GLOUCESTERSHIRE'S 100 BIGGEST EMPLOYERS
As your company grows, so too does the risk to it, if you are not completely up-to-date with your HR and legal needs. Leaving things to chance, or expecting what you have always done to suit the needs of an expanding business is dangerous. Alex Lyttle, a partner at Tayntons Solicitors, warns that failing to prepare for all eventualities, will mean your business will prepare to fail. When you start out, there are some basics you need to grasp, but as your company grows, sometimes rapidly, these basics are often left behind. It is important to know that there are consequences if this is the case and what you should do to stop it from happening. Starting out: From the start, it is crucial to set the right tone and to get the foundations of your business right. If you have more than one director, you should have well drafted Memorandum and Articles of Association that reflect the needs of your business. This means that if there is a disagreement between the directors there is a mechanism to deal with it. When employing staff, you should have a well drafted employment contract setting out all of the terms and conditions relating to their employment. Depending on the size of your business, it might be necessary to have a a company handbook in addition to an employment contract, that details matters such as the grievance and disciplinary procedures, or how and when to request holiday. Growing pains
What to do when your company grows: Once the policies and procedures are in place, it is easy to think that you do not need to do anything else. Unfortunately this is not the case.
Both circumstances and the law frequently change. You should make sure that any employment contract and company handbook are updated to reflect this. When a dispute occurs, you need to be sure that you have up-to-date policies and procedures in place. Alex Lyttle,Associate Partner at Tayntons
AtTayntons we have first-hand experience of companies who thought they had everything in place to deal
with any dispute, only to discover this was not the case. On many occasions, the difficulties were as a result of a failure to keep up-to-date with employment law.
The consequences: Not having the time to change policies and procedures or simply thinking all will be fine, only to
be later proved wrong, will not help you in an employment tribunal. If you don’t evolve your policies and procedures as your company grows, you can be left exposed. Usually it’s not something that is deliberate on the company’s part, but that will not help you at employment tribunal. It’s a case of if you fail to prepare, then prepare
to fail.
46 | May 2019 | www. punchline-gloucester .com
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