HR Policies & Documentation
HR Policies, Contracts and Employee Handbooks,
Written Properly, Kept Up to Date
Employment contracts written for your business, not downloaded from the internet. Employee handbooks that reflect how you actually operate. HR policies that hold up when something goes wrong. For North West SMEs across Bolton, Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire, and fully updated for ERA 2025.
Serving SMEs across Bolton, Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire and Greater Manchester.
CIPD Qualified
ERA 2025 Compliant
Bespoke, Not Template
Free Documentation Review
In short: most North West SME employment documentation was last properly reviewed before 2023 and is already out of date with the Employment Rights Act 2025. DaisyHR reviews, rewrites and maintains your employment contracts, employee handbook and HR policies, bespoke to your business, compliant with current law, and written in language your managers can actually use. We also keep them updated as the law changes, so you are never caught out.
Your HR Documentation Is Your First Line of Defence
When an employment dispute reaches a tribunal, three things determine the outcome more than anything else: whether the employer followed a fair process, whether that process was documented, and whether the documentation was consistent with what the employer said and did.
Most North West SME employment disputes are not lost because the employer did the wrong thing. They are lost because the employer could not demonstrate they did the right thing, because the handbook did not cover the situation, the contract wording was ambiguous, or the policy said one thing and the manager did another.
HR documentation is not a bureaucratic exercise. It is the legal foundation of every employment relationship in your business. A well-written employment contract prevents disputes before they start. A clear disciplinary procedure means your managers follow a consistent, defensible process. An up-to-date employee handbook means your employees know what is expected and you have evidence they were told.
The problem for most North West SMEs is simple: their documentation was written years ago, by someone who has probably left, and has not been reviewed since. After ERA 2025, that is a serious risk, not a theoretical one.
What DaisyHR's HR Documentation Service Covers
Employment Contracts
Every employee in your business should have a written employment contract that accurately reflects the terms of their employment and complies with current law. Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, employers must provide written particulars of employment from day one. Under ERA 2025, what those particulars must include has been updated.
DaisyHR drafts bespoke employment contracts for every role type in your business, not a one-size-fits-all template, but a contract that reflects the actual terms you offer, the specific nature of each role, and the current legal requirements. We also review existing contracts and identify the clauses that need updating.
Employee Handbook
Your employee handbook is the operational rulebook of your business. It tells your employees what you expect from them and what they can expect from you: on everything from working hours and annual leave to disciplinary procedures and social media use. When a dispute arises, the handbook is the first document a tribunal will ask for.
DaisyHR writes employee handbooks from scratch for businesses that do not have one, and reviews and rewrites existing handbooks for businesses whose documentation has fallen behind.
- Bespoke to your business, not a template with your name added
- Written in plain English your managers can actually use
- Compliant with current employment law including ERA 2025
- Structured so policies are easy to find and easy to follow
- Marked as non-contractual where flexibility is needed
HR Policies and Procedures
Beyond the employee handbook, a complete HR policy suite gives managers a clear process to follow for every people situation they face. DaisyHR writes and maintains the core policies every North West SME needs:
ERA 2025 Documentation Review
The Employment Rights Act 2025 requires specific updates to employment contracts, handbooks and policies. Many North West businesses have been told they need completely new documentation. In most cases, that is not true. DaisyHR reviews your existing documentation, identifies what actually needs changing, and makes the necessary updates without charging you for a complete rewrite when one is not needed.
Ongoing Documentation Maintenance
Employment law changes constantly. DaisyHR’s ongoing documentation maintenance service keeps your contracts, handbook and policies current, updating them as the law changes, flagging new requirements before they become obligations, and ensuring you are never in the position of operating with documentation that no longer reflects the legal landscape.
Your Documentation Probably Needs Updating Right Now
The Employment Rights Act 2025 became law in December 2025. The first wave of changes took effect in February 2026. The largest wave lands on 6 April 2026. More follow through 2026 and into 2027.
Here is what that means for your documentation:
Employment contracts – probation period clauses, flexible working provisions, SSP references, zero hours arrangements, and notice period clauses may all need updating depending on what your contracts currently say.
Employee handbook – sick pay policies, parental leave policies, disciplinary procedures, grievance procedures, anti-harassment policies, trade union access provisions, and zero hours policies all require review against ERA 2025 requirements.
Specific policies – the whistleblowing policy must now list sexual harassment as a qualifying disclosure. The flexible working policy must reflect the tighter grounds for refusal and shorter response timescales. The absence policy must reflect SSP from day one.
