Funding grid
Members area

Policies and procedures

Policies every group needs

When you start a group, you need to make sure you’re doing everything within the law. The easiest way to do this is to make sure you’re using the right policies, that they are the most current and anyone in your group can follow them.

Depending on the nature of your group, and whether you employ staff, depends on the types of policies you need. If you employ staff, you should look at the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) to find the policies you need.

Policies to think about

There are a number of specific policies you should include in your group legislation. The following will get you started – just click on each one to be taken to current, expert advice.


“Age, race, gender, class, sexual orientation, religion or belief, disability or the passport they hold, every worker should enjoy an equal chance to upskill or learn something new at work.” Frances O’Grady, Breaking Through the Barriers

Equality, diversity and inclusion

Every group should have a formal policy around equality, diversity and inclusion that demonstrates commitment to fairness. Not only will this help to encourage equality among your members, you will also need to show it on your funding applications. The policy should clearly state the group’s stance towards any discriminatory behaviour and how you will respond to potential incidents.

Key points your policy should include are:

  • non-discriminatory procedures and practices to be upheld
  • a statement that all members are required to act according to the policy
  • clear definitions between bullying and victimisation
  • a governing procedure on step-by-step actions to be taken.

Further resources

This site has a great overview of policy information: