HR Advice and Guidance for Parishes

Template Job Description

Draft Advert

Application Form

Fixed Term Reasons

Shortlisting Form

Sample Interview Questions 

Invite to Interview Template Letter

Template Unsuccessful Shortlisting Letter

Template Staff Offer Letter

Appointment Checklist

HMRC New Starter Checklist

Bank Details

Emergency Contact Details Form

Guide to Eligibility to Work Documents

Reference Request Letter Template

Reference Request Form Template

Contract of Employment

Contract of Employment (Term Time Only)

Leavers Checklist

One-to-One Meeting Template

Appraisal Template

Guidance on Undertaking an Appraisal 

Template Annual Leave Card

Redundancy Scenarios

Template Casual Worker Agreement

Display Screen Equipment Survey Template

H&S Risk Assessment Template

Basic Risk Assessment Template 

Self-Certificate Form

Return to Work Form

Wellbeing Support Plan Form

Informal Improvement Plan Checklist

Invite to Formal Stage 1/2 Meeting

Stage 1 Outcome Letter

Stage 2 Outcome Letter

Sickness Hearing Outcome Letter

Invite to Final Sickness Meeting

Guidance Notes for Meeting 

Outcome of Final Sickness Meeting 

Unauthorised Absence Letter

Stress Risk Assessment

Guide to Reasonable Adjustments

Suggested Neurodiversity Adjustment

Employee Guide to Sickness Absence 

New Mothers at Work Risk Assessment

Paternity Leave Application Form 

Action Plan Checklist

Sample Performance Improvement Plan

SMART Objectives

Adoption Policy

Annual Leave Policy

Appeal Policy

Apprenticeship Policy

Bereavment Policy

Carers Policy

Code of Conduct 

Dignity at Work Policy (Bullying and Harassment)

Sexual Harassment Prevention Policy

Disciplinary Policy

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy

Expenses Policy

Flexible Working Policy

Gifts and Hospitality Policy

Grievance Policy

Data Protection Policy

Data Protection Definitions

Health and Safety Policy

Lone Working Policy

Maternity Policy

Menopause Policy 

Neonatal Care and Leave Policy

Parental Leave Policy

Paternity Policy

Performance Improvement Policy

Probation Policy

Recruitment and Selection Policy

Shared Parental Leave (Adoption/Surrogacy)

Shared Parental Leave (Birth)

Sickness Absence Policy

Social Media Policy

Time Off for Dependants Policy

Whistleblowing Policy 

Absolutely, our HR Parish Support Officer can review any policies you need. If you send the policies over, and we can work alongside you to review them and provide any guidance or suggestions.

We would welcome anyone who has a question regarding a new policy to contact us, so we can support and guide you on the appropriate steps to implement a new policy and what communications need to be had. On our website under Policies and procedures, there are a number of policy templates can be used for your parish, if you’d like to use these, please download and amend anything highlighted in yellow.

Every employer must have;

1. Health and Safety Policy
2. Disciplinary Procedure
3. Grievance Procedure
4. Equal Opportunities (EDI) Policy
5. Data Protection/ Privacy Policy

It is also best practice to have a sickness absence reporting policy. All these will provide clear processes, ensuring fairness and compliance with employment legislation.  

Whilst generally we can support you with policy development and reviews, as we are not health and safety experts, our recommendation is to contact ecclesiastical for tailored support or visit their website, which has a variety of resources and templates which can be used Document Library | Ecclesiastical

From October 2026, employers will need to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment from occurring in the workplace and by third parties. What ‘all reasonable’ adjustments look like, we do not yet know, case law will help determine what this means, once this is available, this will be shared widely.

In the meantime, there are a few things you can begin implementing to support the preventative action

• Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy
• Prevention of Sexual Harassment Poster
• Prevention of Sexual Harassment Risk Assessments
• Prevention of Sexual Harassment Training

We can support you in building your own policy and resources, ensuring you are compliant with the preventative action.

Whilst we do not have first aid trainers at the Diocesan Office, we have found a provider who can come to the Diocesan Office and provide Emergency First Aid at Work course, if you are interested, please contact our HR Officer – Parish Support for more information.

Most definitely, we’d be very happy to support with this. It would be helpful to first understand what you already have in place and where there may be any gaps.

We can arrange a meeting, either virtually or in person, to talk this through. In the meantime, please feel free to send over the documents you would like reviewed. We’ll work alongside you to provide guidance where needed, helping to ensure you remain compliant and that roles and responsibilities accurately reflect what is required in practice.

