The Essential HR Guide for SMEs is designed to give you practical, straight-talking guidance on the HR fundamentals that matter most in business.
Whether you’re building your team from the ground up or strengthening what you already have, this 5 step guide will help you put the right structures in place to support your business every step of the way.
That’s where Tribal positions itself:
Debbie Johnston
Head of People Solutions
Tribal
Managing employee absence in a small business starts with having a clear absence management policy, tracking absence consistently, and conducting return to work interviews. SMEs should ensure absence is handled fairly, legally, and consistently across all staff.
If an employee is repeatedly off sick, employers should monitor absence patterns, document absences properly, and investigate persistent absenteeism fairly. It is important to follow UK sickness absence procedures and support employee wellbeing where appropriate.
SMEs can reduce staff sickness absence by improving workplace wellbeing, supporting flexible working, managing stress-related absence proactively, and implementing effective absence management processes.
A return to work interview helps employers discuss sickness absence with employees, identify any ongoing issues, and improve attendance management. It also helps reduce repeat absence and demonstrates consistent absence procedures.
Managing long term sickness absence requires regular communication, medical evidence where appropriate, reasonable adjustments, and fair absence management procedures. Employers should ensure compliance with UK employment law and avoid discrimination risks.
The Bradford Score is an absence management tool used to identify patterns of short-term sickness absence. Many businesses use Bradford scoring to help track employee attendance and manage frequent absence fairly.
In some cases, employers may take formal action where sickness absence becomes excessive and impacts the business. However, absence management must always be fair, documented, and compliant with UK employment law.
Improving employee attendance often involves better absence reporting, workplace wellbeing initiatives, clear absence procedures, and early intervention when attendance issues arise.
If an employee raises a formal grievance, employers should follow a fair grievance procedure, investigate the complaint properly, and document all actions taken. Handling grievances professionally reduces legal and tribunal risks.
Employee complaints should be managed consistently, confidentially, and without bias. Employers should investigate complaints thoroughly and ensure grievance meetings are conducted fairly and professionally.
The grievance procedure involves acknowledging the complaint, conducting an investigation, holding a grievance hearing, and providing a written outcome. Employers should follow ACAS guidance and employment law best practice.
A grievance investigation should gather evidence, interview relevant parties, review documentation, and remain neutral throughout the process. Proper grievance investigations help protect businesses from disputes and tribunal claims.
Poor grievance handling can lead to employee relations issues, discrimination claims, constructive dismissal claims, or employment tribunals. A fair grievance process helps reduce legal and reputational risk.
Complaints involving bullying or discrimination should always be taken seriously and investigated promptly. Employers must ensure workplace complaints are handled sensitively, fairly, and in line with UK employment law.
Yes. Small businesses can manage employee grievances effectively by following a structured grievance process, documenting investigations properly, and ensuring complaints are handled fairly and consistently.
Evidence may include emails, witness statements, meeting notes, attendance records, policies, and other relevant documentation. Proper evidence gathering helps ensure grievance outcomes are fair and defensible.
If an employee is underperforming, employers should address performance issues early through clear communication, documented feedback, and structured performance management processes.
Managing poor performance fairly involves setting clear expectations, offering support, documenting concerns, and following a formal capability or disciplinary process where necessary.
A disciplinary process may be appropriate when misconduct, repeated poor performance, or serious behaviour issues occur. Employers should investigate concerns fully before taking formal disciplinary action.
A Performance Improvement Plan outlines performance concerns, expectations, support measures, and review timelines to help employees improve performance before formal disciplinary escalation.
Handling misconduct requires a fair investigation, evidence gathering, disciplinary meetings, and appropriate documentation. Employers should follow disciplinary procedures consistently across all employees.
Employers should collect evidence such as emails, witness accounts, performance records, attendance data, or policy breaches before issuing disciplinary warnings or sanctions.
SMEs can reduce unfair dismissal risks by following fair disciplinary procedures, documenting performance concerns properly, conducting investigations, and giving employees opportunities to improve.
A disciplinary meeting should clearly explain concerns, present evidence, allow the employee to respond, and follow a fair and professional process in line with UK employment law.
Employers must follow a fair redundancy process, including consultation, fair selection criteria, proper documentation, and redundancy notice requirements under UK employment law.
The redundancy process for SMEs typically includes identifying the business need, consulting employees, considering alternatives, selecting employees fairly, and confirming redundancy decisions professionally.
Yes. Employees can challenge redundancy decisions if they believe the process was unfair, discriminatory, or lacked proper consultation. Following a fair redundancy process helps reduce legal risks.
Redundancy consultation timelines vary depending on the number of employees affected. Employers should allow meaningful consultation and ensure employees have opportunities to ask questions and explore alternatives.
A fair redundancy selection process uses objective criteria such as skills, qualifications, performance, or business needs. Employers should avoid discriminatory or subjective decision-making.
Businesses can reduce unfair dismissal risks by following redundancy procedures correctly, consulting employees properly, documenting decisions, and considering alternative employment opportunities.
HR support can help businesses manage redundancy legally, reduce compliance risks, handle redundancy meetings professionally, and ensure all documentation is completed correctly.
Incorrect redundancy procedures can lead to unfair dismissal claims, discrimination claims, reputational damage, and employment tribunal costs. Proper redundancy management helps protect the business legally and commercially.
Tribal is part of the Seetec Group Company.
Registered Office: Tribal Business Solutions, 75-77 Main Road, Hockley, Essex SS5 4RG
Company Registration No. 2291188 England | VAT Registration No. 507 5104 75
The Tribal team is super responsive, which we all know is imperative when dealing with people and sensitive information. They always have practical solutions when dealing with complicated HR situations.
Shaf Allyman
Flipout Lakeside
Tribal have been excellent at coming in and overhauling our existing HR setup, getting us up to speed. They have been especially helpful in dealing with some of our stickier situations.
Michelle Lynch
Henderson & Taylor
