HR Toolkit

Becoming an employer can seem daunting but the key is to get the basics right. The Government has produced some useful guidance on Employing staff for the first time together with a helpful step-by-step guide to employing someone 

The ACAS website has useful template letters, forms and policies and the ACAS code of practice on all aspects of employment. 

The Parish Resources website provides guidance on employing staff, working with volunteers, health and safety and safeguarding. 

1. Employment Status 

The status of workers has been contested through several legal cases, and many more are now recognized as having employment rights. There are different categories of work, and the rights and responsibilities differ for each. 

• An employee: The majority of people provide personal service as an employee under a contract of employment. The individual is an integral part of the church and is paid through a Pay as You Earn (PAYE) scheme. The parish has an obligation under the contract to offer work and the employee has an obligation to accept the work offered within the scope of the contract. 

• A worker: A worker may occasionally do work for the parish. The parish does not have to offer them work and they do not have to accept it. Their contract uses terms like ‘casual,’ ‘freelance,’ ‘zero hours,’ as required or something similar. The Parish will be deducting tax and National Insurance contributions from their wages and will be providing the materials, tools, or equipment that the worker needs to do the role. 

• Self-employed: Self-employed contractors normally provide one-off or specific services for a fee which is then invoiced to the parish. They will pay their own Income Tax and National Insurance contributions. They do not have employment rights such as statutory holidays, but they do have some legal protection such as an entitlement to a safe and healthy working environment. 

• A limited company: An individual may set themselves up as a limited company for tax purposes, as opposed to being self-employed. This means that the parish pays the company for work completed as opposed to the individual and corporation tax is payable as opposed to personal tax. There are specific tax laws in relation to limited companies so if someone informs you that they are registered as a limited company, it would be advisable to check the situation with HMRC. 

The HMRC employment status checklist is a useful tool for checking employment status. 

2. Pay 

You must register with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as an employer, and this can be done up to four weeks before you pay your new staff. Alternatively, you may choose to use an outsourced payroll agency 

If you decide to run your own payroll function, you will have several legal obligations to comply with: 

• Pay as you Earn (PAYE) and Real Time Information (RTI) 

As an employer you are required to register with HMRC and inform them of the details of payments made to your employees at the time of or before you pay them. HMRC refer to this as Real Time Information (RTI). Reporting varies according to the level of earnings involved. 

• Operating a PAYE system 

Operating a PAYE system will require: 

• Calculating and deducting PAYE Income Tax from an employee’s pay 

• Deducting employee’s National Insurance Contributions (NICs) from payments of earnings that you make to your employees. 

• Paying the employer NICs on those earnings to HMRC 

• Recording the above deductions on the employee’s P11 Deductions Working Sheet or equivalent record 

• Show the deductions of tax and employee NICs as separate items on their pay slips 

• Payment of these deductions to HMRC within set time limits. 

• Using a payroll agency 

The PCC should consider using a payroll agency if it does not have personnel available to carry out the regular processing of the information required by HMRC. An agency that is familiar to many churches and charities is Stewardship. 

3. What do we need to pay? 

• National Minimum Wage 

By law, you must ensure that you pay your workers at least the national minimum wage (NMW). The rate of NMW varies depending on the worker’s age and these amounts change annually. For the most up to date rates, please visit the gov.uk website 

The diocese promotes the London Living Wage, an hourly rate set independently and updated annually which is calculated according to the true basic cost of living in the UK. For further information, please visit the Living Wage website. 

• Statutory Sick Pay 

Under certain conditions, you may have to pay an employee statutory sick pay (SSP). This is the minimum level of payment you should make to an employee who is off work due to illness, however, you may entitle the employee to more than this. 

SSP is payable for the days an employee normally works in a week (qualifying days). An employee is entitled to receive SSP for 28 weeks in any one sickness period. A linked period of sickness is where the gap between the individual periods of sickness is less than 8 weeks. 

• Statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay 

An individual who becomes a parent, including through adoption, may be entitled to statutory maternity, paternity or adoption pay. For further details please see the Parish (Staff) Handbook 

4. Benefits 

Not all benefits are taxable, and some taxable benefits are treated differently from others. 

