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Starting a bakery? It’s fair to say a lot of the British public have at least, at some point, considered if after watching the Great British Bake Off.

But when starting a bakery business it may come to a point where you can’t do it all yourself, and when this happens do you know the proper way to take on and manage new employees?

Here’s a few things you might need to think about, and our top tips for staying on the right side of the law.

Tick All The Boxes When Taking On New Staff

We’ve already written a piece on taking on your first employee, however a few key action points to think about when taking on new staff are:

  1. Check their identity
  2. Issue them a contract within two months of starting work
  3. Get employer’s liability insurance
  4. Register with the HMRC as an employer
  5. Provide a safe workplace
  6. Ensure there is adequate first aid on site
  7. Store employee data securely
  8. Provide the right amount of holiday by law
  9. Make sure working hours meet with the rules

Have A Written Contract

As a new employer who is finding their feet starting a new bakery business, it may be difficult to keep up with all the admin that comes with hiring employees. However, having a written contract is essential.

Many businesses struggle compiling employment terms from various sources such as emails, conversations, or even just seeing how their employees work on a day to day basis –not only is this extra hassle when problems arise, but it’s also breaking employment law.

As mentioned above, when you take on new staff you must provide them with written terms within two months of their start date.

Manage Staff Appraisals Effectively

When you employ new staff, especially in an environment where you want them to meet your high standards, it is important to be able to appraise their performance to get the very best out of them.

Whilst there is no law that says you have to appraise your staff, it is important to bear in mind a couple of important pieces of legislation. Namely the Equality Act of 2010 and the Data Protection Act of 1998. These ensure that employees do not suffer any discrimination (based on protected characteristics such as age, disability, gender etc.) and that their employment data is also secure.

Manage Performance Issues Correctly

Much like staff appraisals, managing performance issues when starting a bakery or any other business can be tricky, but it really doesn’t have to be! The Equality Act 2010 for example states that you must make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to a role or working environment if either you or your staff believe disability to be a factor in their performance, but if you take the time to assess the situation with your staff and investigate properly you will usually find the best course of action.

Should you need to instigate a procedure to address their poor performance, you will need to decide which one to follow – either disciplinary or capability; both of which have specific action points that you will need to follow, depending on the performance issue which has caused them.

These are just a few of the things you’ll need to think about should you decide on starting a bakery business and employ new staff. For more information and helpful guides to give you the time to focus on your new business, why not sign up to a free trial of citrusHR today?

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