# UK employee onboarding checklist: before day one, day one and the first weeks > A time-ordered UK onboarding checklist: legal duties with deadlines (right to work, written statement, HMRC, pensions, health and safety) and good practice. Source: https://forematter.com/guides/uk-employee-onboarding-checklist/ Updated: 2026-09-28 Author: Jack Stovell (https://jstov.uk/) Someone's just accepted a job at your company. Brilliant. Now what? This is the bit that gets rushed, always. You've done the hard part (finding them, interviewing them, actually getting a yes) and there's this temptation to just... coast until day one. Don't. There's a chunk of this that's legally required, on a clock, and a chunk that's just good practice, and honestly most people mix the two up or forget half of it entirely. So let's separate them out. Plain English, in order, starting from before they've even said yes properly. ## Before they accept: offer and checks Before anyone starts working for you, you have to check they're allowed to work in the UK. Not after they start, not "we'll sort it in week one". In GOV.UK's words: ["You must check that a job applicant is allowed to work for you in the UK before you employ them."](https://www.gov.uk/check-job-applicant-right-to-work) The [right to work guide](/guides/right-to-work-checks-employer-guide/) covers how. And once you've done that check, you don't just file it and forget it. You need to keep copies of what you checked, and you need to [keep them for the whole time they work for you plus two years after](https://www.gov.uk/check-job-applicant-right-to-work). So whoever owns this, HR, office manager, you, needs a system for that. Doesn't need to be fancy. Just needs to exist. Some roles need more than the standard check. If they're going to be working in healthcare or with children, for instance, [you may need to check if they have a criminal record](https://www.gov.uk/employ-someone). Worth flagging early, because these things take time and you don't want to be chasing this the week before someone's meant to start. ## Before day one This is where a lot of the good practice lives, honestly, the stuff that isn't law but makes the difference between someone feeling welcomed and someone feeling like an afterthought. Get the practical stuff sorted. Laptop ready. Accounts set up. Building access sorted, if that's a thing for you. Nobody wants to spend their first morning waiting for IT to remember they exist. Assign a [buddy](/guides/onboarding-buddy/). Doesn't have to be complicated, just someone who isn't the manager, someone the new person can ask the daft questions to without feeling daft. Plan the first week properly, not just the first day (here's [how to write an onboarding plan](/guides/onboarding-plan-first-weeks/)). ACAS says ["You should send the new worker important information before their first day."](https://www.acas.org.uk/inductions/planning-an-induction-programme) That's genuinely good advice, not just a box-tick. Nobody's first day should be a mystery to them. Also, and this bit's easy to forget: if you're collecting personal information from them at any point in this process, [you have to give them privacy information at the time you collect it](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/employment/employment-practices-and-data-protection-keeping-employment-records/collecting-and-keeping-employment-records/). Not eventually. At the time. And two bits of admin that sit quietly in the background but matter a lot: you need [employers' liability insurance as soon as you become an employer](https://www.gov.uk/employers-liability-insurance), and you need to ["display the health and safety law poster where your workers can easily read it"](https://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/display.htm). Get both of these sorted well before anyone turns up, because retrofitting compliance after someone's already at their desk is a bad look. ## Day one Right, they're here. This is the day that sets the tone, so don't waste it on admin nobody enjoys. Legally, this is the day the clock starts on a few things. You must give them the [principal written statement on their first day](https://www.gov.uk/employment-contracts-and-conditions/written-statement-of-employment-particulars): the core terms, pay, hours, that sort of thing ([what it must include](/guides/written-statement-of-employment-particulars/)). The wider written statement, with the rest of the detail, can follow within two months, but the principal bit is day one, no flexibility there. You'll also need their [P45, or if they don't have one, HMRC's starter checklist](https://www.gov.uk/new-employee). Get this while it's fresh in their mind, because chasing it three weeks later is nobody's idea of fun. HSE is clear that ["You must give your workers clear instructions and information"](https://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/training/index.htm), and day one is the natural moment for the basics: fire exits, who to tell if something's wrong, where the first aid kit lives. ACAS's [induction planning guidance](https://www.acas.org.uk/inductions/planning-an-induction-programme) puts health and safety on day one too, which lines