• Living accommodation is taxable when provided to an employee 

• Other benefits such as cars and medical insurance are only taxable if they are provided to employees earning £8,500 a year or more. 

• Benefits such as drinks and refreshments at work are not taxable 

For further information visit: Tax on company benefits: Overview - GOV.UK 

5. Pension Scheme Requirements 

Under the Pensions Act 2008, every employer in the UK must put certain staff into a workplace pension scheme and contribute towards it. This is called ‘automatic enrolment.’ If you employ at least one person you are an employer and you have certain legal duties. 

The main things you must do are: 

• Provide a qualifying scheme for your workers 

• Automatically enroll all eligible jobholders into the scheme 

• Pay employer contributions for eligible jobholders in the scheme 

• Tell all the eligible jobholders that they have been automatically enrolled, and they have the right to opt out if they want to 

• Register with the Pensions Regulator and provide details of the scheme and the number of people enrolled 

Further information is available on the Pension Regulators website. The Parish Resources website has useful advice on pensions. 

6. Insurance 

It is the PCC’s responsibility to ensure that it has appropriate insurance in place. 

Employer’s Liability insurance covers a parish for any accident that happens to an employee or authorized volunteer (not automatically) whilst working at the church, which proves to be due to the negligence of the Parish. All employers are normally required to have this cover. 

It is important to know what you are and are not covered for and when you are required to inform your insurer of any changes in circumstances, for example, some insurers will ask you to inform them of any pending redundancy situations, as failure to do so could invalidate any claim the PCC make. 

Government advice is available on Employers Liability Insurance 

7. Prevention of Illegal Working 

Employers have an obligation to ensure that any new employees, as well as your existing ones, have the right to work in the UK. 

• New Employees 

The Home Office have produced a list of suitable documents as well as guidance on what copies to keep and for how long. 

Job offers should not be confirmed until you have seen documentation that proves to your satisfaction the applicant’s right to work in the UK. 

• Existing Employees 

You should ensure that you have copies of all your existing employees on file. You should do this even if you have known the individual personally for a long time. If any irregularities are found with your existing employees, please contact the People Team at the Diocese immediately to discuss the situation. 

1. Planning for the vacancy 

It is important to plan as much as possible for your vacancy. This includes informing, engaging with and seeking approval from key forums such as your PCC. You will need to ensure that you have an agreed budget for the renumeration package, including salary and any other benefits that you provide, as well as employer costs for pension and National Insurance contributions. You will also need to ensure that you factor in expenses for equipment such as a computer or desk. 

All parish recruitment processes must follow the national Church safeguarding Safer Recruitment and People Management Guidance. Safer recruitment refers to the whole recruitment process, including application forms, confidential declarations, role descriptions, taking references, interview and criminal record checks. Full guidance on Safer recruitment and People Management can be located in the Church of England Safeguarding e-manual. 

The ACAS Guide to Hiring Staff sets out the issues and guidance on advertising, interviews and discrimination. The Recruitment Checklist is useful to help PCCs with the process of recruiting staff 

2. Defining the role – Job Description and Person Specification 

Before you advertise, you need to establish the requirements of the role. The purpose of the job description is to provide what the main duties and responsibilities are, and the experience and skills needed to do the job well. 

The job description should include the following: 

• Overall purpose of the role 

• Reporting line and if the role has supervisory responsibilities 

• Who the role works with – in the parish and beyond 

• Key responsibilities and tasks 

The Job Description does not form part of the contract of employment and should be periodically reviewed and updated (in agreement with the post holder). It is likely that circumstances will occur from time to time in which the employee will be required to perform a duty (or duties) which are not included in their current job description. To avoid any misunderstandings a statement along the following lines should be included: 

“This job description is issued as a guideline to assist you in your duties, it is not exclusive or exhaustive. Due to the evolving nature and changing demands of our services provided, this job description may be regularly reviewed to ensure that it is an accurate representation of your role. You may, on occasions be required to undertake additional or other duties as may reasonably be expected within the scope of the role according to the needs of the Organisation.” 

The purpose of the person specification is do decide what qualifications, knowledge, skills and attributes the successful candidate will need to possess to carry out the duties of the role effectively. 

