Recruiting and Employing Staff
People work in parishes in many different ways: as volunteers, contractors, employees or in a self-employed capacity. The information on this page is designed to help parishes with the practicalities of dealing with employment issues.
The Diocese retains an HR advisor, Redway HR, who are able to help with queries from parishes. Please see below for details of how to contact them should you have an HR query.
Are you unsure whether a Parish HR Audit is necessary for you – complete this brief self-audit to help you decide.
If you wish to speak to Diocesan staff regarding an HR issue, please contact the Diocesan Secretary.
HR Training
Parish Employment training was delivered in March 2025 and a recording of the session can be viewed here. The presentation slides can also be downloaded here.
Redway also provide online training in certain areas, and this includes training which covers the new requirement for all employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at work. This training (costing £29) can be accessed via their website here.
Training is available via the National Church for Safeguarding / Safer Recruitment via the Online Training Portal and for GDPR compliance via MeLearning.
If you wish to speak to Diocesan staff regarding an HR issue, please contact the Diocesan Secretary.
Redway HR
Arrangements are in place to support the management of human resources both for staff directly employed by the Diocesan Board of Finance and for the stipendiary clergy in the diocese. This support is available from Redway HR – a professional HR support agency based in Harpenden. Details of their team members are available on their website here.
Many parishes have a small number of directly employed staff and from time-to-time issues arise over contracts, performance and other aspects of employment law and good practice. Parishes are encouraged to ensure that they get appropriate professional advice regarding the employment of staff.
Redway HR are available to service the human resources needs of individual parishes in the Diocese. They are able to offer advice and support across all aspects of HR. Their professional services are charged at £99 per hour plus VAT (prices correct as at 1/10/2024 and may be subject to change). Charges for support provided to individual parishes will be charged directly to the parish.
To access Redway HR’s services call 01582 252500 or email info@redway-hr.co.uk. Charges will only apply after their staff have been in touch to confirm that they have:
- Understood the HR issue(s)
- Agreed how they can help
- Agreed the scale of the work required
- Had agreement from the Parish to proceed
Parish HR Audits
Parish HR Audits are available free of charge to the parish (funded by the diocese).
An HR audit will consist of:
- A call with an advisor at Redway HR to understand the current HR situation in your parish, this will include volunteers, employees, people paid an honorarium and contractors.
- A review of all existing documentation, you will be provided with details to share copies of all your HR related paperwork.
- A recommendation report – A member of the Redway team will review all the information provided and produce a report of recommendations.
- A follow-up call with Redway HR to discuss the outcome and go through the recommendations in detail.
We encourage all parishes to make use of this service, particularly if there is anyone you pay to do any form of work in the parish.
To book an audit please complete the form on the link below:
The form will take around 5 minutes to complete. It asks you for the numbers of people who volunteer or are paid to work in the parish and an overview of what documents you have in place for them, we recommend you review this before completing the form.
Appointments will be allocated on a first come first served basis – we expect there are five audits available per month.
Parish HR Information Guides and Templates
Information Guides and Template Documents prepared by Redway HR are available to download from the links below. All templates are in word format, so that they can be downloaded and edited for use in a parish setting.
| Document | Date | Download |
|---|---|---|
| Parish HR Template – Justice, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy | 30 June 2026 | |
| Parish HR Template – Contract of Employment | 15 April 2026 | |
| Parish HR Template – Employee Handbook | 15 April 2026 | |
| Parish HR Guide – Summary of Updates to Parish Employee Handbook | 15 April 2026 | |
| Parish HR Guide – Right to Work | 30 April 2025 | |
| Parish HR Guide – Recruitment and Selection | 30 April 2025 | |
| Parish HR Template – Performance Appraisal Form | 30 April 2025 | |
| Parish HR Template – Risk Assessment – Sexual Harassment | 30 April 2025 | |
| Parish HR Template – Reference Request | 7 March 2025 | |
| Parish HR Template – Offer Letter | 7 March 2025 | |
| Parish HR Template – Job Description | 7 March 2025 | |
| Parish HR Template – Worker Agreement | 7 March 2025 | |
| Parish HR Guide – Employment Resources | 7 March 2025 | |
| Parish HR Guide – Holiday Calculations | 7 March 2025 | |
| Parish HR Guide – Defining Employment Status | 7 March 2025 |
We strongly recommend that you use a professional payroll service provider to manage the administration of payroll for your employees. This will ensure that you remain compliant with current HMRC, PAYE, DWP and TPR requirements. The Diocese have negotiated preferential rates with Morewood Payroll Services. Please see below for details of how to contact them.
Morewood Payroll Services
Many parishes have a small number of directly employed staff. Parishes are encouraged to ensure that they have appropriate professional support to manage the payroll, tax and pension requirements for these staff.
Morewood Payroll Services are available to provide this support at preferential rates for parishes within the Diocese of St Albans. Fees are all-inclusive and the monthly fee for a basic monthly-run payroll service is £18 for up to 5 staff; £25 for up to 10 staff. Fees for larger numbers and enhanced services, including full pensions auto-enrolment support, available on application.
To access Morewood Payroll Services support call 01438 743215 or email Denise Terzi on denise@morewoodpayroll.co.uk for an informal (cost free) discussion of your requirements (9am – 4pm, Monday – Friday).
Self Employment
Parishes should be cautious about assuming that someone is self employed: should HMRC determine that the worker is an employee rather than a self-employed contractor, then they could pursue the employer for any shortfall in payments to them whether this be the difference between what has actually been paid by the worker and what would be due had they been an employee, or in the case of the worker defaulting on payment altogether, the entire dues.
There is no set format or single factor that HMRC use to determine if someone is genuinely self-employed. They do however use similar indicators to those used by Employment Tribunals to determine whether someone is self-employed or an employee. A number of factors are likely to be taken into account such as whether the individual concerned undertakes work on a regular basis, provides their own equipment, determine their own pattern of work etc.
A useful guide is available on the Parish Resources Website.
Information is also available on the HMRC website.
Organists
The employment of organists can be complex, depending on the particular arrangements in any parish. The best advice is to get the organist onto a contract so that there is clarity as to the agreed position. If it is to be a self-employed relationship, the Incorporated Society of Musicians has a template contract which you can download.
