How to create policies (that are actually useful)
- Christina Poulton
- Oct 22
- 5 min read
What policies do I need for my small organisation?
How do I create policies for my CIC?
Are there any policy templates, examples or lists of policies I need for my charity?
The headlines
Sorry policies- you have a bad reputation. Most people’s experience of policies involves being handed a dusty file or being sent a 50 page legal-speak badly formatted word doc, and then signing something to say you’ve read it (you haven’t).
But I genuinely believe policies don’t have to be dull or pointless. Done well, they can be powerful tools for clarity, fairness and even radical change. So this how-to guide is my love letter to policies and my soap box to say if you’re going to have them, at least make them useful.
This is your cheat sheet to creating policies for your charity, CIC or non-profit organisation. I've included which ones you need, how to find templates and how to make them work for your organisation.
So, what is a policy?
Basically, a policy is a declaration of how you’re going to do something. Because it’s written down it becomes your guide to make sure it’s done properly and that people are treated fairly along the way.
Policies and procedures often get used interchangeably but they’re two separate things. Here’s the difference:
Policy = your intention (e.g. “We offer annual leave and parental leave and you get X days”)
Procedure = the step-by-step (e.g. “This is how you request leave”)
Though it’s the policy bit of it that is sometimes a legal requirement, it’s the procedures bit that tends to be more useful, particularly for small organisations. Even if it’s just bullet points in a google doc, having a procedure, action plan or checklist makes your policy relevant and means something actually happens.
Why bother with policies?
In small organisations- especially when things are going smoothly- it can feel like writing policies is just red tape. But there are three solid reasons to get on board:
1. They set your intentions
Policies help define the kind of organisation you want to be. They can be radical. They can challenge inequality. They can change lives.
Take flexible working as an example. If you employ people, you have to offer this option so you need a policy. You can do something bog standard but a good flexible working policy can make it possible for someone to balance work with caring responsibilities, massively reduce their stress, and remove the guilt and awkwardness of having to ask.
2. They’re your roadmap when the going gets tough
Most of us don’t think about policies until something goes wrong. But when people and emotions are involved, things can get messy pretty quickly.
A well thought out policy gives you a framework to handle problems in a fair and legally sound way. It’s your safety net.
3. They provide stability and legacy
Maybe your charity or CIC runs brilliantly right now. But what happens if you leave?
Policies help ensure consistency. They’re a record of how things are done and help maintain your values, even as people come and go.
What Policies Do You Actually Need? (and free checklist download)
Some policies are legal requirements (like Health and Safety, Grievance & Disciplinary). Others aren’t strictly required, but they reflect good practice, help you stay compliant with the law, or are essential when applying for funding (e.g. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion).
Once you start employing staff- or have more than five employees- there’s a list of HR (Human Resources) policies you need.
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all checklist, unfortunately. What you need depends on your legal structure (charity, CIC or non-profit company) organisation’s size, risk level, how you work and the type of work you do. And yes, it can get overwhelming. So start with the essentials, and build from there.
Better to have a handful of robust, relevant policies that people actually understand and use than 76 generic ones no one ever reads.
I’ve created a mega list of all the policies, which you can filter by type, whether they’re a legal requirement and which ones to prioritise. I’ve also identified ‘the big 5’- the ones to start with if you don’t have anything in place yet.
Resources and policy templates to get you started
You can get other templates from...
ACAS: Free HR advice helpline and template policies
NCVO: Excellent templates and guidance on charity management and safeguarding (useful even if you're not a charity)
RadHR: Crowdsourced bank of brilliant anti-oppression-focused policies
Charity Excellence Framework: Lists and templates for legal and best-practice policies
Health and Safety Executive: Templates and guides for H&S policies and risk assessments
How to make policies that actually mean something
Templates are a great starting point but don’t stop there. To make sure your policies are meaningful, you can:
Involve your team. Whether it’s your board, or if you have any other staff or volunteers, get them involved in creating or reviewing policies. If one person writes everything in isolation, it’s unlikely to be useful or used.
Bring in different perspectives. Until something directly affects you, it’s easy to overlook it. I once wrote all the HR policies for the charity I ran and it wasn’t until we adopted that I realised how rubbish our adoption leave policy was! Involve people with different backgrounds, family setups, and working patterns. Don’t be afraid to rip it up and start again if it’s not serving your organisation.
Use clear, simple language. The people writing it AND the people reading it should understand every word, or it’s pointless. Get someone to read one back to you and explain it, or flag anything that doesn’t make sense.
Create bullet-point summaries for long policies. For example, freelance project staff might not need the whole safeguarding policy- I usually create a freelancer pack to go with contracts which includes summaries of the essentials they need for each policy and then links to the full document.
Make them easy to find. A staff handbook with hyperlinks or a shared folder can go a long way.
Walk through your procedures. Use hypothetical scenarios to test if your policies and procedures actually work in real life. Especially in small teams, roles often overlap and need adjusting from the standard templates.
Introduce them actively. Run short briefings or workshops to make policies real. In a data protection session, I get people to write down their personal details, then ask how comfortable they’d be to hand them over to me in different scenarios. It’s a great way to make the risks feel real when it’s your own data and it’s memorable when you get everyone to shred everything at the end of the workshop. Get your trustees drawing safeguarding flowcharts on big sheets of paper. Use post-its for HR responsibilities. Act out scenarios for equality policies. Walk the space that your health and safety policy applies to. Keep policies live.
Review them regularly. Most policies need to be reviewed annually as legislation and your organisation changes. But if it’s something high risk or your organisation goes through significant change you may need to do it more often.
What next?
Policies should help your organisation run smoothly. Whether you’re just starting out or trying to refresh what you have, the goal is the same: create policies that support the people you work with and reflect your values.
Book a slot in your calendar now to look at what you have and make a list of actions. Take the time to create them, tame them, or embrace them—whatever stage you’re at.
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