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A new starter: contract, payroll and the first day ​

When someone joins your restaurant, café, pub or takeaway, several things are owed from their first day: a written statement of their terms, a correct start on payroll, a payslip every payday and training before they work alone. None of it waits for the end of a probation period. This guide covers what the owner or manager must do in the first days and weeks, and what the new starter should bring and expect. The employment law here is for England, Scotland and Wales; the Employment Rights Act 1996 does not extend to Northern Ireland.

The written statement, on day one ​

Since 6 April 2020, every new employee and worker must get a “written statement of employment particulars” no later than their first day. It is not the contract itself: a contract exists as soon as someone accepts a job offer.

  • The principal statement, a single document, must include at least: your name and theirs; job title or description; start date; pay and how often it is paid; hours and days, how they may vary, and any Sunday, night or overtime work; holiday entitlement, including public holidays, and holiday pay; place of work; how long the job is expected to last, or the end date; any probation period, its length and conditions; other benefits, such as meals; and the training you provide, the training they must complete, and any required training you will not pay for.
  • Also on day one, in the statement or a document they can easily get to: sick pay and procedures, other paid leave, and notice periods.
  • Within two months: pensions, any collective agreements, any other right to non-compulsory training, and disciplinary and grievance procedures.
  • Changes: tell them in writing as soon as you can, and within one month.
  • If it is missing, a tribunal can decide what it should have said, and can add up to four weeks’ pay when the person wins another claim, such as unauthorised deductions from pay.

Probation and notice ​

  • Probation is optional. There is no legal requirement for one, and it can be any length. Day-one rights, such as the minimum wage, paid holiday, sick pay and protection against discrimination, apply during it.
  • From 1 January 2027, protection from unfair dismissal starts after six months’ employment instead of two years. Someone with six months’ service on 1 January 2027 is protected from that date. Acas notes that ending probation before six months does not avoid legal risk.
  • Statutory minimum notice. After one month’s continuous employment, you must give at least one week’s notice for under two years’ service, then one week per full year, up to twelve weeks. They must give you at least one week. A contract can give more, not less.

Getting them onto payroll ​

You usually have to pay employees through PAYE if they earn £129 or more a week (£559 a month, £6,708 a year) in 2026/27. If you already run PAYE, record and report everyone you pay, even below that. Before the first payday:

  1. P45 or starter checklist. From the P45 you take their tax code, National Insurance number, student loan status, leaving date, and pay and tax to date. Without a recent P45, they fill in HMRC’s starter checklist. You also need their date of birth, gender, address and start date.
  2. Tax code and loans. Work out the tax code and starter declaration with HMRC’s online tool, and ask about student and postgraduate loans even if they gave you a P45. If HMRC sends you a code, use it.
  3. National Insurance number. Without one, they must apply for one to work; it can take up to four weeks. They can start before it arrives if they can prove their right to work. Leave the number blank on your payroll report and make sure you enter their address.
  4. Full Payment Submission (FPS). Report them on an FPS the first time you pay them, on or before payday, with only the pay and deductions since they started with you. A late or missing FPS can bring a penalty. Keep these records for the current tax year and the three following years.

Payslips from the first payday ​

Every employee and worker gets a payslip, printed or electronic, on or before each payday. It must show pay before deductions, deductions that can change (such as tax and National Insurance) and what they are for, pay after deductions, and the hours worked if pay varies with time worked, as it does for staff paid by the hour. Fixed deductions can instead be set out in a separate statement given before the first payslip and updated every year.

Statutory Sick Pay for a new starter ​

The Employment Rights Act 2025 changed the rules on 6 April 2026, in Great Britain and Northern Ireland alike:

  • No waiting days. Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is paid from the first day of sickness, for the days they would normally work, for up to 28 weeks.
  • No lower earnings limit. For 2026/27 it is £123.25 a week or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
  • New starters qualify if they are an employee, have done some work under their contract and are sick for at least one full working day, even before eight weeks’ pay. A day on which they worked a minute or more does not count.
  • They tell you within your time limit, or seven days if you set none. You can ask for a fit note only after more than seven days off in a row. If someone does not qualify, send form SSP1 within seven days of their first day off.

Training before they work alone ​

  • Food hygiene. Food handlers must be “supervised and instructed and/or trained in food hygiene matters commensurate with their work activity”, and whoever runs your food safety procedures needs adequate training in the HACCP principles. Training can be a course, on the job, self-study or previous experience. A food hygiene certificate is not required, but you must be able to show the training, so keep a record. Tell them on day one to report illness: after diarrhoea or vomiting they stay away until 48 hours without symptoms.
  • Allergens. Train staff to manage allergens in their role; the Food Standards Agency offers free online allergy training. See our allergen guide.
  • Health and safety. Give adequate training when someone is recruited and when their risks change, during working hours; HSE asks you to plan for new recruits and young workers. Display the HSE-approved law poster where staff can read it, or give each one the approved leaflet.
  • Fire safety. In England and Wales, give adequate fire safety training when someone is first employed, including what to do to keep themselves and others safe, during working hours. See our fire and gas safety guide.

Right to work, minimum wage, tips and pension ​

  • Right to work: check before the first shift (guide).
  • Minimum wage: applies from day one (guide).
  • Tips: if tips are paid more than occasionally, you must have a written tipping policy available to every worker; induction is a good time to hand it over (guide).
  • Pension: assess them for automatic enrolment and write to them (guide).

For the new starter ​

Bring: proof of your right to work (a British or Irish passport or passport card, even expired, or a share code from GOV.UK if you are not a British or Irish citizen); your National Insurance number, or apply for one (you can start before it arrives); your P45, or the details for the starter checklist, such as any other job, pension or benefits since 6 April and your student loan plan; your bank details and proof of identity; and an emergency contact if asked.

You should get:

  • a written statement on your first day, and the rest within two months;
  • a payslip on or before every payday, with your hours if you are paid hourly;
  • at least 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday a year, capped at 28 days, building up with the hours you work if your hours are irregular;
  • a 20-minute break over six hours’ work and 11 hours’ rest between working days (under 18: 30 minutes over four and a half hours, and 12 hours’ rest). More in our guides to holiday, hours and breaks and under-18s;
  • training in food hygiene, allergens, health and safety and fire safety;
  • the tipping policy, a letter about the workplace pension, and SSP from your first day off sick if you qualify.

Whom to ask: your manager, then your written statement and the policies it points to. For your rights at work, call the Acas helpline; if the tax on your payslip looks wrong, check your tax code with HMRC’s online service.

A short checklist ​

  • A written statement on day one, the rest within two months; notice at least the statutory minimum.
  • A P45 or starter checklist, tax code, student loan answer and National Insurance number, or their address if there is none yet.
  • The new starter on an FPS on or before their first payday, and a payslip every payday, with hours for hourly staff.
  • SSP from the first day of sickness.
  • Food hygiene, allergen, health and safety and fire training, recorded, and the law poster up or the leaflet handed over.
  • Right to work, minimum wage, tipping policy and pension dealt with.

Sources ​

This guide is general information, not legal advice. For your own staff, ask an employment adviser, Acas or a solicitor.