Your employee induction checklist

As you may be aware, the Fair Work Act places heavy responsibilities on employers, especially when it comes to hiring and inducting new staff. If you don’t pay attention to the details, you could find yourself in hot water.

In addition to statutory obligations, there are a number of core ‘best practice’ measures that all employers should ensure are followed when employing a new staff member. You will benefit from adopting a streamlined employee induction process – not only will it help you avoid any pitfalls, it is a chance to ensure your business values and objectives are explained.

Using the following checklist will help to ensure that induction runs smoothly.

Step 1: Employment contract

Issue new employees with a written employment contract and ensure the employee returns a signed copy. If you do not have a signed contract that clearly specifies the agreed terms and conditions of employment:

disputes over terms of engagement and what was understood / agreed are more likely to arise
it may be difficult for you to manage the employee if they do something you don’t like
it may be harder for you to dismiss the employee if something goes wrong
it will be harder to show you have complied with award obligations to inform the employee of their terms of engagement.

Step 2: Issue the employee with the essential paperwork

employee handbook
Tax File Number declaration form – lodged with the ATO within 14 days of being completed
superannuation and bank details form
Fair Work Information Statement – FWIS – and Acknowledgment Form

It is important to be aware that employers are required by law to provide all employees with a FWIS, which provides core rights and entitlements information under the Fair Work Act. Ensure all returned documents are securely placed in a personnel file.

Step 3: Workplace Health and Safety – WHS – induction

provide employee with your company’s WHS policy, and an acknowledgement of receipt
instruct employee how to report a hazard in the workplace
show employee fire exits, fire equipment and first aid facilities
inform employee of the first aid officer to assist in the case of an emergency

Step 4: Probationary period

specify probationary period
set a reminder for the review date
set a reminder for the minimum employment period

The probationary period is a time frame during which you decide whether the employee is meeting your expectations. If a performance plan is created for the new employee, ensure you set a review date well before the employee’s minimum employment period ends.

Why?

This will ensure you have enough time to review the employee’s performance, decide whether you want to keep them and, if not, terminate their employment before their minimum employment period expires.

Also note that the Fair Work Act sets a minimum employment period that an employee needs to serve before they are able to make an unfair dismissal claim: