HR end of year checklist

Take a look at our HR end of year checklist and tips for getting your HR in order in 2025.

Review your contracts and procedures

Ideally, this should be done every two years to keep up to speed with changes in legislation, such as auto-enrolment or changes to definitions in employment law. Make sure that the following, in particular, are up to date:

• Attendance and personal conduct
• Bullying and discrimination
• Contracts of employment
• Disciplinary
• Flexible working
• Maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave
• Pay – including the updates to National Insurance and National Minimum Wage
• Recruitment, onboarding & probationary periods
• Sickness & compassionate leave
• Social media
• Termination

Check all staff appraisals are complete

Before the end of the year make sure every member of your team has had an appraisal and their development reviewed. Set targets for the year ahead and discuss any concerns or issues from both sides. Read our blog on how to run an effective appraisal.

Record all meetings so you can refer back if needed. This will also protect you legally should there ever be a dispute with an employee, and you have kept a full record of contact and discussions. Performance review software can help you to manage this process.

Check your training plan

Have your staff fulfilled their training objectives and needs this year? If not, you still have time to complete this before the end of the year and add this to your HR end of year checklist.

Allocate funds and resources now for staff training in 2025 so that staff are clear on what’s available to them for the next twelve months. Read our guide to setting up a training scheme if this is something you haven’t done before.

Consider running a staff survey to guide the HR strategy and agenda for the year ahead

Conducting staff surveys can help you gain a better understanding of how your staff feel about working for your organisation. When implemented correctly and followed up with visible actions, they can also help boost morale and in turn your organisation’s productivity. We also partner we WeThrive, which is an engagement platform designed to help you run surveys and use the results to create highly effective teams, retain key staff for longer and deliver better business results.

Review your employee benefits

The start of a new year is an ideal time to take stock of what you’re offering your employees in terms of benefits. What’s working and what’s not? If you’re surveying your staff you could use this opportunity to find out what they would really like, and what they are not using. Take a look at our guide to setting up a flexible benefits scheme, or during the current climate we’ve put together some ideas for non-financial incentives.

Conduct an information audit

Adhering to GDPR, you should conduct an audit now of the information your business holds on employees and job applicants to ensure ongoing compliance. Also make employees working from home aware of GDPR rules. There is useful guidance on GDPR available on the ICO website.

Be aware of employment law changes

Be aware of the Employment Rights Bill. Consider National Insurance and National Minimum Wage increases. Are all of your policies up to date and legally compliant? You can find information on the Employment Rights Bill and employment law updates here.

Update your HR systems

Run some end of year housekeeping to make sure that your system is up to date and contains accurate information. Ensure that holiday year closure administration is done. Is there any carryover to manage?