UK employment law places specific obligations on employers when they bring on a new hire. Miss them and you are exposed to fines, tribunal claims, or Home Office penalties. But compliance is only half the story — a truly effective onboarding checklist also covers the experience that makes someone want to stay.
This checklist covers everything from legal must-dos to best-practice milestones. Use it as a template — or use OnboardSwift to automate every item on it.
Before Day One (Pre-boarding)
- Issue written statement of particulars (required by day 1 under the Employment Rights Act 1996, as amended 2020)
- Complete right to work check (must happen before or on the first day — not after)
- Collect signed employment contract
- Send HMRC Starter Checklist (formerly P46) — or collect P45 from previous employer
- Register new employee on payroll with correct tax code
- Request and verify ID documents (passport, BRP, share code)
- Set up email and system access before start date
- Assign equipment and arrange delivery or collection
- Send welcome pack and first-day logistics
£20,000
maximum civil penalty per illegal worker for failing a right to work check
— UK Home Office (2024)
Day One
- Confirm right to work check documents in person (if not done remotely)
- Issue contract and any outstanding documents for wet or e-signature
- Introduce to line manager and immediate team
- Walk through company handbook, policies, and code of conduct
- Complete mandatory health and safety briefing
- Grant access to all required systems
- Set clear expectations for the first week
Week One
- Assign onboarding buddy or mentor
- Deliver role-specific compliance training (GDPR awareness, data handling, sector-specific)
- Introduce to key stakeholders and cross-functional contacts
- Share 30/60/90-day goals in writing
- Confirm pension auto-enrolment and provide opt-out information (The Pensions Regulator)
- Check in informally at end of week one
30-Day Milestone
- Formal 30-day check-in with line manager
- Review progress against first-month goals
- Confirm any outstanding documents are completed
- Collect new hire feedback on onboarding experience
- Adjust workload or support if needed
90-Day Milestone (End of Probation)
- Conduct probation review meeting
- Confirm probation outcome in writing
- Set objectives for next quarter
- Archive onboarding documentation per your data retention policy
- Transition to standard performance management process
Automate the Checklist — Stop Running It Manually
This checklist works perfectly as a one-pager for a single hire. But if you are hiring more than a handful of people per year, manually working through it every time creates errors, delays, and compliance gaps.
UK-ready onboarding, automated from day one
OnboardSwift automates every item on this checklist — right to work, document collection, GDPR training, probation reminders — for every hire, every time.
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