TL;DR
- HR vocabulary contains two different kinds of word, and most glossaries mix them. Some terms have a meaning set by law or by a regulator (employment status, redundancy, TUPE, reasonable adjustments, special category data) and you can look them up. Others, including probation, appraisal, talent and engagement, mean whatever each employer decides.
- Confusing the two causes real problems. Writing “probation” into a policy as though it carried a statutory meaning, or treating “worker” and “employee” as interchangeable, produces documents that do not survive contact with a dispute. GOV.UK lists five employment statuses and notes that “a person may have a different employment status in tax law” and that “courts and tribunals can make final decisions on employment status”.
- This article defines the legal terms with their sources, labels the house terms as house terms, expands the acronyms, and gives three rules for using the vocabulary well. It is general information rather than legal advice, and it avoids rates, thresholds and qualifying periods, which change.
Two people can use the word "probation" in the same meeting and mean different things, and neither is wrong, because nothing fixes it. Two people can use "worker" loosely in the same meeting and one of them is wrong, because that word is defined.
Most HR glossaries do not distinguish between those two kinds of word. This one does: the terms with a meaning you can look up, the terms every employer sets for itself, and the acronyms. It is general information, not legal advice, and it avoids figures and qualifying periods, which change.
Words matter most where a process has to be followed the same way every time. See how New Dynamics workflows let you define your own stages, forms and approvals, with a completion view instead of a spreadsheet.
Two kinds of HR word
- Defined elsewhere. Employment status, redundancy, dismissal, TUPE, reasonable adjustments, special category data. These have sources. Use them as they are defined, and link to the source in your policy.
- Defined by you. Probation, appraisal, one-to-one, performance improvement plan, talent, engagement, headcount. No external definition applies, so your handbook has to supply one.
- Acronyms. Mostly harmless, occasionally load-bearing. Expand them the first time, every time.
Terms with a legal meaning
Employment status, and the five types
GOV.UK's guidance on employment status explains why it matters: "in employment law a person's employment status helps determine their rights" and "their employer's responsibilities". It lists the main types as worker, employee, self-employed and contractor, director and office holder.
Two lines are worth pinning to the wall. "A person may have a different employment status in tax law", so an arrangement can be one thing for rights and another for tax. And "courts and tribunals can make final decisions on employment status", which means what the contract calls someone is evidence rather than the answer.
Redundancy
GOV.UK states that "redundancy is a form of dismissal from your job. It happens when employers need to reduce their workforce." Its guidance on redundancy rights adds that a person must be "selected for redundancy in a fair way, for example because of your level of experience or capability to do the job", and that they "cannot be selected because of age, gender, or if you're disabled or pregnant", which "could be classed as an unfair dismissal".
The everyday misuse (calling any exit a redundancy because it sounds gentler) is the one to avoid. Redundancy is about the job disappearing, not the person.
Dismissal
The general term for an employer ending employment. Redundancy is one form of it. Dismissal without notice for serious misconduct is usually called summary dismissal, and our post on gross misconduct covers what that requires.
TUPE
GOV.UK's guidance on business transfers and takeovers explains that when a business changes owner, "its employees may be protected under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations (TUPE)". It notes that "the size of the business does not matter", and that where TUPE applies, "the employees' jobs usually transfer over to the new company", "their employment terms and conditions transfer" and "continuity of employment is maintained". There are "2 types of transfer protected under TUPE regulations: business transfers" and "service provision changes".
Grievance and disciplinary
Acas describes the position plainly on its discipline and grievance pages: workers and employers "can often raise and deal with problems at work early and informally", and when that is not possible "they can use formal disciplinary and grievance procedures". Critically, "employers must follow the Acas Code of Practice. It says how they should follow fair procedures."
A grievance is raised by the worker. A disciplinary is raised by the employer. Policies that blur the two make both harder to run.
Reasonable adjustments
Changes made so that a disabled person is not put at a substantial disadvantage. The duty appears throughout employment, including before anyone is hired: Acas notes that "by law you must ask anyone coming to an interview to tell you if they need reasonable adjustments so they can attend".
Special category data
An HR term as much as a data protection one, because HR holds most of it. The ICO explains that the UK GDPR "singles out some types of personal data as likely to be more sensitive, and gives them extra protection", listing personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs and trade union membership, together with genetic data, biometric data and health data.
Sickness records, occupational health reports and diversity monitoring all fall in here, which is why access to them is narrower than access to the rest of an HR file.
Terms with no fixed meaning
These are the ones to define in your own handbook, because nobody else has.
- Probation, or probationary period. A contractual arrangement, not a statutory status. Whatever your contract says it is, it is, including what notice applies and what happens at the end.
- Performance improvement plan. A process your organisation invents. Its length, its stages and its consequences are yours to set, and should be written down before anyone is put on one.
- Appraisal, review, check-in, one-to-one. Used interchangeably and meaning very different things. Say which is which, how often each happens, and which one feeds pay.
