What are new employee forms?

New employee forms are the documents that all new employees must complete before starting employment at a new organisation. These documents track items such as the employee’s start date, tax information and remuneration package. Certain industries have industry-specific requirements for new employees, including non-compete or non-disclosure agreements.

Types of new employee forms

There are several different types of new employee forms. The types of documents that new employees need to complete will differ between organisations. Some organisations may require the completion of many forms, while others only have a few new employee forms. Here are a few of the most common types of new hire forms:

The employee’s job application

New employees usually expressed their interest in a position with an organisation by submitting a job application. It usually includes details, such as name, address, contact details, previous work experience and educational qualifications. Some organisations may request references with the job application. Most organisations keep employee’s applications for several years after they are appointed. In such cases, the employer retains the employee’s application for several years after their appointment and it becomes part of the employee file.

Read more: New Employee Welcome Email Examples

Job Offer letter

After a candidate has been identified as the best candidate for a position, the employer will first make a verbal offer before providing a job offer letter. This written job offer letter usually includes essential information about the employee’s employment terms. It may include their start date, salary, pay rate and any additional benefits offered to them. If the employee is satisfied with the terms provided in the job offer letter, they will sign the job offer letter before returning it to the employer, where it will be filed in the employee’s file.

General employee information

The employer needs to collect specific types of information about the employee, including:

• Date of birth
• Gender
• Full address
• Emergency contact information
• Special medical needs
• P45

Tax documents

An employee needs to submit their P45 to their new employer since it contains additional info to verify their tax details. If an employee does not have a P45, they need to provide the employer with the starter checklist information to help the employer determine their tax code. The employer uses this information to register the employee with the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by including these details on the Full Payment Submission (FPS) when the employer pays the employee for the first time.

Student loan documentation

The employee also needs to provide information to the employer on the status of any student loans they have. The employer may need to set up automatic deductions from their salary if there are outstanding student loan balances.

Employee contract

An employee contract is the signed agreement between the employee and the employer. The employee contract clarifies the details of the expectations and requirements for the position between the employee and employer. The contract needs to include information on the employment conditions, the rights and responsibilities of both the employer and the employer and details of the employee’s duties. If the organisation appoints the employee temporarily, the employee’s contract will include information on the employee’s temporary employment.

Read more: How to Find Good Employees

Non-disclosure agreement

A non-disclosure agreement is also known as an NDA or confidentiality agreement. New employees often have access to the organisation’s employee contract, business plans, clients’ information and other proprietary information. If the employee were to leave the organisation and share this proprietary information, it could harm the organisation. An NDA requires an employee to agree to maintain the confidentiality of all proprietary information, even when they leave the organisation to work elsewhere.

Non-compete agreement

An organisation may require a new employee to sign a non-compete agreement to protect the organisation from an employee who leaves one organisation for employment at another organisation in the same industry, resulting in a conflict of interest. Signing a non-compete agreement prevents an employee from working with a competing organisation during a specified period and within a specific geographic area.

Direct deposit form

Although some employers may pay their employees in cash, most deposit salaries directly into employees’ bank accounts. An employee needs to submit a direct deposit form to the employer to be added to the employer’s payroll software for their salary to be deposited directly into their bank account. The direct deposit form also gives the employer permission to store the employee’s bank account information on their records.