This may make you vulnerable to claims for unfair dismissal sooner than previous, from January 2027 this will become law meaning changing policy and procedures will be more crucial than ever to ensure they remain compliant and fit for purpose. One of the most important areas to address is your probation policy.

It will be essential to ensure that expectations, review processes, and decision-making during the probation period are clearly defined, consistently applied, and well documented. A robust probation policy will help provide clarity for both the employer and employee, while also reducing risk and supporting fair decision-making.

We would strongly encourage you to review your probation policy, alongside your wider disciplinary and capability procedures, to ensure they align with the upcoming changes and reflect best practice.

We are available to support and guide you through this.

This will mean that employees will gain unfair dismissal protections after six months of continuous service, regardless of whether they have passed their probation or not. This is why it is crucial to ensure that policies and procedures are clearly defined and applied.

We would ask what process you have already followed and what consequent meetings have you had to discuss your concerns with the employee.

It will be important to establish whether this is a performance concern, sickness absence concern, or a health concern.

One possible route/avenue to explore is whether an Occupational Health (OH) Referral is something that would be of benefit for the individual of concern – this would require a discussion, between yourself and the individual, highlighting your concerns (remember nothing should be new to them, they should have already been made aware), and why you think an OH would be a good idea. We cannot enforce that an individual has an OH, but we would encourage the individual to consider the benefits having one would have on their work.

If you do not have a policy already in place, that covers performance, sickness absence or health concerns, then speak with the HR Parish Support Officer, or a member of the Bristol Diocesan HR Team, who will be able to guide you through the next appropriate steps, and use the Acas Code as a starting point.

The BDBF use two providers Medigold Health and Thrive Worldwide. (prices may change in connection with the Retail Price Index (RPI))

• Medigold: £174.24 excluding VAT

They will work with the individual to better understand the health of the individual, make recommendations to improve the health and wellbeing of the individual and support you the employer to look after the employee.

• Thrive: £330

Thrive work with the employee to understand the relationship between their health and their work. They will provide steps and recommendations for both individual and employer to improve or resolve.

If you feel an OH referral is the next appropriate steps or would be of benefit for the individual, please be in touch with their name, and contact details and our HR Parish Support Officer or another member of the Bristol Diocesan HR Team will be in touch with them to discuss the next steps.

It will be important to distinguish what relationship the individual holds at your organisation, as the employment status they hold is based on their employment contract or written statement of employment particulars, what was agreed when they were offered the job and the way the organisation and individual work together.

Someone is likely to have the legal status of employee if the below apply:

• They’re required to work regularly (unless on leave or absent from work)
• They can usually expect work to be consistently available
• They cannot unreasonably refuse to do the work
• They get statutory holiday
• They are subject to the employer’s discipline and grievance procedures
• They need to give notice to their employer if they want to take maternity, paternity
• They cannot get someone else to do their job
• Their employer decides how, when and where they do their work
• The employer provides the materials, tools and equipment for their work

Someone is likely to have legal status as worker if:

• Their work for the organisation is more casual
• They’re usually required to personally do the work
• They are not offered regular or guaranteed hours
• They have very little obligation to make themselves available for the work
• They are not carrying out work for a client or customer of their own

Someone is likely to be self-employed if they:

• Are responsible for how and when they work
• Are the owner of a company or a freelancer
• Invoice for their pay instead of getting a wage
• Get contracts to provide services
• Able to work for different clients and charge different fees
• Are able to send someone else to do the work for them

Please do speak to our HR Parish Support Officer or the Bristol Diocesan HR Team for more information and guidance on this.

However, in answer to the question, we would want to find more information about the role and the expectations on the individual and on you as the employer. Once we have established a clearer understanding of the relationship, we will be in a better position to advise you.

It will also be important to establish the employment status for tax purposes, the two are different, you can you this tool Check employment status for tax - GOV.UK, or speak with our HR Parish Support Officer, who will be able to guide further.  

The meaning behind an honorarium is a ‘’one-off’’ payment, where a token payment has been made to an individual as a gesture of appreciation for voluntary services; it is not usually pre-determined.

If you are paying a regular sum of money each week or month, it is likely to be regarded as a ‘’salary’’ and therefore could be an employment contract.

If you are unsure on your current arrangements or would like to clarify, please speak with the HR Parish Support Officer or contact the Bristol Diocesan HR Team.