Hiring your First Employee

Recruitment is expensive and time consuming, so it is important to ensure you are ready before you recruit.  Recruiting the right people can take effort and time.  If you are about to take this step in your business then this guest blog post from Clare Dalziel the Director of the HR Dept, Northampton is a must read.

One of the first things to do is to have identified what the role entails and write a job description?  This will ensure you know what skills you are looking for and help you to avoid discriminating any applicants. You may need to do some research to work out what the going rate is for the role and remember you need to pay at least the National Minimum Wage.

Where are you going to advertise?  There are many forms of advertising you can use, the most popularare using job boards and social media.  You could use a recruitment agency, but this is a more expensive way to recruit.  You could outsource your recruitment.

Once you have advertised the role and start to receive applications you will need to shortlist the candidates for interview using the job description and matching the essential and desirable skills to the CV or application form.

Prepare interview questions, what do you want to find out about this person, make sure the questions are relevant and ask everybody the same questions, other than those only relevant to the individual.  Again, make sure you are not planning to ask any discriminatory questions.

You must check that they have the right to work in the UK, (the process changed in July 2021) this can be done at interview stage and should be done prior to you making a job offer.  You may also want to take up references, although this can be done once the offer is made.

Arrange the interviews with your selected candidates.  Carry out the interviews and then assess the answers against the criteria within the job description and the advertised job.

Before you offer anyonea position there are some other things which you need to prepare, by law.

  • You will need to take out Employers Liability Insurance before the employee starts.
  • You need to provide the employee with a contract of employment no later than day one so you will need to prepare this in advance
  • You also need to ensure that you have a disciplinary and grievance procedure and a privacy policy (minimum).
  • There may be other policies which are relevant to your company that you need to prepare. (Employee handbook).

You also need to register as an employer with HMRC and this can take up to 4 weeks and you are unable to pay them until this process is complete.  (Your accountant can probably help you to do this).

You will also need to set up a workplace pension scheme as employees who qualify must be auto enrolled into the scheme.

Before the employee starts make sure you plan their induction/onboarding – how will they learn about the company and their role, is the right equipment in place – desk, computer etc.

The recruitment process and induction can be the difference between an employee accepting the position and staying with you long term, so again it is important to get it right.

It is important  also for you to understand that employment law applies from the moment you start the recruitment process, so you are bound by both the laws on discrimination and data protection.

Below are some links to previous blogs I have written around recruitment, which might also be useful:

A-Z of Recruitment

Tips for recruiting

I also have a free guide on my website Hiring your first employee

 

I am Clare Dalziel the Director of the HR Dept, Northampton.  I provide employment law and human resources support to small and medium sized businesses in the local area,  My role is to ensure your business stays up to date legally with changes in HR and employment law. Whether it is dealing with a sensitive employment issue or the challenges of growth,  providing you with the support you need to navigate the complex field of employment legislation and tailor the solution to fit your company’s needs.  I can provide a practical and pragmatic outsourced solution when it is needed, on an adhoc or retained basis.

All advice is based on my desire to get the outcome you want, offering you personalised support when you need it.