Managing employees effectively, mitigating and defending claims and growing your business to new heights can be a difficult balance.
So, as employers, it’s important to have a good understanding of the employee lifecycle, how it works and what to watch out for.
In this article, Michelle Kemp, experienced Employment Partner at Frettens, summarises key points that you need to know about the employee journey.
What is the employee lifecycle?
The employee lifecycle describes a person’s employment at a company from recruitment to exit and even post-termination.
At each stage of the lifecycle, there are key considerations that you as an employer need to know, to both retain an engaged workforce and comply with your legal responsibilities.
What are the stages of the employee journey?
The key stages of the employee lifecycle can be broken down into the following:
Recruitment
Recruitment is the first opportunity to create a positive impression of your company and lay the foundation for a successful employment relationship.
Throughout recruitment, whether it be in advertisement, application and CV handling, shortlisting or pre-employment checks, it’s important that your processes are fair, transparent and free from discrimination.
My colleague Chris Dobbs has written a dedicated article detailing what you need to consider at the recruitment stage. You can read it here.
Onboarding
During onboarding, it’s important that the new hire is integrated smoothly, and that your current workforce isn’t disrupted.
Make sure to clearly define what is expected of your new employee, provide training and share any relevant information.
It is crucial to have a clear set of policies to inform the new hire of your processes and procedures, and to define what is expected of them as your employee.
It goes without saying that it is essential to have an up to date and robust employment contract signed by the new hire on day 1 of their employment.
Related: How to write strong employment contracts
Management
Through performance management, employers can ensure that their employees are effectively carrying out their role. Once an employee is hired and onboarded, this becomes a key consideration.
Legally, employers need to maintain consistency and transparency when managing conduct or performance, and act ‘reasonably’ when addressing concerns or providing constructive criticism.
Find out more about the legal responsibilities included in performance management here.
Learning & Development
Learning & Development (L&D) involves bringing in HR strategies that help an employee improve productivity, progress their careers and upskill. This will not only help your business and its growth but play a role in employee retention.
Under the Equality Act 2010, L&D should be readily accessible to all employees in an equal and unbiased way.
At Frettens, we now have a specialist HR Services department, headed up by highly-qualified Nathan Andrews. Find out more about our HR case management, training, mediation and investigation services here.
Retention
Retention is a business’ ability to retain its staff members. It’s a key consideration throughout the employee lifecycle, even from the recruitment stage.
Staff satisfaction, pay, benefits and opportunities are all factors that play a part in retention, with many of them also forming a part of legal compliance.
Exit
When a staff member leaves a business, whether through resignation, redundancy or dismissal, there’s a lot to bear in mind.
Employers must ensure that they following the correct processes and procedures to avoid claims arising, especially in dismissals resulting from misconduct or underperformance.
Read more about the redundancy process here, and the dismissal process here.
Post-Termination
Even after an employee has left your organisation, issues can crop up. In your contracts, there may be specific post-termination obligations or restrictions that a former-employee must abide by.
If, for example, an ex-employee takes company property or client information with them to their new employer, you may be entitled to seek damages or apply for an injunction.
Related: What post-termination issues do employers need to consider?
What are the legal responsibilities of employers?
At each stage of the lifecycle, from a legal compliance perspective, employers must comply with various duties including that they should…
- Act reasonably throughout the course of employment
- Maintain a safe working environment
- Provide transparency during any processes (such as performance management, addressing conduct issues, recruitment, redundancy or dismissal for any of the potential fair reasons)
- Not breach the terms of employment
- Make sure comprehensive support measures are in place
- Treat all employees fairly and without bias or prejudice
- Providing clear reasoning in all decision making
- Ensure equal pay
- Make reasonable adjustments where needed
How to stop claims arising in employment
To mitigate the risk of claims during the course of employment, employers should aim to prevent any disputes from arising in the first place by complying with their legal responsibilities, including those listed above.
However, there is no way to guarantee that claims won’t be brought. If and when such claims do occur, instructing an employment solicitor can be crucial in seeking to successfully defend the claim, reduce or prevent payouts and decrease the risk of future disputes.
The Employer’s Handbook
Our specialist Employment Team have put together a comprehensive handbook to guide you through the employee lifecycle, from recruitment to termination and exit.
The guide acts as a top-level summary of the key points that you need to know, and is a fantastic reference to dip in and out of whenever you need to.
Below we have provided a preview of the Employee Lifecycle guide, to give you a taster of what’s included. You can download the full handbook for free here.
Specialist Employment & HR Solicitors
At Frettens, our Employment & HR Team has a combined 60 years’ experience in helping clients. We can assist you in all stages of employment, whether you’re looking for early, preventative advice, ongoing support or help at tribunal.
You can call us on 01202 499255, or fill out the form at the top of this page, for a free initial chat.
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