The good news: in many cases, the changes required are less dramatic than businesses have been led to believe. P3PM documented a case where a business was quoted nearly £2,000 for new ERA-compliant contracts when minor amendments to existing contracts were all that was needed. DaisyHR reviews what you have before recommending what it needs.
Book a free documentation review. We will tell you exactly what needs updating and what does not , before you spend money on things you do not need.
How DaisyHR's Documentation Service Works
Free Documentation Review
Send us your existing employment contracts, employee handbook, and any HR policies you have. We review them against current law and ERA 2025 requirements and give you a clear report: what is compliant, what needs updating, and what is missing entirely. No charge for the review.
We Agree What Needs Doing
Based on the review, we agree the scope of work: whether that is a targeted update to specific clauses, a full handbook rewrite, a complete documentation package, or anything in between. You know the cost before we begin.
We Write It
DaisyHR drafts the documentation. Everything is bespoke to your business. We ask the right questions about how you actually operate, what your specific role types look like, and what the culture and expectations of your business are. The documentation reflects reality, not a generic template.
You Review and We Refine
You review everything we produce. We incorporate your feedback, answer your questions, and make sure you are completely comfortable with every document before it is finalised.
We Keep It Current
Once your documentation is in shape, DaisyHR maintains it. We monitor employment law changes, update your documents when the law requires it, and flag upcoming changes before they become obligations. Your documentation is always current. You never have to think about it.
Is Your Documentation ERA 2025 Compliant?
These changes affect your HR documentation right now:
Already live (February 2026) – Whistleblowing policy must list sexual harassment as a qualifying disclosure
6 April 2026 – Absence/SSP policy must reflect day-one SSP with no waiting period
6 April 2026 – Parental and paternity leave policies must reflect day-one rights
6 April 2026 – Flexible working policy must reflect tighter refusal grounds and shorter timescales
6 April 2026 – Redundancy policy must reflect doubled protective award
October 2026 – Anti-harassment policy must extend duty to third parties
October 2026 – Fire and rehire: contracts relying on this mechanism need review
January 2027 – Probation and dismissal clauses need reviewing ahead of 6-month unfair dismissal threshold
2027 – Zero hours policies must reflect guaranteed hours obligations
Book a free documentation review. We will tell you what needs changing and what does not.
How Much Does HR Documentation Cost?
Documentation Review
Free
We review your existing contracts, handbook and policies and give you a written report identifying what is compliant, what needs updating, and what is missing. No charge. No obligation.
Targeted Update
From £450
Where your existing documentation is broadly sound but requires specific updates: ERA 2025 compliance, a new policy, a contract clause revision. Priced per engagement based on scope.
Full Employee Handbook
From £1,200
A complete bespoke employee handbook written for your business from scratch or a full rewrite of an existing handbook that is significantly out of date. Includes all core policies and procedures.
Complete Documentation Package
From £1,800
Employment contracts for all role types, full employee handbook, and complete policy suite. Everything a North West SME needs to be properly documented and ERA 2025 compliant. The most cost-effective option for businesses starting from scratch or whose documentation is substantially out of date.
Ongoing Maintenance
From £150/month
Annual reviews, ERA 2025 phase updates, new policy additions as required, and a quarterly check-in. Your documentation is always current. Included free within DaisyHR’s outsourced HR and full service packages.
Who Needs DaisyHR's Documentation Service
Never Had Proper Documentation
Running on a two-page contract from Companies House and a verbal handbook. One disciplinary away from serious exposure. This is the most common starting point for DaisyHR documentation clients.
Documentation Is Years Out of Date
Contracts written before GDPR. A handbook last reviewed in 2020. Policies that reference legislation that has since been amended. Technically compliant once, now a liability.
Just Received an ERA 2025 Wake-Up Call
An accountant, a solicitor, or a news article mentioned the Employment Rights Act. The MD has looked at their handbook and realised it has not been updated since 2022. They need to know what actually needs changing and what does not.
Preparing for Due Diligence
A trade sale, an investment round, or an acquisition where the buyer’s advisers will scrutinise HR documentation. Getting documentation in shape before due diligence starts rather than during it.
Growing Business, Outdated Documentation
Started with five people and a standard contract. Now has forty people across three locations, multiple role types, remote workers, and zero hours arrangements. The documentation written at the beginning does not cover the business that exists now.
What North West Employers Say
Placeholder Testimonials. Replace With Real Client Quotes Before Launch.
“Placeholder testimonial, replace before launch. Focus on finding out how out of date their documentation was and the relief of getting it sorted properly.”
[Client Name]
[Job Title]
[Greater Manchester location]
“Placeholder testimonial, replace before launch. Focus on ERA 2025 compliance, not paying for a full rewrite when targeted updates were all that was needed.”
