How Can Employers Implement a New Workplace Policy?

In Short

• Workplace policies communicate expectations and can help reduce liability for employers.

• Core legal policies address issues like health and safety, while operational policies set guidelines for business operations.

• Policies should be clear, provided to employees, enforced consistently, and reviewed regularly.

Tips for Businesses

To implement a successful workplace policy, ensure it reflects your business operations. Provide clear policies to employees during onboarding, offer training, and enforce policies consistently. Regularly review and update policies to stay compliant with changes in law or business needs. Make sure employees know where to find and ask questions about policies.

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Table of Contents

• What is a Workplace Policy?
• Drafting and Publishing the Policy 
• How Can I Implement a New Workplace Policy?
• Key Takeaways
• Frequently Asked Questions

As an employer, you are likely aware that policies can be useful within the workplace. However, what steps you should take to implement a new workplace policy may be less clear. While company policies might look good on paper, they will not be effective policies if you do not implement them properly. Hence, this article will cover: 

• what a policy is;
• what you need to consider when drafting a policy;
• how to provide a policy to an employee; and
• things to consider when enforcing a new company policy.

What is a Workplace Policy?

A policy is a way of communicating your expectations to an employee within the workplace. Essentially, something like HR policies or attendance policies set out the best practices in your business. That is to say, workplace policies function as a direction in writing about what an employee should and should not do.

There are two different types of written policies.

1. Core Legal Policy

A core legal policy will address your legal obligations as an employer, particularly regarding:

• work health and safety;
• information technology; and
• discrimination, bullying, and harassment, both verbally and online.

These policies are also crucial in setting out the procedures you and your employees should follow if one of these issues arises in your business. After all, as an employer, you are vicariously liable for your employee’s actions. However, having a policy covering these issues may assist in reducing your liability.

2. Operational Policy 

An operational policy sets out guidelines for how a business operates. There is no legal obligation for an operational policy, but it could be a helpful way to set out your expectations. For example, if you frequently tell employees that their clothing is inappropriate for the workplace, it could be helpful to draft a Dress Code Policy. As a result, there will be no ambiguity around what is and is not acceptable to wear to the workplace.

Drafting and Publishing the Policy 

When drafting a workplace policy for your business, ensuring it is tailored to your business and how you do things is essential. There is no point in having a policy that does not reflect how your business operates since it would be ineffective and likely amount to breaches of workplace policies.

How Can I Implement a New Workplace Policy?

Having a policy in your internal system somewhere for an employee to find is not enough. That is to say, you must follow and enforce company policies where necessary. Below are some tips that can help you enforce a new company policy.

1. Provide Policies to Employees

You should provide all new employees with your policies when they begin work. If you drafted policies employees have started, you should send them to the employees via email or provide a physical copy. 

Accordingly, you should notify all employees where to find a copy of the policies on the internal systems. You should also advise employees that they can ask any questions that they may have concerning the policies.

2. Provide Adequate Training

Training can be a helpful way to remind your employees of their obligations and ensure that employees understand what is set out in the policy. It also allows employees to ask questions and have them answered on the spot. 

3. Enforce Your Policies

You must enforce your policies. Otherwise, you may be unable to rely on them to reduce your liability. For example, say you have an ADHB policy and witness workplace bullying. However, you do not investigate the matter or take any necessary action. If the employee pursues a legal claim, it will be difficult for you to rely on the policy even though you have provided it to employees.

4. Review Your Policies Before You Implement a New Workplace Policy 

There is no hard-and-fast rule regarding how often you should review your workplace policies. For example, policies may be in response to changes to:

• employment law; or
• the business that could affect a part of the business, such as a new piece of machinery that may be relevant to a WHS policy.

If you make any policy changes, you must notify employees that you have made them. This can be done by email advising of the change and attaching the revised policy. 

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Key Takeaways

As an employer, a workplace policy is a helpful way to direct an employee to do or not do something. From a legal perspective, some policies can speak to your obligations as an employer, such as fulfilling your work health and safety obligations. Without implementing a policy correctly, there is no point in having it. Hence, to implement a new workplace policy, you should:

• draft a clear policy;
• send it to employees or provide it to them when they start;
• notify them that they can come to you if they have questions;
• provide training on the policy (if relevant);
• enforce the policies; and
• review your policies as often as appropriate. 

If you have questions regarding how to implement a new workplace policy, speak to our experienced employment lawyers, who can assist as part of our LegalVision membership, is a good idea. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.

Frequently Asked Questions