The time has come – your business needs to employ staff.
This is a very exciting time. When you get to this point in your business, there’s a lot that needs to be done to ensure you’ve got everything covered.
Position descriptions, Job Advertisements, Interviews, Reference Checks.
Once you have been through the recruitment process, it’s time to start the onboarding process for the employee and get them started. There are a number of different forms and documents that are needed.
Offer of Employment
An employment contract should be given to your new employee. This needs to be signed by both parties to confirm the acceptance of the offer of employment. This can be paper-based or can be done through a cloud-based HR system or a document signing program.
Personal Information
Firstly, you need to ensure that you have all the relevant personal information about the new employee. You need to capture all of the important information such as their contact details, bank details, address and emergency contact details. Knowing who to contact in case of emergency is very important and this section should always be filled out.
Tax and Banking
You need to ensure that all staff members complete and sign a Tax File Number Declaration form and that you are provided with their Tax File Number (TFN). The Tax File Number Declaration form is important as it lets you know whether the employee is claiming the tax-free threshold & ensures you have the information in relation to the correct tax to withhold.
An employee also needs to provide you with their bank details and their superannuation details so that their pay can be paid into their bank account and their superannuation can be paid correctly.
If new employees don’t supply details of a nominated superannuation fund, employers must use the ATO database to check if the employee has a stapled fund. If they don’t have a superannuation fund already set up you can provide them with forms and information on the relevant industry super fund or your preferred super fund. These details can also be provided through an HR system.
Licences/Qualifications
If the employee holds any licences or qualifications that are relevant to the position, then you should obtain copies of these licences and certificates for your records, setting reminders if there are any expiry dates so you can ensure that they update these licences or certificates before they expire. It’s good practice to keep records of driver’s licences, safety or training certificates and any qualifications such as trade certificates.
Policies and Procedures
Make sure your new employee receives a copy of your HR Policies & Procedures and that they sign a document stating that they have read and understood the policies. This is important as it ensures your employees understand your expectations including compliance with HR & WHS legislation.
It’s also a good idea to issue your new employee with any other operational policies and procedures that they need to do their job effectively.
It’s ideal to keep a digital copy of these documents as there is less risk of them going missing. Saving a copy in ‘the cloud’ either in a cloud-based storage location or a cloud-based HR system means that they can be accessed from anywhere at any time.
The paperwork side of things may seem a little daunting to begin with, but it saves a lot of time if you can get it done efficiently either before or on your employee’s first day.
We can help you stop wasting time and money by providing expert on-demand HR services for an affordable monthly fee.
For further expert advice on human resources or if you have any questions about anything HR related, get in touch.
Karen Hillen is your HR Partner, she helps businesses by providing HR support and advice services.
For the right HR support and advice, book a My HR Partner HR Advice call with Karen Hillen.
https://booking.myhrpartner.com.au/15minute-hr-advice-call
https://booking.myhrpartner.com.au/30minute-hr-advice-call
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