up neatly with what the law expects anyway. Beyond the legal bits, day one is about people. Introduce them to their manager properly, not just a wave across the office. Introduce them to the team. Make sure their tools actually work (logins, email, whatever they need) because there is nothing worse than sitting at a desk on your first day unable to do anything. Collect their payroll details if you haven't already. Worth saying: [there's no legal requirement to have an induction at all](https://www.acas.org.uk/inductions). None. But just because it's not required doesn't mean it's not worth doing properly. It's the cheapest goodwill you'll ever buy, and it costs you basically nothing except a bit of planning. ## The first weeks This is where the checklist mentality has to loosen up a bit, because the first weeks aren't about ticking boxes, they're about someone actually finding their feet. Set clear goals early. Not vague ones. Actual, specific things they can aim for in the first month or so. Ambiguity is the enemy here; people who don't know what "good" looks like tend to just quietly panic in silence. Have regular check-ins. Doesn't need to be a big formal thing, just someone asking "how's it going, actually" and meaning it. Get them proper training in the role itself, not just the "here's how to book holiday" stuff, the actual job. And keep widening their circle, introduce them to other teams, other people, so they're not stuck only knowing the five faces from day one. There's also a couple of legal bits that land in this window, quietly, in the background. If they're eligible, you need to [put them into a pension scheme and write to them within six weeks](https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/employers/new-employers/im-an-employer-who-has-to-provide-a-pension/declare-your-compliance/ongoing-duties-for-employers) of them meeting the age and earnings criteria. And you must [tell HMRC about your new employee on or before their first pay day](https://www.gov.uk/employ-someone), not after. One more thing on the radar, nothing to action yet: the government's [Employment Rights Act timeline](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/implementing-the-plan-to-make-work-pay-and-employment-rights-act/plan-to-make-work-pay-and-employment-rights-act-timeline-update) lists a duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union for January 2027, and notes that "All future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes". Give every single one of these items an owner. Not "the team", an actual named person. Things without owners just don't happen, that's the truth of it. ## Printable checklist (legal items with deadlines) **Before employment starts** - Check the applicant's right to work in the UK ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/check-job-applicant-right-to-work)) - Consider whether the role needs a DBS check, for example healthcare or work with children ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/employ-someone)) - Arrange employers' liability insurance, if not already in place ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/employers-liability-insurance)) - Display the health and safety law poster where workers can easily read it ([hse.gov.uk](https://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/display.htm)) - Give privacy information at the point you collect any personal data ([ico.org.uk](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/employment/employment-practices-and-data-protection-keeping-employment-records/collecting-and-keeping-employment-records/)) **Day one** - Provide the principal statement of employment particulars ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/employment-contracts-and-conditions/written-statement-of-employment-particulars)) - Collect their P45, or complete HMRC's starter checklist if they don't have one ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/new-employee)) - Give clear health and safety instructions and information ([hse.gov.uk](https://www.hse.gov.uk/simple-health-safety/training/index.htm)) - Keep copies of right to work checks on file ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/check-job-applicant-right-to-work)) **Within two months** - Provide the wider written statement of employment particulars ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/employment-contracts-and-conditions/written-statement-of-employment-particulars)) **On or before first pay day** - Tell HMRC about the new employee ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/employ-someone)) **Within six weeks of meeting age and earnings criteria** - Enrol eligible staff into a pension scheme and write to them ([thepensionsregulator.gov.uk](https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/employers/new-employers/im-an-employer-who-has-to-provide-a-pension/declare-your-compliance/ongoing-duties-for-employers)) **Ongoing** - Keep right to work copies for the duration of employment plus two years after ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/check-job-applicant-right-to-work)) This is general information, not legal advice, so check your own situation against ACAS or GOV.UK before you rely on it.