These can be identified as essential or desirable criteria. The essential criteria could be a specific qualification that the post holder must have to undertake the role or a soft skill such as the ability to meet deadlines. The desirable criteria are those which a candidate should ideally possess to undertake the role. 

You should decide the elements to be assessed at each stage of the selection process and indicate this on the job description and person specification 

Please click on the link to take you to a Job Description and Person Specification template that you can download and adapt for your own use. 

3. Terms and conditions of employment 

Before advertising, you will need to decide the type of contract being offered and the key terms and conditions of employment. These could already be set in place in your Parish (Staff) Handbook or if you do not have one, you would need to consider the following: 

Who is the employer? 

This is likely to be the PCC 

What type of contract are you offering? 

A contract of employment is an agreement between an employer and employee which is legally binding. The term is defined by the Employment Rights Act 1996 as a contract of service or apprenticeship. 

An employee employed for one month or more has the statutory right to a written statement of employment particulars. Employment contracts consist of a mixture of Express and Implied terms: 

• Express terms: those that are stated in writing and which must meet minimum legal standards in many areas, such as the right to paid holidays and the right to rest breaks. 

• Implied terms: those that are not necessarily written down but still apply. For example, a duty of mutual trust and confidence between the employer and the employee. 

Legally, there are minimum terms that must be included in a basic contract or another document. As a parish you should plan in advance what terms you plan to offer your employees, and these terms should be as consistent as possible for all your employees. 

Fixed Term Contracts 

There are various reasons why one would want to use a fixed term contract, including: 

• To cover maternity leave 

• To cover long-term sick leave, or 

• Where there is a specific project where particular skills are needed. 

Fixed term employees have the right not to be treated any less favorably than comparable permanent employees. Therefore, they are entitled to the same or equivalent benefits. Normally the only difference in the contract would be in relation to the end date (and any notice required etc.) and a pro-rata holiday allowance and salary. 

It is important that the contract states whether a notice to end the contract is required or not and whether it can be ended because of a specific event, for example, due to the withdrawal of funding from an outside party. 

When a fixed-term employee’s contract is terminated, this amounts to a statutory dismissal, even if this is at the expiry of the fixed term. If an employee has more than two years' employment, they will have the right to claim unfair dismissal and so a standard redundancy procedure should be followed. Advice on redundancy may be found on the ACAS website. 

Any fixed-term employees who have been on successive fixed-term contracts will automatically become permanent employees after four years. 

Zero-Hours/Casual Worker Contracts 

Zero-hours contracts are used when services are required on an ad-hoc and casual basis. There is no obligation (whether express or implied) on the part of the organisation to provide an individual with work and the individual is not under any obligation to accept any work offered. This individual would usually be an employee. New legislation has brought many changes to zero-hours contracts and for guidance please visit the ACAS website 

Self Employed Contracts for services 

If an individual is identified as being self-employed, it is always a good idea to provide a contract for services in writing. 

We recommend that you ensure that the following is in place at the point of signing: 

• Commencement date and the duration of the agreement. Clear parameters should be given. 

• Purpose of the agreement – the scope of work required 

• Fees – is it a once off fee or hourly? 

• The ability to provide a substitute if the individual is not available 

• Confidentiality and data protection rights 

• Publication of material – who owns the rights? Normally this would be the PCC. 

• Insurance and Liability – the individual should have their own public liability insurance. 

Try to avoid phrases such as ‘line management’, ‘salary’ or ‘Job Description’ 

HMRC may request to see both the written contract and your working relationship with the individual, therefore it is necessary to ensure that regular reviews take place so that the documentation reflects the true situation. 

Renumeration 

What is the appropriate salary level for the role? You can consult a range of sources to help you decide on the appropriate level for example, what other dioceses, parishes, or local charities are paying for a similar role. 

You must comply with the statutory National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW). These rates change every year on 1 April, please refer to the government website for the current rates. 

The real Living Wage is higher than the government’s minimum, or National Living Wage, and is an independently calculated hourly rate of pay that is based on the actual cost of living. 

Pension 

What pension provision will you offer? 

https://www.gov.uk/workplace-pensions 

Sick Pay 

Will you have a policy which provides more generous provisions than Statutory Sick Pay. 

https://www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay 

Working Hours 

What hours per week will be required to perform the role well? 

