What policies should a company have in the UK?
If you are getting your business started in the UK, you may need some guidance on the policies that are required, so let’s start with our quick guide on the company policies required in the UK.
When you create a company policy, you efficiently communicate the rules, expectations, and plans of an organisation to staff, customers and other interested parties. By providing clarity and the context of why processes are important to your company, customers and wider community, you will create a more productive and positive workplace.
A company’s culture and the expected standards of behaviour aren’t immediately clear to everyone which can lead to problems in the workplace.
The behaviour of existing staff, especially senior management is often the most compelling way to demonstrate what is expected but company policies are also a useful tool for removing any ambiguity as they provide clear direction on how staff are expected to behave.
Poorly worded company policies can lead to misunderstanding, confusion and conflict. Adoptech has made it easy to create a clearly worded policy; you are provided with guidance on best practices as you create your company policies, but if you aren’t sure, you can always chat with one of the team.
Who is interested in your policies?
Company policies are not just of interest to your staff. External stakeholders such as prospective customers, customers and investors, will all be interested in viewing your company policies since they provide a clear guide on the governance and culture of your company.
Adoptech has made sharing policies easy; at the click of a button, you can share a link to an individual or multiple company policies, avoiding time wasted with emailing stakeholders each time a policy is updated. Take a look at our library with over 70 policies here.
Do I really need all these company policies?
The number and type of policies required depends entirely upon your industry, geographical location, workplace culture and size of your company. The country or countries within which you operate are likely to require some policies to be in place, for example in the UK at a minimum you are likely to require:
- Health and Safety Policy
- Grievance Policy
- Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy
- Maternity/Paternity Policy
- Data Protection Policy
- Website Privacy Policy
If you sell software in regulated sectors such as financial services you are very likely to need a large number of clearly documented policies in place and be in a position to evidence that those policies are being upheld in order to successfully sell services in the sector.
Company policies may also be needed for the legal protection of your company, if this is the case we always advise that you take legal advice when creating your policies to ensure they provide the specific protection you require.
Be proactive rather than reactive
We often see examples of companies implementing policies after an event, for example, after a staff dispute has commenced, a policy is rushed out to outline expected behaviour or, after an information security incident has occured, a password policy is introduced.
How to write a company policy?
When drafting a policy, always keep in mind that the objective is to clearly communicate and inform the reader about your company. Ensure that it’s as unique as your company. Every company is different and your company policies should reflect that.
Keep it short
Short and simple is the most effective way to communicate. This will make the contents more memorable and help prevent your staff from feeling patronised. Traditional all-encompassing information security policies and staff handbooks are a challenge to read and rarely remembered.
Avoid ambiguity
Simple, clear and plain language should be used to make it clear what guidelines are coming into effect.
Use persuasive language
It is more common now to use positive, persuasive language for SaaS company policies, such as ”should”, rather than dictative terms such as “must”, this is because you are more likely to receive a positive response from your staff.
Collaborate
Every company policy should be drafted in conjunction with the senior management team and approved by them to ensure it reflects their view before being finalised. Policies are typically approved by the Board of Directors in SaaS companies.
Adoptech’s built-in approval flow makes this often iterative and cumbersome process seamless.
Maintain a clean design
- Limit the use of colour on your document headers or logos to maintain a professional appearance.
- Writing should always be in black or dark gray against a white background so that it can be easily read.
- Try to use white space and separate the policy into easily understandable clauses.
- Use a formal font to help convey that the policy should be taken seriously.
Communicate the policies
Once a policy has been created, it then needs to be communicated to staff and you need to ensure they have read and understood it. The Adoptech platform enables policies to be shared with staff using a deadline for them to read and attest in a seamless process. An audit trail of their attestation is maintained in the platform enabling you to evidence good governance.
Queries and Follow Ups
Setting up all these policies and ensuring they reflect the specific needs of your company can be time-consuming and overwhelming when you are focused on growing your business. Adoptech has made it easy, chat with a member of the team for more information or just visit our policy generator to find out about our library with over 70 company policies.
