The start of the Employee Life Cycle

Many employers will see the start of a new employees journey with them begin on the day they start with the company. This however is not true, a new employees journey starts back when you were interviewing for the position you had vacant. The individual attends their interview, you decide they are the preferred candidate and go through your recruitment process to offering them the position. The lead up to their first day with you is all part of their journey.

 You may be asking yourself “what do I need to be doing before they start with me”? This is where the support of an HR Consultant can help if you don’t have a process to deal with new starters. There are some very important and crucial elements of the employee life cycle that you have to do before the person starts on their first day;

·      Formally offer them the job after interview stage (ideally this should be in writing as well as a conversation over the phone or in person - via email is sufficient). You will confirm to them that an employment contract will shortly follow (you have 8 weeks to send this to them).

·      Ask them that they are ok with you now taking up references for them from previous employers. The information for this will either be specified on their CV or application form they applied for the job with. Please note: following the introduction of GDPR in 2018, you need to ensure the individual is happy for you to obtain references for them and I would advise you also get this in writing and save a copy.

·      Carry out Right to Work checks in line with UK employment legislation.  All offers of employment should be subject to right to work in the UK. This is to ensure the individual is eligible to work in the UK and to cover your back should anything go wrong.  For detail on how you do this, just get in touch.

·      Send them their employment contract along with any other information useful for them before they start on their first day.

These four elements are so important when taking on a new member of staff. I often speak to clients who do not either take up references or carry out right to work checks but they are both so vital for you as a business owner and should be done on every new appointment.

 For further information on how to implement either a Recruitment Procedure or process just get in touch using the “Get in Touch” tab.