Holidays 

How much holiday will your employees be entitled to? Will you have a policy to provide more than the statutory minimum? 

https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights 

4. Advertising the role 

At this stage, you will need to decide how you will advertise the role. The advert should be eye-catching and appealing to the type of candidate that you are hoping to attract. Many roles in parishes are filled by those who are part of the church community and so in some cases, low key advertising via noticeboards, word-of-mouth, etc may be sufficient to attract candidates. 

You do need to be careful, however that you are advertising widely enough not to exclude anyone who might be interested. This could lead to claims of discrimination, and you could miss out on the perfect candidate. 

You can place an advert on the Diocesan website for free by completing a short form in our Vacancies section. You may also contact the People Team for advice on popular recruitment websites. 

Generally, you can advertise a role for as long as you wish, although the recommended timeframe is no less than two weeks. 

Information that should be included in your job advert: 

• The job title 

• Primary purpose of the role 

• Basic terms and conditions i.e. salary, hours and holiday 

• How to apply 

• If a DBS check is required 

• The closing date and provisional interview date (if known) 

Key points to consider in your Job Descriptions and Adverts 

• Discrimination 

No-one should be discriminated against on the basis of the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. Therefore, you need to ensure that discriminatory criteria are not used in your recruitment process, e.g. if you ask for ‘at least 6 GSCE’s’ this could be seen as discriminatory towards the older workforce, so you should put ‘6 GSCE’s or equivalent’ 

• Occupational Requirements 

Under the Equality Act 2010 there are some exemptions that apply to the work environment which allows employers to require employees to have (or not to have) certain protected characteristics. These are called occupational requirements (ORs) and the burden is on the employer to show that there is a particular occupational requirement for a role. 

Applying an OR to a role could mean that the parish will be potentially discriminating against an applicant who is not a practising Christian. Consequently, such individuals could bring claims of discrimination against the parish and, if so, the burden would be on the parish to persuade a tribunal that the use of an OR was justified and proportionate. 

Parishes can reasonably expect their staff to keep to its values and culture and therefore the ethos of the parish, without belonging to its particular religion or belief. It is possible to state in a job advertisement that the job holder must be ‘ in sympathy with the aims and ethos of the Church of England’. This does not mean the same as asking them to be a Christian. 

If the role does require an OR, then the following wording could be used: This role carries a genuine occupational requirement to be a practising Christian, in accordance with the Equality Act 2010. 

• DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) 

A DBS check is required for specific roles – usually roles that involve regulated activity with vulnerable adults and children. If a DBS check is required, this requirement needs to be included in the Job Description. 

The Church of England DBS role eligibility guidance provides guidelines on which roles require a DBS check and at what level. 

5. Shortlisting 

• The panel (recommended to be 3-4 people with different roles in the parish such as a PCC member, Church Warden or Office Manager and someone who will be working with the newly appointed person) should gather to read through the applications and determine whether all the essential areas of the person specification have been met. 

• Shortlisting should be done using criteria from the job description and person specification and it is recommended that you shortlist no more than five people for interview, which can be a challenge if you have received a large number of applications. You must be able to show your objective reasons for rejecting a candidate. 

6. Interviews 

• The interviews should be conducted by the same panel. 

• It is a requirement of the Equality Act 2010 that interviews are accessible for all candidates so you will need to check in advance if any special requirements are needed, for example, wheelchair access. 

• Prepare for the interview with questions to assess the specific requirements of the role and each candidate should be asked the same questions. Keep in mind that you are not allowed to ask questions that may discriminate, for example asking about a candidate's personal life or ‘protected characteristics’. 

• Under the Equality Act 2010 it is illegal to ask an individual about their health before you offer them a role, apart from in a limited number of situations such as if you wish to find out whether any adjustments are required for the interview process and beyond. 

• Ensure the candidate knows the interview format in advance - if they will be required to complete a task or give a presentation and how long that will need to be. 

• Advise who will be on the interview panel. 

• Make notes during the interview so that you are able to score candidates against the criteria you have set. 

• It is recommended that the interview section itself lasts between 45 minutes to 1 hour (plus time for any presentation or task) and allow time for the opportunity for the candidate to ask questions 

• At the end of the interview, confirm how a decision will be communicated and when. 

