Workplace policies and procedures are necessary to clearly define acceptable and unacceptable behaviour in the workplace, and set out the implications of unacceptable behaviour. Appropriate policies also reduce the risks of breaches of legislation, such as incidents involving discrimination and bullying, and help employers manage an incident of misconduct if it occurs.

It is important that policies are reasonable and provide clear guidelines about what behaviour is acceptable or unacceptable. Policies also need to specify the possible consequences of a breach of the policy. Policies should be clearly communicated and explained to employees regularly, including during the induction process. All policies should be easily accessible and training should be provided on policies, particularly for policies such as discrimination, bullying and harassment.

This section provides guidance and information on important human resources issues and explains why policies are highly recommended. Also provided are sample human resources policies which can be adapted to the needs of an organisation, as well as tips on introducing policies. The most recently updated information appears below and you can explore specific topics from the links box.