- Talent. Sometimes everyone, sometimes a selected group. If your organisation means the second, say so, because people work it out anyway.
- Engagement. A survey score, a feeling, or a programme, depending on the sentence. Define it as whatever you actually measure.
- Headcount and FTE. Headcount counts people; full-time equivalent counts the hours as a proportion of full time. Two part-timers are two headcount and one FTE. Budget conversations go wrong when these are mixed.
- Garden leave. A contractual arrangement where someone remains employed but does not work their notice. The contract has to allow it.
- Line manager. Obvious until someone has two, at which point our multi-manager performance guide is more use than a definition.
The acronyms
| Acronym | Expansion | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| ATS | Applicant tracking system | The system a job application lands in |
| DEI | Diversity, equity and inclusion | Also written EDI and D&I |
| ER | Employee relations | Grievances, disciplinaries, disputes, consultation |
| FTE | Full-time equivalent | Hours as a proportion of full time, not people |
| HRIS | Human resources information system | The record system; sometimes called an HRMS or core HR |
| JD | Job description | The duties document, not the advert |
| KPI | Key performance indicator | A measure, not a target |
| L&D | Learning and development | Training, and everything around it |
| OKR | Objectives and key results | A goal method; see our OKR guide |
| PIP | Performance improvement plan | Defined entirely by your own policy |
| RTW | Right to work, or return to work | Two different things; expand it |
| SLA | Service level agreement | Usually an internal response-time promise |
| TUPE | Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) | See above |
| 1:1 | One-to-one | A conversation, not a form |
The two that cause the most confusion are RTW, which means both a right-to-work check and a return-to-work interview, and PIP, which some organisations treat as supportive and others as the first step of an exit. Neither should be used without saying which.
Three rules for using the vocabulary
- Check whether the word is defined elsewhere. If it is, use it as defined and link to the source. If it is not, define it in your handbook.
- Never use a legal term decoratively. Calling a conversation a "disciplinary" or an exit a "redundancy" when it is not creates an expectation you then have to meet.
- Expand every acronym on first use, including in templates, letters and system labels. The person reading it is often the person it is about.
How to check a definition before you rely on it
- Go to the source, not a glossary. GOV.UK, Acas, the ICO and legislation.gov.uk for the UK.
- Check it still says that. Guidance changes, and dated screenshots in a handbook are worse than no definition.
- Avoid figures in evergreen documents. Rates, thresholds and qualifying periods move; link to them rather than quoting them.
- When it matters, take advice. A definition tells you what a word means, not what to do in your situation.
Our employee handbook guide covers writing the house definitions so they hold up when someone relies on them.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most important HR definitions to know?
The ones with a legal meaning: employment status and its types, redundancy, dismissal, TUPE, grievance and disciplinary procedures, reasonable adjustments, and special category data. Those can be looked up and should be used exactly. Most other HR vocabulary, including probation, appraisal and performance improvement plan, is defined by each employer.
What is the difference between a worker and an employee?
They are different employment statuses with different rights. GOV.UK lists worker, employee, self-employed and contractor, director and office holder as the main types, notes that a person may have a different status in tax law, and states that courts and tribunals can make final decisions on employment status. What a contract calls someone is evidence rather than the answer.
What does TUPE mean?
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations. GOV.UK explains that when a business changes owner its employees may be protected, that the size of the business does not matter, and that where the regulations apply jobs usually transfer to the new company, terms and conditions transfer and continuity of employment is maintained. Two types of transfer are covered: business transfers and service provision changes.
What is special category data in HR?
Personal data the UK GDPR treats as more sensitive, which the ICO lists as data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs and trade union membership, plus genetic, biometric and health data. In an HR context that covers sickness records, occupational health reports and diversity monitoring, which is why access to them is usually narrower.
Is a probation period a legal thing?
No. Probation is a contractual arrangement, not a statutory status, so it means what your contract and policy say it means, including notice during the period and what happens at the end. Because there is no external definition, it has to be written down clearly.
What do the common HR acronyms stand for?
ATS is applicant tracking system, DEI is diversity, equity and inclusion, ER is employee relations, FTE is full-time equivalent, HRIS is human resources information system, JD is job description, KPI is key performance indicator, L&D is learning and development, OKR is objectives and key results, PIP is performance improvement plan, SLA is service level agreement and TUPE is the Transfer of Undertakings regulations. RTW is the awkward one: it means both right to work and return to work.
Your next step: sort your own vocabulary
- List the HR words your policies use most often.
- Mark each one as defined elsewhere or defined by you.
- For the first group, link to the source instead of paraphrasing it.
- For the second group, write one sentence of definition into the handbook and use it consistently.
For writing those house definitions so they survive being relied on, read and download our employee handbook guide. The guide is free to read, and the PDF uses our short download form.
Want your own stages, forms and terminology in the system rather than in a document nobody opens? Book a New Dynamics demo and bring your current handbook. You can also email contact@new-dynamics.com.