• Allow for at least 15 minutes between candidates for writing up notes. 

The interview is your opportunity to present the parish and the role in a positive light, be honest about the job and emphasise your values. 

7. Making an Offer 

If you are at the stage where you would like to make an offer, this should be made verbally initially and conditional upon the following: 

• Receipt of satisfactory references, a social media check and DBS check (if appropriate) 

• Evidence of right to work in the UK 

• Evidence of qualifications required for the role, for example a finance or legal qualification.

Always ensure that you get permission from the candidate prior to asking for the reference. In many circumstances, a referee is their current employer, and you should provide them with the opportunity to inform them before you make contact. 

This should be followed with a written offer of employment letter and contract of employment once the candidate has accepted the role. 

8. Right to work/Prevention of Illegal Working 

You have an obligation to ensure that any new employees (as well as your existing ones) have the right to work in the UK and must check an applicant's original documents before you can employ them. 

For you to verify the candidate's identity, the Home Office has produced a list of suitable documents as well as guidance on what copies to keep and for how long. The Home Office has also provided a guide to right to work checks. If you employ an illegal worker and have not carried out the correct right-to-work check, you may face a civil penalty (fine). 

9. Recruitment Paperwork 

All recruitment paperwork, including applications, selection information and interview notes should be kept securely for a period of six months after the appointment has been made. This will ensure that you have any necessary documentation should a claim of discrimination be made against you. Once the six months have passed all of the paperwork for the unsuccessful candidates should be shredded in order to comply with GDPR. 

1. Induction 

An induction is a key step in helping new employees settle in. If it is done well then they are more likely to stay and be productive. It also helps the organisation to identify their particular strengths. This is the final step in the recruitment process and the first real contact that a new person has with their team. 

Induction is part of the foundation of good performance management. During induction, the new team member should be made fully aware of their job duties, responsibilities and standards and the expectations of performance within their new role. 

The induction period could last for days or weeks depending on the role's complexity and runs concurrently with any probationary period. Induction training is good for setting the initial standards and expectations for new staff. 

Induction for new employees will normally include as a minimum: 

• Introduction to the PCC as an organisation – what is important to the PCC, its relationship with the Diocese and other bodies, its policies and how it differs from other organisations. 

• Introduction to the PCC as an employer – what the PCC expect from staff and standards 

• Organisational arrangements on safeguarding, equality, health and safety, information security, etc. 

The induction checklist provides guidance on what to include in an induction and what documentation needs to be completed. It is common practice to complete a New Employee Form to ensure that all employment-related information is collated and sent to whoever manages the parish employee payroll. 

2. Staff Handbook 

Providing a resource to bring new staff up-to-speed on key policies, processes and procedures is critical to ensure that they are aware of how things operate in the parish and what is expected of them. A Staff Handbook is a good reference point and contains a wide range of information – including policies, processes, and procedures etc. 

3. Probation period 

The purpose of a probationary period is two-fold, it allows a specific time-period for both the employee and employer to assess the suitability of the role after having first-hand experience in addition to it giving the employee the chance to see whether they like their job and new surroundings. 

A job offer should be conditional upon the successful completion of a probationary period. During the probationary period, employees need to demonstrate their suitability for their new role. The line manager should set suitable primary objectives and hold regular one-to-one meetings so that the new team member is fully aware of their progress. 

There is no law determining the length of a probationary period, although the employer is expected to be reasonable. It is typical for a probationary period to last between one and six months. 

4. Managing performance during Probation 

Managing performance starts with you and your employees agreeing a set of probationary goals and objectives (ensure that they coincide with the job description). It is important that each employee can see how their individual goals and objectives fit into the overall direction of and mission of the parish. This enables you and your team to work together collaboratively towards common goals. 

Goals should be SMART: 

• Specific 
• Measurable 
• Achievable 
• Realistic 
• Time-bound 

Holding regular 1-1's with your new employee will help enable positive communication to keep track of how things are going and if any further support is needed. 

It is recommended to have a formal meeting halfway through the agreed probationary period. For example, if the probationary period is 6 months, then the review should take place at the 3-month point. 

Ensure that the criteria for the review at the halfway point is the same as what will be assessed at the end point to ensure consistency for the employee. 

