HR Policy Templates 2023

30 September 2020 - Updated: 5 May 2023

The ACA is delighted to release an updated and expanded suite of HR Policy Templates to support our members. Comprehensive and written in plain English by our HR advisors Catalina Consultants, the documents can be readily tailored to suit the needs of specific practices.

THE UPDATED HR TEMPLATE SUITE

Templates include the following:

  1. Code of Conduct
  2. Recruitment and Selection
  3. Working Practices
  4. Leave
  5. Workplace Health and Safety
  6. Privacy
  7. Study Assistance
  8. Whistle Blowing
  9. Flexibility
  10. Parental Leave

WHAT’S CHANGED?

  • Code of Conduct – features a renamed section on Workplace Behaviours, including new and amended sub policies on diversity, sexual harassment, harassment and bullying.
  • Recruitment and Selection – includes gender equity-based processes regarding Advertising, ensuring that at least minimum award rate is advertised due to recent legislation change. An additional clause has been added to the Work Experience and Internship section regarding potential payment when “an individual completes productive work that significantly contributes to the company’s business or a project”. Includes additional Employee Referral Policy.
  • Working Practices – inclusion of specific informal/formal approaches to managing underperformance. Pay secrecy clause removed from remuneration reviews. Complaints and grievance (removed disputes) expanded to include complaints. Also includes references to confidentiality, matters to consider as part of a resolution. Inclusion of Sexual harassment, Victimisation and Bullying as cause for dismissal under serious misconduct.
  • Leave – Flexibility removed and moved to its own separate policy (due to more access and need for flexibility within practice). Includes excessive leave under annual leave. Rewording of compassionate leave due to new inclusion of miscarriage, stillbirth and death of a child. Inclusion of paid family and domestic violence leave (applicable now for employers with over 15 staff and from 1 August 2023 for small businesses under 15 employees). Employers need to ensure leave does not appear as ‘Domestic violence leave’ on a payslip – should read ‘Leave – Other‘ or similar.
  • Workplace Health and Safety – includes psychosocial safety in accordance with new legislation.
  • Privacy – includes new ‘Notification of data breaches’ section.
  • Study Assistance – inclusion of “Other courses, licences, memberships as are relevant to the role and the business” as another possible program for consideration.
  • Flexibility – softening of language due to increase in need to discuss and respond to flexible work requests and the wider pool of potentially eligible employees.
  • Parental Leave – new policy with four options for payment.

AVAILABLE FOR ACA MEMBERS

All templates are available as editable Word files.

The ACA HR Policy Templates are available to all ACA members – log in to download below. If you aren’t a member, find out more about the benefits of ACA membership here.

NOTE: Member Only Content