How to employ someone in a small business

Your business is booming and you think you might need some help – but how do you find and hire employees?

We’ve got the low down.

If you’ve previously been out on your own but business is really starting to take off and you’ve got a budget in mind, it might be time to look for some extra help.

Of course, having employees will be able to take some of the day to day work off your hands, but it’s not without its own challenges and admin too! We’ve got some handy information you might need when employing your first member of staff.

1. Write a job description
You might have a clear idea of what you want in an employee, but putting pen to paper will help you to think about what it actually is you want help with, and the kind of person for the job. For example, if you work with food, would you like them to have any existing certification or will you be providing training on the job?

The job description is the beginning of your relationship, so make sure the roles and responsibilities are clearly there in black and white.

2. Advertise the role
Writing a job advert will help you to find the right person for the job – so make sure you’re placing them in the right places.

For example, if there are specialist skills needed then you might want to think about a strategy for finding the right person, if not and you just need general help then it might be easier to publicise your role using social media and local press.

3. Interview potential candidates
Get your potential candidates in to see if they’re a match for you, but also if your role is the right job for them too. Interviews are a great way to judge chemistry and find out a bit more about the person – it might just be you two together five days a week after all!

Go into the interview with a broad range of questions to find out about their previous experience and what they can bring to your workplace.

4. Ensure they’re eligible to work
You might need to double check that your potential employee is allowed to work in the UK. This Government website will help you to do this as it can be quite complicated as there are particular documents involved.

5. Take care of the paperwork
There are some final checks you’ll need to do before offering the job. Roles that involve children or those with health issues will require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Find out more about the checks employers can make on job applicants.

DON’T FORGET: You’ll need to comply with data protection regulations whilst you’re managing your potential staff’s details. Read more about them here.

6. Register as an employer
Once you’ve offered your new member of staff the role and they’ve accepted, you’ll need to make sure you’re registered as an employer. You may have already done this for yourself if you’re the director of a limited company, but you must make sure you’re registered before their first pay day.

7. Get insurance
It’s a legal requirement in the UK to have employers’ liability insurance if you have any staff. This will help you to cover the financial consequences should they become ill or injured whilst at work.

Find out more about employers’ liability insurance.

8. Make sure working arrangements are in place
Once everything else is in place, you just need to make sure you’ve accounted for things like policies and procedures in the workplace, making sure you can provide the right holiday allowances, maternity or paternity and even flexible working arrangements for carers or parents.

Now you can continue to grow your business – how exciting!