Before the end date of the probation period, you will need to hold a formal meeting to let your employee know the outcome of their probationary period. In most cases, employees pass their probation, and their contractual employment is confirmed. 

If you feel that the employee is not meeting the expectations of the role there are two options you can take: 

1. Extend the probationary period (1-3 months) 

2. Terminate the employment 

Neither of these outcomes are desirable and are usually disappointing for both parties. Therefore, it is crucial that all steps have been taken to allow for improvement and to support the employee before reaching this decision. Follow up any decision in writing to the employee. 

Please contact the People Team for advice on extending probation periods or terminating employment. 

5. Access to Work (ATW) 

Access to Work (ATW) is a government-funded scheme designed to support people who face challenges at work due to disability, neurodivergence or mental health conditions. It is available to anyone in paid roles whether full-time or part-time, permanent or temporary.

ATW can help cover costs for:

• Specialist equipment or assistive software
• Mobility aids and workplace adjustments
• Coaching, training or mentoring
• Transport to and from work (e.g taxis or adapted vehicles)
• Support workers or travel buddies

The employee will need to complete an online application, which is followed by a workplace assessment and then if granted the offer of support.

Employers may need to contribute to some costs, depending on how long the employee has worked for you and the size of the organisation. ATW can be applied for at any time, but if an employee applies 3 months before starting a role or within 6 weeks of starting, the employer's contribution is significantly reduced. Ongoing costs, such as support worker fees are fully funded by ATW.

Employees do not need a formal diagnosis to apply. The application focuses on the barriers that they face at work, and the workplace assessment identifies the support and adjustments that could help.

Performance Management/Appraisals 

It is important to keep going with the regular 1-1's with your employees and then conduct a formal appraisal at least once a year with a brief review of the employee’s performance half-way through the year. 

This enables both parties to discuss progress, what support, or training might be beneficial and to assess whether any adjustments to goals would be helpful, considering what is happening in the parish. 

Appraisals discussions should be in addition to regular, ongoing dialogue with your staff. Some managers find it helpful to use a framework for regular meetings with staff. 

Identifying training and development needs is an integral part of an appraisal discussion and should be documented in the appraisal form. 

The review process should provide feedback to the employee, providing the motivation to achieve future goals and re-evaluate any areas as necessary. The employee should be encouraged to provide self-review of their performance as well as being reviewed by the line manager. 

To prepare for the appraisal process you should gather together the following: 

• The previous year/periods appraisal report 

• Parish goals and objectives for the year ahead 

• The team’s objectives for the year ahead 

• Your employees job description 

• Any other information relevant to your employee’s objectives agreed for the previous review period. 

• Ensure that you consider the employee’s overall performance in the last 12 months. Do not allow any recent events to bias your views. 

Invite the employee to an appraisal meeting, giving them at least five working days notice and provide the employee with a copy of the previous year’s appraisal report, a copy of the parish and team objectives for the year ahead, and a blank copy of the current year’s appraisal report with the agreed objectives for the previous review period. 

Ask the employee to complete the following sections on the form: 

• The outcome section against the prior year objectives. This should be their own frank assessment of their delivery and progress against these objectives. Ask them to provide examples to support their assessment including challenges they’ve experienced and the lessons they have learnt along the way. 

• The following year’s objectives. This should be their suggestion as to no more than five practical objectives for the year ahead, reflecting ways in which their work relates to the Team objectives, agreed work priorities, and areas of development considering the lessons they have learnt along the way. 

• Any training courses attended over the year. 

• Areas for future development and training. This should be suggestions of areas where they believe it will be helpful for their job role and responsibilities to develop. 

• Any further comments. 

• Ask the employee to send you a copy of the completed form before the appraisal, reassuring them that their self-appraisal notes are only for preparation and together with your own notes, form the basis for your discussions at the meeting. Any inclusion on a final version of the form will be with their agreement during the discussion. 

• Encourage the employee to be thorough in their preparation as this will help the appraisal discussion go smoothly. 

• To ensure that your final comments are objective, you are advised to gather evidence on: 

• The achievement of objectives 

• Training records 

• Attendance/Timekeeping statistics 

• The employee’s relationship with others. 

