Book a free 20-minute callCall

Free self-check

The HR compliance diagnostic: are you covered or exposed?

47 yes or no questions across the twelve areas every UK employer needs to get right. About ten minutes. No email needed, and your answers stay on your device.

  1. 01Contracts and employment status
  2. 02Pay
  3. 03Working time and holiday records
  4. 04Right to work
  5. 05Equality and harassment
  6. 06Family leave and flexible working
  7. 07Absence and health
  8. 08Disciplinary and grievance
  9. 09Probation and ending employment
  10. 10Zero and irregular hours
  11. 11Speaking up
  12. 12Records and data protection

01Contracts and employment status

Does every employee and worker get a written statement of their terms on or before their first day?
Does the statement cover everything the law requires, such as pay, hours, holiday, notice, probation and training, with sick pay, pensions and your disciplinary and grievance rules set out in it or in a document it points to?
Do contracts and offer letters still match the hours, pay and role people have now?
Is everyone correctly treated as an employee, a worker or genuinely self-employed?

02Pay

Is everyone paid at least the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage for their age?
Is holiday pay worked out correctly, including regular overtime and commission, and for staff on irregular hours?
Is Statutory Sick Pay paid from the first full day off sick, including for lower-paid staff?
Are eligible staff enrolled in a workplace pension, with the right contributions paid?
If customers tip, do all tips go to your workers, shared fairly under a written policy, with records kept?

03Working time and holiday records

Do staff get a 20-minute break when they work more than six hours, 11 hours' rest between working days and a weekly rest period?
If anyone works more than 48 hours a week on average, have they signed a voluntary written opt-out?
Do you keep records of each worker's holiday entitlement, holiday taken and holiday pay, and keep them for six years?

04Right to work

Do you check every new starter's right to work before they start, using the correct method for their situation?
Do you keep a record of each check for as long as the person works for you and for two years after?
Do you check everyone the same way, without assumptions based on name, accent or nationality?
If you use workers who are not employees, or individual subcontractors, do you know their right to work has been checked?

05Equality and harassment

Do you have a written equality policy that covers every protected characteristic?
Have you and your managers had recent training on discrimination, harassment and victimisation?
Have you taken written steps to prevent sexual harassment: a risk assessment, a policy, training and clear ways to report?
Have you thought about harassment of your staff by customers, clients or visitors, and what you would do about it?
Are your job adverts, interview questions and promotion decisions based only on what the job needs?

06Family leave and flexible working

Do your policies reflect that paternity leave and unpaid parental leave are day-one rights?
Do you have up-to-date policies for maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, carer's and parental bereavement leave?
Do you answer flexible working requests within two months, after talking to the employee, with a reason from the statutory list if you say no?
Are parents and carers treated fairly in pay, rotas and reviews after leave?

07Absence and health

Do you have a written sickness absence policy covering how to report absence, return to work, triggers and sick pay?
Do you hold a short return-to-work conversation after each absence and keep a note of it?
Where someone has a disability or long-term health condition, do you consider reasonable adjustments?
Do you apply absence rules consistently, and think separately about absence linked to a disability?

08Disciplinary and grievance

Do you have written disciplinary and grievance procedures that follow the Acas Code of Practice?
Before formal action, do you always investigate, hold a meeting where the person can put their side and allow them to be accompanied?
Can people appeal, with the appeal heard by someone who was not involved in the first decision?
Do you keep written records of meetings, outcomes, warnings and appeals?

09Probation and ending employment

Do you run probation with clear objectives, a review part-way through and a written decision at the end?
When someone leaves, do you follow a fair process, record your reasons and pay the right notice and holiday pay?
Are you ready for unfair dismissal protection to start after six months' service instead of two years?
Before changing someone's terms without their agreement, do you take advice?

10Zero and irregular hours

If nobody works zero or irregular hours for you, answer Yes to these.

Is holiday built up and paid correctly for staff on zero or irregular hours?
Do you keep a record of the hours they really work over time?
Do you give reasonable notice of shifts and have a plan for shifts cancelled at short notice?

11Speaking up

Do you have a whistleblowing policy that explains how to raise a concern and that nobody will be penalised for it?
Would a manager know that a report of sexual harassment can count as whistleblowing?
When someone raises a concern, do you reply in writing, look into it properly and make sure they are not treated worse for it?

12Records and data protection

Do your staff have a privacy notice explaining what you hold about them and why?
Are HR records kept securely, with access limited to the people who need it?
Do you know how long to keep each type of HR record, and do you delete them when that time is up?
Would you know how to answer a request from a member of staff for a copy of their data within a month?

This check covers the law in England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has its own employment law. It is general information, not legal advice: if you are dealing with a specific situation, speak to an HR adviser or an employment solicitor.