Documents you must share with employees (and how you should share them)

What documents do I need to share with a new employee?

When hiring a new employee or worker there is certain information which you, the employer, must share with them. On the employee’s first day, they must be provided with a document known as a ‘principal statement’. The principal statement must include:

• The employer’s name
• The employee/worker’s name, their job title and/or description of work and their start date
• The employee/worker’s pay and how often they will be paid
• The employee/worker’s hours of work
• The employee/worker’s holiday entitlement
• Location/locations that the employee/worker will be working from (further details will need to be included if the employee is expected to work abroad)
• The length of the employment
• The length of the probation period and its conditions
• Information on any benefits
• Employee training information

Other information which the employee must be given on their first day which can be included on the ‘principal statement’ or can be provided separately includes:

• Sick pay and procedures
• Information on paid leave (eg. parental leave, bereavement leave.)
• Notice periods

Within two months of the employee starting, they must be given a ‘wider written statement’ which must include information on:

• Pensions and pension schemes
• Collective agreements
• Information on any other right to non-compulsory training provided by the employer
• Disciplinary and grievance procedures

Providing employees with payslips

For each pay period, employees must receive an itemised payslip which clearly shows:

• Total pay before deductions
• Total pay after deductions
• Amounts of any variable or fixed deductions
• A breakdown of how the wages will be paid if more than one payment method is used

What other documents should you share with employees?

While it is a legal requirement to share the documents which are listed above with employees, it is also important to clearly communicate company policies and procedures with employees. Examples could be an employee handbook, an IT policy, a working from home policy or a code of conduct document. Documents such as these helps establish what behaviour is expected of employees by the employer and to explain any consequences of breaching the guidelines. Not keeping employees up to date on what the company expects from them in terms of ethics and morals could result in legal or financial consequences for your business.

A regular staff newsletter is another example of a document that may be shared with employees. While not imperative, newsletters can be used as a way of keeping employees informed of staff events while also reinforcing your company culture.

How do I share documents with employees?

All documents should be easily accessed by employees. While you can share physical documents with employees, to save time and money, it is better to share these documents digitally. Sharing documents by email is another option but this can also become time-consuming. One of the best ways of sharing documents with employees is through an online employee portal where you can share tailored documents with individual employees or share company documents with multiple employees at once.

BrightPay Connect is an optional cloud add-on to BrightPay’s payroll software that allows employers to upload documents through their own online portal. Employees can then access these documents anytime, anywhere from the BrightPay Connect employee app on their smartphones or from an internet browser. Sharing documents with employees this way means they are instantly available for employees to view, whether in the office or working from home. Employees will receive a push notification on their mobile every time a new document has been uploaded or when the employer has updated a document. From the employer dashboard, you can also keep track of which employees have viewed which documents.

How can I generate employee documents?

BrightPay’s sister product Bright Contracts, syncs with BrightPay’s payroll software and allows you to easily create tailored employee contracts and staff handbooks which fully conform to the latest employment law guidelines. When there are any changes in employment law, Bright Contracts will automatically send you an update, making it easy for you to comply with employment law, even with no HR experience. These documents can then be uploaded via BrightPay Connect’s employer dashboard and shared instantly with employees.

To learn more about sharing documents with employees using BrightPay Connect, book a free online demo today.

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Posted byElaine CarrollinEmployee Handbook