• Relevant comments or input from other stakeholders with whom the individual works or provides a service. 

Line managers (Appraisers) and employees need to recognise that they have a joint responsibility to ensure that follow-up occurs. 

Training and Development 

It is important for your employees to receive adequate training to allow them to perform their role well. Training builds skills and competence and provides development opportunities for the employee as well as being of benefit to the employer. 

There are a wide variety of ways of developing skills and competence across a wide range of areas, a few of which are: 

Mandatory Training 

This could be training such as Safeguarding, GDPR and Health and Safety. These training needs should be given priority. 

Job-related skills 

This includes skills and expertise that are role specific. These can be trained and developed on the job, or via a formal training course via an external supplier. If you sponsor and support an employee to undertake such a course, potentially leading to qualifications, it is recommended that you jointly agree to a Training Contract. 

General skills 

This includes a range of skills and expertise that are role-specific, such as: 

• Mentoring and coaching 

• Managing conflict 

• Time Management 

• Leadership 

Managing through challenging times 

There are some aspects of managing employees that are challenging, such as extended absence through illness or managing performance and capability. 

Sickness absence 

If you have a sickness absence policy, you should use this to guide your actions and how you respond to an employee who is on sickness absence. 

It is important to keep accurate records of absence as these records will be needed if the employee becomes eligible for any statutory benefits such as Statutory Sick Pay. 

When an employee is unable to work due to sickness, they should notify their employer on the first day of absence within one hour of being due to start work and inform the employer of the likely duration of the absence and agree to make contact again should they not be well enough to return to work. 

Employees can self-certify for a period of seven consecutive days (which includes weekends and bank holidays). Beyond this timeframe they will need to provide a doctor’s fit note (sick note). 

If an employee is on sickness absence for an extended period, you may wish to propose that they meet with an Occupational Health Advisor. Your employee must agree to this approach and be reassured that it is intended to provide guidance to both parties on how to proceed. 

The purpose of the review is to provide an independent view on the causes of the sickness absence and review the steps taken as a result of their GP’s medical advice, in order to provide some helpful suggestions and recommendations that you can work on together as the employee continues to recuperate and to discuss a return to work. 

If the employee is returning to work after a period of sickness absence longer than two weeks, you are advised to carry out a return-to-work interview to provide both you and your employee the opportunity to explore the best way to reintegrate back into the workplace. 

Managing Capability 

Capability is assessed on an ongoing basis during the whole of the employment relationship. During regular one-to-one meetings between the line manager and the employee, and performance-related issues should be raised and discussed with a view to putting some steps in place to address the performance – this could include some formal training, informal support, coaching on a specific topic etc. Regular meetings will enable you to discuss if there are any issues outside of the workplace that are impacting performance. 

Should there be ongoing performance issues, you may need to put a Performance Improvement Plan in place. This documents specific tasks/objectives and the required standard performance, i.e., specific measures/targets that will enable you to assess progress. The targets should be realistic, measurable, and achievable. It is advisable to discuss the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) in a face-to-face meeting and ensure that your employee fully understands what is expected of them. 

If there is no improvement in performance, and capability in the role remains an issue, the line manager should discuss the situation with the Rector in the first instance (or with the relevant person). 

Managing Employee Well-Being 

Employee well-being is an all-encompassing term covering a wide range of ideas and facilities that are centered on the well-being of your staff. Work organisation, the nature of the role, management practices and communication are key to a healthy work environment and in preventing work-related and non-work-related health issues from developing. 

• Health, Safety and Welfare 

This includes ensuring that the physical work environment is a safe and comfortable place to work in. Guidance on workstation assessments, assessing hazards and risks such as slips, trips and falls is available on the HSE website. 

You may also consider using resources such as an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Occupational Health Services. Advice on these may be obtained from the Diocesan People Team. 

• Good job design and fit 

Ensure that your employees have an up-to-date job description that provides clarity on the scope of their role. 

• Engaging and communicating effectively 

This can take many forms and is essential for building positive working relationships. Two-way engagement is critical so aim to find a way of getting feedback from your employees and input into their role and how the team works together. 

• Well-being activities 

Ensure that you consult with your employees to find out what they really want and would value. Many well-being initiatives and activities do not cost a lot of money and can include social activities, summer gatherings and well-being days. 

