CHECKLIST
New Staff Onboarding Checklist
About forty five minutes per hire, and hospitality hires often, so the sequence is front-loaded on purpose: everything in section one happens before the first shift, because after it some of these cannot be repaired. The file this builds is the one a tribunal, an inspector or the minimum wage team asks for, years after the shift.
- Four sections, fourteen checks, forty five minutes per hire
- Right to work, the correct floor, pension and the tips policy, before day one ends
- The first-week training file the inspectors actually read
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Who this checklist is for
Venue owners and managers hiring at hospitality pace, seasonal crews included, who want each hire to leave a file that defends itself.
You hire quickly and often
Turnover makes onboarding a rhythm, not an event, and the rhythm is what protects you: right to work checked on originals or the online service before any work including trials, the written statement of particulars by day one at the latest, pension duties assessed from day one whatever postponement you use. Forty five minutes per hire, every hire, beats one perfect file and eleven missing ones.
Your crew spans the age bands
From 1 April 2026 the floors are £12.71 at 21 and over, £10.85 at 18 to 20, £8.00 under 18 and for apprentices, and the rules differ with them: under-18s cannot sell alcohol unapproved, work certain hours, or use some kitchen equipment. The checklist ties each hire to their band, and the Rota Planner prices the mixed crew at loaded rates.
You would rather explain tips once, properly
The written tips policy is required wherever tips are more than occasional, and handing it over on day one is the moment it costs nothing: how tips are allocated, when they pay, who the troncmaster is, and the one-minute version of why no National Insurance comes off a proper tronc. A team that knows its rights on day one is the cheapest compliance system there is.
FACTS
Six years, and the deduction trap
Minimum wage records are kept six years, and hospitality is where the inspectors go first. The classic failure is not the rate but the deductions: uniforms, breakages and till shortages that pull a pay packet below the floor for the hours actually worked, including the shift that ran late. Put the policies in writing before the first one is needed.
14 checks
Four sections, front-loaded before the first shift
Day 1
Written particulars, pension duties and the tips policy all land
FACTS
The training file the inspectors read
Food hygiene and the 14 allergens, the PPDS labelling rules for anything packed on site, Challenge 25 for anyone near the bar with the refusal log behind it, and the fire walk, all recorded and signed in week one. The EHO and the licensing officer both ask people, not just files, but the file is what turns a good answer into a defended one.