New Starter Checklist and How to Use It

Having new employees onboard is an exciting time for any business. Maybe it’s going to take the pressure off some of your teams or signals a new stage in your businesses growth. But, either way hiring someone new has a lot of benefits. However, one thing that can be difficult for a HR team is when a new starter doesn’t have all the paperwork you need to onboard them and get their payroll set up! Luckily that’s where a new starter checklist comes in.

What is a new starter checklist?

A new starter checklist is a form created by HMRC for new employees to complete when starting a job if they don’t have a P45 .

The form will provide employers with all the details required to set up an employee on their payroll system and assign them to correct tax code.

This form needs to be completed by anyone without a P45 from the current tax year, so anyone who is just starting in their first job or coming back to work after some time off. Someone whose personal details are different to their P45 might also need to complete a new starter checklist.

Where do you get a new starter checklist?

An employer should provide a new starter checklist to their employees, it can be found on the HMRC website. It can be completed online and emailed to you or printed and a physical copy completed.

How to use the new starter checklist?

So, what information is in the new starter checklist and how do employees fill it in? Employees will need to have the following information to complete the checklist:

• personal details, including their name, full address and date of birth
• their National Insurance number if known
• start date
• details of any student loans or postgraduate loans
• passport number (if they are sent to work temporarily in the UK by an overseas employee)
• details of any income received in the current tax year from another job, a pension or from Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance or Incapacity Benefit

New starter statements

In the new starter form, there are three statements which an employee needs to choose from. It is important that they choose the correct one.

Statement A applies if it is your new employee’s first job in the current tax year (since 6 April) and they’ve not been receiving taxable Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, taxable Incapacity Benefit, state pension or occupational pension.

Statement B applies if this is now your new employee’s only job, but they’ve had another job since 6 April and don’t have a P45. It also applies if they’ve received taxable Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance or taxable Incapacity Benefit since 6 April.

Statement C applies if they have another job, and/or receive a state, workplace, or private pension.

Is a new starter checklist mandatory?

Basically, yes, it is mandatory for any employee without a P45. It will allow you as an employer to get everything you need in order to add an employee to payroll, so it’s quite important!

Can Cintra make setting up a new starter easier?

If you’re a business who is regularly hiring new team members you might find yourself overextended with the number of new starter checklists and P45’s you need to process. It’s important to make sure you have fully compliant software that will make sure you’re entering all of the correct information. Whether you run your payroll inhouse or outsource, Cintra has everything you need.

Find out more about our outsourced solution, and Cintra Pay software!