requirements outline that personal data is not retained for longer than is necessary.  You must be able to justify why we are retaining data and so going forward you must ensure that data retention is minimised.  In relation to employment documents, certain employment legislation prescribe a statutory minimum period to retain records. A review of HR files should be included in an audit. 

• Exit Management: A HR Audit will identify areas of risk in relation to retention of records after an employee leaves the Company and should also provide recommendations on resignation and exit interviews. Exit interviews are a great way of ascertaining feedback from employees and may show or highlight a problem in key areas.

It is important that all employers abide by their obligations set out in employment legislation to ensure not only legal compliance but employee well-being also. The HR Suite can conduct HR audits for employers to ensure legal compliance and will provide a detailed corrective action plan and relevant template documents tailored to specific business needs. 

If you are an organisation based in the Republic of Ireland and require further information or advice relating to HR, please do not hesitate to contact our office on (066)7102887.