Five essential onboarding documents every new hire needs
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5 onboarding documents essential for every new hire
Elaine Keep
26 July 2024
8 min read
Elaine Keep
26 July 2024
8 min read
5 ESSENTIAL DOCUMENTS:
5 ESSENTIAL DOCUMENTS:
1. Offer Letter and Employment Agreement
2. Company Handbook and Policies
3. Training and Development Plan
4. Benefit Information
5. Emergency and Contact Information
Made a new hire? You'll need these essential onboarding documents to ensure they start work happy and productive.
Are you using printed materials, leaving onboarding to the last minute, or just not giving enough company information? New hires are less likely to have a positive, engaging experience at your company. And if your onboarding checklist hasn’t been updated in a while, there's every chance your new employee onboarding documents could be non-compliant!
It’s important to get the first impression right, while legally covering all the bases you need to. If you're a Confluence user, you can grab our Confluence onboarding page template to get set up even quicker.
What onboarding documents do you legally need to provide?
Every country has its own rules, but in the UK, legally, you need to provide an employee with the following:
- A "written statement of employment particulars" - e.g. a Contract or Agreement. This must be provided within two months of the start date (under the Employment Rights Act 1996), even for "casual" employees. Include the employer's name, address, job description, start date, benefits and hours, and employment conditions.
- Wider written statements and particulars, such as details on sick pay and procedures, paid leave (for example, maternity and paternity leave), notice periods, pension schemes, non-compulsory training provided by the employer, and disciplinary and grievance procedures.
With that said, here are our top 5 onboarding documents for new hires.
5 must-have onboarding documents
1. Offer Letter and Employment Agreement
Let's start with the essential document: an employee agreement (sometimes known as a "written statement", a "contract of employment", or a "contract of service").
An employee agreement lists details on hours, benefits, salary, and other clauses. It also needs guidance on other company information with legal implications, such as keeping information confidential, your code of conduct, and policies around social media.
While it sounds heavy, a thorough agreement with an offer letter irons out any confusion. It also lets employees read through their terms and conditions of employment and bring up any issues before they start. It's an absolute must for your onboarding document stack!
2. Company Handbook and Policies
You might have seen the "wider written statement" above and thought, "That sounds like an employee handbook". You'd be right. A written statement can be given to employees up to two months after starting, but the sooner, the better! (After all, as soon as your new hire accepts the job, they'll want to learn everything about the business.)
As well as being a vital tool for communicating rules, policies, and guidelines specific to your business, it should be a personally relevant introduction to your company, where your mission statement, aims, and culture statements mingle with guidelines.
Employees reading the handbook should feel knowledgeable about the type of workplace they're heading to. They should learn the basics of everything from dress code and operation hours to planned seasonal closures. There should also be an organisational chart that metaphorically shows where they sit and who's around them.
Onboarding checklist: what to include in your company handbook
- A welcome letter from your CEO
- A sample of their working schedule for their duties and week one plans
- An overview of the working culture
- Descriptions of the systems you use
- Descriptions of how the company operates practically
- Your organisational chart
- Your policies – e.g. conduct and ethics, tech and data
- Safety and health information procedures
- Training material or access details
- Info on your performance review process, including appraisal forms and timelines.
Display links to information in a clear, user-friendly way to make it accessible to users
3. Training and Development Plan
When your onboarding documents detail the opportunities for growth and development available, employees feel cared for, which enhances motivation and productivity. A training and development plan unique to them is essential!
An overlooked part of onboarding is showing a structured path to progression. Training plans also help new hires acquire the necessary skills they may lack in certain areas and build a more inclusive work environment.
What to include in your employee training and development plan:
- A written plan for their role and level/grade
- General advice
- Case studies from others in their current role who've been promoted
- Courses and learning opportunities (workshops, online resources)
- Soft skill support (books, guides, websites)
- Mentorship availability and application
- Self-assessment matrixes
4. Benefit Information
In a 2022 GRID study, 42% of employees said they didn't know about or understand all their employee benefits. While you legally need to detail their pension, sick pay, holiday pay, and maternity/paternity leave and pay, you'll need to explain other benefits too.
A key part of your new hire paperwork should be conveying your whole benefit suite, with a fact list of what's on offer, the basic allowances, and the numbers to call.
Benefits facts to convey in your onboarding documents:
- What's included in your range of benefits?
- How can employees become part of a scheme or opt-in?
- Enrollment forms – how to find them, what they need
- Details on restrictions or requirements, such as coverage details, premiums, and any limitations
5. Emergency and Contact Information
Do you include an onboarding document with Emergency and Contact Information for your new hire? It might be tucked away somewhere, but it's important to make this a critical document.
in 2022, according to RIDDOR, 68 members of the public were killed in work-related accidents. Having a way to collect emergency contact information for each team member is information you'll be grateful you've got to hand in crises.
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Written by
Elaine Keep
Content Writer
Elaine has established herself as a respected authority in the HR industry and uses her experience gained as the head of marketing in the employee rewards and recognition software sector to inform her reporting.
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