This is about ensuring that our employees leave our parishes in a positive way – and that we manage the exit process well. 

Exit Process 

When a member of staff leaves, for whatever reason, an exit process should be put into place. This helps to manage everyone’s expectations- the employee who is leaving, the line manager and all other team members. It also helps to ensure that there is a clear and smooth handover of tasks and activities. 

An exit interview is highly recommended – this gives the individual the opportunity to provide confidential feedback on their employment experience and any areas where the parish could have improved during their time with them. It is also an opportunity to acknowledge achievements and to say thank you. 

All employees should be offered the option of having another member of staff join them for the exit interview. 

Reasons for leaving 

• Resignation 

Ensure that you have a written resignation and that you acknowledge receipt thereof as soon as possible. The Acknowledgement of resignation letter should include the agreed leaving date, the return of any company items (laptop/phone/keys etc.), confirmation of any outstanding holiday that will be paid in the final pay slip and any other payments or deductions to be made prior to leaving. 

If an individual resigns verbally and, for whatever reason, is not willing to provide a written letter, you should take the initiative and send out the Acknowledgement of Resignation letter acknowledging their verbal resignation, however you should request that the individual acknowledges receipt of the letter in writing. 

• Retirement 

There is no longer a statutory requirement age so you cannot retire people without the request coming from them. 

If a person requests to retire, a suitable date should be agreed and confirmed in writing (usually standard notice period). You will need to contact your pension provider in advance of the finish date. Any outstanding leave will need to be calculated and either arrangements made for it to be taken or paid as part of the final salary. 

• Dismissal 

There are a range of circumstances under which an employee may be dismissed, and the list below is not exhaustive: 

• Incapability to perform duties as set out in their job description due to a lack of qualifications, incompetence, or long-term absence. 

• An employee’s misconduct, in which case the Parish disciplinary policy and procedure should apply. 

• Circumstances where the law would be broken if the employee were to continue working for the Parish, for example, where an employee is required to drive, and they have been disqualified from doing so. 

• Some other substantial reason – whereby the dismissal of the employee is warranted, depending on the circumstances of their employment. 

If facing a potential dismissal situation, we would recommend following the ACAS guidance or consulting with an HR or Employment lawyer. 

• Redundancy 

If you believe you may be facing a redundancy situation for a particular role, there is a legal process that must be adhered to. Redundancy is a form of dismissal, and you should follow the advice on the ACAS website or consult with a specialist HR or Employment Lawyer 

Providing a reference 

Providing a fair and accurate reference protects the PCC’s reputation and prevents any claims of negligence or unlawful discrimination from ex-employers. 

All references should be in writing and be based on accurate, factual information. Personal opinions which cannot be substantiated by evidence should be clearly marked as such so that these are easily identifiable to the reader. References should always include the following information: 

• Start date and duration of employment. 

• Job title/role 

• Salary, if requested 

• Key responsibilities 

In no circumstances should an employee’s absence record be disclosed and the referee should not comply with requests for such information. 

Personal references: Line managers may be requested to provide a personal reference for an ex-colleague. All such references must include a statement to the effect that the reference provided is a character reference and does not represent the view of the PCC. Character references should be provided on blank stationery or using a personal email address. 

It is essential to have policies and procedures which set out in writing the expectations of both the employer and the employee. Some policies are statutory, whilst others are a useful addition to your Staff Handbook. 

You can choose to produce policies yourself, however you will need to ensure that you keep up to date with employment legislation changes. ACAS are a useful source for producing essential policies. 

Alternatively, you are able to download the below templates which you are able to edit to fit your own context.

• Standard Terms and Conditions of Employment Template
• Fixed Term Conditions of Employment Template
• Volunteer Agreement Template
• Job Description Template
• Job Advert Template
• Interview Assessment Template
• Conditional Offer of Employment Letter Template
• Reference Request Template
• New Employee Form Template
• Induction Checklist Template
• Probation Objectives Template
• End of Probation Review Template
• Annual Objectives Template
• Performance Review Template
• Change in Terms and Conditions Letter Template
• Acknowledgement of Resignation Letter Template
• Exit Interview Template
• Providing a Reference Template