Year-end business checklist
We often hear “I was going to do work admin when it was quiet over Christmas, but…”
As Christmas approaches, you might find your workload winding down, which means it’s the perfect time to get organised for the New Year and tackle those jobs that often get overlooked.
As a business, this could look like a small HR audit to ensure all policies, procedures, and employee contracts are up-to-date and compliant, setting you up for a smooth start to the year.
We’ve put together a handy checklist for you to work through:
Review your documents
Ensure employment records are complete, accurate and compliant with current law, including right-to-work documentation (the hefty fine alone should be encouragement to
do this bit)
Update policies and employee handbooks to reflect any new legislation
Ensure you have statutory policies in place, such as health & safety, disciplinary/dismissal procedures and grievance policies
Check your GDPR compliance and data protection practices to ensure you’re handling everything appropriately
Payroll and benefits
Plan for any changes to National Minimum/Living Wage and National Insurance contributions, which typically take effect in the new financial year in April
Review holiday entitlement balances and any unused leave
Review your benefits packages to ensure they’re still competitive
Performance management and development
Complete any outstanding performance reviews
Identify any training and development needs or career development plans for any employees
Do your actions – often managers come away from reviews with actions for themselves
and these often fall by the wayside
Workforce planning and strategy
Assess any skill gaps in your current workforce
Plan your recruitment strategy now in order to avoid the ‘January rush’
Review health & safety procedures and ensure all risk assessments are up-to-date.
Using this time wisely will help give you a confident start to the new year and ensure your business is compliant. Carrying out these small reviews/audits on a regular basis can save significant time, stress and potential issues later in the year.
You can use our handy checklist as a starting point, but if you’d like our expert guidance on reviewing your policies, managing compliance or planning for the year ahead, we are more than happy to help. Just get in touch.