The ultimate HR compliance checklist for UK SMEs

Keeping up with HR compliance can be a challenge for small and medium-sized businesses in the UK, with employment law changing regularly. This checklist will help ensure your HR processes meet all the key legal requirements – to keep your business compliant and minimise the chance of costly penalties, reputational damage, and overall negative impact to your business.

Right to work and employment eligibility

• Check and record each employee’s right-to-work documents before they start – such as a valid UK passport, a UK or Irish birth or adoption certificate along with proof of National Insurance Number, or online share code
• Use the Home Office online checking service for non-British citizens to confirm digital immigration verification
• Keep clear, dated copies of all documents securely, preferably stored in a secure digital HR platform, for the duration of employment plus two years following
• Set reminders for right to work in the UK expiry dates
• Avoid discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 (unfair treatment based on the nine protected characteristics)

Employment contracts and HR policies

• Issue a written principal statement of particulars on or before the first working day. Include:
  • Names of employee and employer
  • Date of engagement/employment
  • Job title
  • Remuneration details
  • Hours of work and working days
  • End of fixed-term/non-permanent employment if relevant
  • Probation period details and conditions
  • Holiday entitlement, including bank holidays
  • Details of benefits, including non-contractual
  • The place of work, including where they are permitted or required to work
  • Obligatory training
• Provide details of sick pay and procedures, other paid leave, and notice periods – also on or before the first day of employment
• Issue a wider written statement within two months of the start date. Include:
  • Pension schemes
  • Collective agreements
  • Any other right to non-compulsory training
  • Disciplinary and grievance procedures
• Maintain a regularly updated employee handbook covering disciplinary, grievance and equal opportunity policies as well as other policies, such as how you prevent sexual harassment or anti-bribery
• Consider covering hybrid working if relevant: guidelines for remote working, equipment use and data security
• Our HR professionals can provide you with a full, detailed list of everything that should legally be included in employment documentation – get in touch today to find out more

Pay, pensions and benefits

• Double-check that pay rates meet or exceed the National Minimum or Living Wage, as these rates change annually
• Automatically enrol eligible employees into your workplace pension scheme and provide statutory notifications where necessary
• Provide accurate and easily accessible itemised payslips, clearly showing all deductions and pay elements
• Ensure holiday pay remains legally compliant by checking it includes average overtime and regular commissions

Health, safety and employee wellbeing

• Maintain a written health and safety policy if you employ five or more people
• Conduct regular risk assessments (such as manual handling, DSE and fire safety) and document outcomes to strengthen safety compliance
• Offer training tailored to specific roles, such as DSE for office-based employees and manual handling for warehouse workers
• Appoint a ‘competent person’, whether internally or externally, to be responsible for meeting health and safety duties

Equality, diversity and inclusion

• Maintain an equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policy and ensure its easily accessible for employees
• Provide manager training on unconscious bias and anti-discrimination practices
• Consider collecting and tracking diversity data during the recruitment process to keep an eye on trends and potential bias
• Make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees where appropriate, for example, providing accessible toilets and ramps, modifying equipment such as assistive technology, and offering training support such as sign language interpreters

Data protection and privacy

• Create, share, and update a data protection policy detailing how employee data is handled and protected
• Provide GDPR training for all staff to ensure they know what personal data is and how it should be handled
• Follow the relevant data retention period guidelines post-leaving (for example, six years for payroll records and two years for right to work documents)
• Use password-protected or encrypted data storage systems, and consider different user levels so only authorised users can see certain data
• Implement written consent guidelines for sensitive data such as health, ethnicity and criminal records

Remaining compliant over time

• Review and update your contracts and HR policies at least annually, along with after major legal changes
• Remain updated on employment law as it changes regularly, including family leave, redundancy and flexible working – this will be key as the new Employment Rights Bill comes into effect
• Partner with Vero HR to ensure you maintain compliance across all areas of people management without the burden or responsibility, and receive ongoing, tailored, and updated HR advice and support

At Vero HR, we make HR compliance easier for UK SMEs in every sector. From reviewing and drafting contracts to ensuring GDPR compliance and providing hands-on support in grievance and disciplinary meetings, our experts help you stay ahead of regulation while supporting your people and managers effectively.

Contact us today to find out how we can help your business and people operations remain compliant.