Employee onboarding checklist (new starter checklist)
This free onboarding checklist covers everything from the signed offer to the end of probation: the legal checks, payroll and admin, equipment and access, and the conversations that get a new hire productive sooner. It's in Word, so you can delete what doesn't apply.
Running a company of 30 to 200 people? Documents like this are now worth money.
UK and US legal steps are marked separately, with links to the official guidance.
What's in the template
New starter onboarding checklist
| New starter | |
|---|---|
| Job title | |
| Manager | |
| Start date | |
| Buddy | |
| Probation ends |
Before day one
- Send the written offer and get it accepted
- UK: check their right to work before they start
- US: arrange Form I-9 (employment eligibility verification)
- UK: prepare the written statement of employment particulars, due on day one
- Collect payroll details: bank account and tax information (UK: P45 or HMRC starter checklist; US: Form W-4)
- Add them to payroll; UK: assess them for workplace pension automatic enrolment
- Order laptop, phone and any equipment
- Create accounts (email, core systems) with the right access, no more
- Plan the first week: meetings, training, and a first small piece of real work
- Tell the team who is starting and when; assign a buddy
- Send a welcome email: start time, where to go, who to ask for, what to bring
Day one
- Welcome from the manager and a tour (in person or online)
- Hand over equipment and check every login works
- Health and safety induction: fire exits, first aid, how to report an accident
- UK: give the written statement of employment particulars, if not already given
- Walk through the employee handbook and key policies (data protection, IT security, expenses)
- Introduce the buddy and the team
- Go through the plan for the first week
Week one
- Training on the core systems
- Read the SOPs for their main tasks
- Meet key colleagues, and customers or suppliers if relevant
- Complete a first piece of real work and review it together
- End-of-week check-in with the manager
First 90 days
- Agree 30, 60 and 90-day goals in the first week
- 30-day review
- 60-day review
- Complete required training (for example data protection, health and safety)
- Probation review meeting, with the outcome confirmed in writing
- Ask the new starter what would have made their onboarding better
Notes
| Date | Note | By |
|---|---|---|
How to use the checklist
- Give every item an owner. HR or operations usually handles the legal and payroll steps, IT the equipment and access, and the manager the rest. Write the owner's initials next to each item.
- Start before day one. Most of the bad first impressions (no laptop, no login, nobody expecting them) come from steps that should have happened the week before.
- Keep one copy per new starter and file it with their records once it's complete.
- Link it to your process documents. New starters learn faster from your SOPs than from shadowing alone.
The legal steps, with sources
UK
- You must check a job applicant is allowed to work in the UK before you employ them: right to work checks.
- The main written statement of employment particulars must be given on the first day of employment; the wider statement within two months: written statement.
- New employees without a P45 complete HMRC's starter checklist.
- Employers must put eligible staff into a workplace pension: The Pensions Regulator.
US
- Employers and new employees complete Form I-9 to verify identity and employment authorisation; USCIS sets the deadlines.
- Employees give their employer Form W-4 so the right federal income tax is withheld.
This checklist isn't legal advice, and rules change, so check the linked guidance when you use it.
Common mistakes
- Equipment and logins not ready on day one.
- No plan for the first week, so the new starter reads documents for five days.
- No named buddy to answer the small questions people don't want to ask their manager.
- Onboarding that ends after day one. The 30 and 60-day reviews are where problems surface early.
- Legal checks done late. In the UK, the right to work check comes before employment starts, not after.
Frequently asked questions
How long should onboarding last?
Plan it to run until the end of probation, often around three to six months, with most of the structure in the first 90 days.
What's the difference between induction and onboarding?
Induction is the orientation in the first days: the building, the people, the policies. Onboarding is the whole process of getting someone settled and productive, which includes induction.
Who is responsible for onboarding?
HR or operations usually runs the process and the legal steps; the line manager owns the new starter's first weeks and goals.