[Client Name]
[Job Title]
[Lancashire or Cheshire location]
“Placeholder testimonial, replace before launch. Focus on a specific situation, a disciplinary or tribunal, where having good documentation made the difference.”
[Client Name]
[Job Title]
[Bolton or Wigan location]
Who You'll Be Working With
Founder & HR Director
MCIPD · Fractional HR Director, Bolton & North West
Sam spent 10 years building HR functions in North West businesses, not just managing the day-to-day, but shaping how companies hire, develop and retain their people as they scale.
Before DaisyHR, she led HR across manufacturing, professional services and high-growth SMEs. The businesses where HR wasn't a support function. It was a commercial lever. She's seen what happens when companies get their people infrastructure right early, and what it costs when they don't.
She's also been in the room when it kicks off. Disciplinaries that escalate. Grievances that get personal. Redundancy programmes that need handling properly. That's the bit most HR consultants outsource or avoid. Sam runs toward it.
She started DaisyHR because she kept seeing the same gap: businesses that needed strategic HR thinking and someone who'd roll their sleeves up when required. Not one or the other. Both.
What Sam brings
- Helped growing businesses get their people structure right before it becomes a problem
- Workforce planning and organisational design that grows with you
- People strategy that connects to commercial goals
- The calm, experienced presence when difficult conversations need having
- CIPD Chartered (Level 7) with a specialism in employment relations
Bolton based. North West focused. Strategic when you need a plan. In your corner when you need backup.
Every DaisyHR consultant is CIPD qualified with a minimum of ten years' senior HR experience. We don't use generalists. We use people who've sat at the board table and navigated the exact situations our clients face.
Frequently Asked Questions
UK law does not require employers to have an employee handbook, but operating without one is rarely defensible for any business with meaningful employment exposure. Tribunals do not apply a lower standard of fairness to small businesses. Without clear written policies, managers improvise, and improvisation is one of the fastest routes to inconsistency and tribunal risk. Any business with five or more employees should have a handbook.
Employers must provide written particulars of employment from day one, including job title, start date, pay, hours, holiday entitlement, notice periods, and disciplinary and grievance procedures. A full employment contract should also cover confidentiality, intellectual property, garden leave, restrictive covenants, and any role-specific terms. ERA 2025 has updated the specific requirements. DaisyHR’s contracts reflect the current obligations.
Employment law changes regularly enough that annual reviews are a minimum. After ERA 2025, any documentation not reviewed since 2023 is likely to need updating. DaisyHR’s ongoing maintenance service handles this automatically: we review and update your documentation whenever the law requires it.
Not necessarily. Many businesses are told they need completely new documentation when targeted updates to existing documents are all that is required. DaisyHR’s free documentation review will tell you honestly what needs changing and what does not before you spend money on a full rewrite.
Contractual policies are legally binding terms of employment: changing them requires the employee’s consent. Non-contractual policies are operational guidelines the employer can update without individual agreement, though good practice is to consult before making significant changes. Getting this distinction wrong in your handbook creates significant problems. DaisyHR structures documentation to give employers the flexibility they need.
Template documentation provides a starting point but almost always needs significant customisation to reflect your specific role types, working arrangements, and business practices. A generic template used in a disciplinary or tribunal proceeding will be scrutinised for how well it matches the actual working relationship. Mismatches are exactly what claimants’ solicitors look for. DaisyHR produces bespoke documentation that reflects how your business actually operates.
The specific changes depend on what your existing documentation says. Common areas requiring update include SSP policies (day one), flexible working policies (tighter refusal grounds), parental leave policies (day one rights), whistleblowing policies (sexual harassment as qualifying disclosure), anti-harassment policies (extended third-party duty), and zero hours arrangements. Book a free documentation review and we will tell you exactly what applies to your business.
For a full documentation package, employment contracts, handbook, and complete policy suite, DaisyHR typically delivers within three to four weeks of receiving your instructions, depending on complexity and the number of role types involved. Targeted updates to existing documentation are usually completed within one to two weeks.
Get Your HR Documentation Reviewed, Free
You do not need to spend money before you know what you are dealing with. Book a free documentation review and DaisyHR will tell you honestly what your contracts, handbook and policies look like against current law: what is fine, what needs updating, and what the risk looks like if something goes wrong before you fix it.
No charge for the review. No obligation to proceed. Just a clear picture of where you stand.
HR documentation services across Bolton, Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Warrington, Wigan, Bury, Rochdale, Preston, Lancaster, Chester, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire.
Last reviewed: March 2026