new-starter-paperwork-checklist

---
name: new-starter-paperwork-checklist
description: Builds the paperwork record for a new starter before their first shift, not during it. It works out which of the six gov.uk new-employee steps apply, pulls in the HMRC starter checklist where there is no P45, drafts the written statement of particulars that the law requires by day one, and flags the employer as not yet compliant until every item is held on file. Use before a new starter's first shift, and before you tell yourself the paperwork can wait until they settle in.
---

# The paperwork held before the apron goes on, not chased after it

You give this the new starter's name, start date, role and pay, whether you hold a P45, and what right to work evidence they have sent. You get back the HMRC starter checklist filled where there is no P45, a written statement of particulars with every required particular in one document, a record of which of gov.uk's six new-employee steps are done, and a single compliance flag that stays red until the gaps are closed.

## What it does

1. **Work from gov.uk's own six steps, not a homemade list.** Gov.uk's "Employing staff for the first time" and new employee guidance set the sequence: check if they need a DBS check, check they have the right to work in the UK, check if they need to be put into a workplace pension, tell HMRC about your new employee, and agree a written statement of employment particulars. The skill runs each starter against this sequence rather than inventing its own.
2. **Replace the missing P45 with the HMRC starter checklist, not a guess at tax code.** Gov.uk's new-employee guidance says if you do not have their P45, use HMRC's 'starter checklist', which replaced the old P46. The checklist, not the manager's memory of a previous payslip, is what sets the tax code until HMRC issues a real one.
3. **Build the written statement from section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, line by line.** Section 1(2) requires the statement to be given "not later than the beginning of the employment", and most of the required particulars must be in a single document. Section 1(3) requires the employer's and worker's names and the date employment began. Section 1(4) requires, among others, pay and how it is calculated, pay intervals, hours and whether they vary, holiday and sick pay entitlement, notice periods, job title, and training entitlement the employer will not fully pay for. Section 1(4)(ga), added by amendment, requires any probationary period, its conditions and its length, and section 1(6) defines a probationary period as a temporary period, starting at the beginning of employment, that lets the employer assess the worker's suitability. Every particular present in the role's terms gets a line in the statement; nothing is left for later.
4. **Tell HMRC by the test the law actually sets.** Gov.uk's guidance is explicit: "You must tell HMRC about your new employee on or before their first pay day." The skill flags the deadline against the first payroll run, not against the start date, because those are often different weeks in hospitality.
5. **Check the pension question before the first payslip, not after.** Gov.uk lists "Check if they need to be put into a workplace pension" as one of the new-employee steps. The skill records the answer and the date checked, so an auto-enrolment deadline is never discovered from a payroll error.
6. **Hold the DBS question open rather than close it by default.** Gov.uk frames this as "You may need to check if someone has a criminal record", conditional on the role. The skill records whether the role meets that condition and why, rather than silently skipping the check for every starter.

## Then it checks

1. Every particular required by section 1(3) and 1(4) that applies to this role is present in the written statement, including the probationary period length under 1(4)(ga) if one is offered.
2. The written statement's issue date is on or before the first day of employment, not the week after.
3. A starter checklist is on file for anyone with no P45, and nothing stands in for it.
4. The HMRC "told" date is checked against the first pay day, not the start date, and is on or before it.
5. The right to work, pension and DBS questions each carry a recorded answer and the date checked, not a blank.
6. The compliance flag is red until every one of the above is true, and it names exactly which item is missing.

Any check fails: name it, redo that step once. Failed twice: say what is wrong and stop.

## Rules
- Public information only.
- Never invent a fact, a number or a quote.
- Anything sent in someone's name says whose name it is.
- Never give immigration, tax or legal advice; it drafts the document, it does not decide a contested case.
- Never mark a particular as "not applicable" without the reason recorded, because that is what a tribunal later asks for.
- Never delay the written statement past the first day of employment to "finish it properly later". A late statement is still a breach even if it is eventually correct.

## Built from
- Employment Rights Act 1996, section 1, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/1, as amended, read 4 November 2026: the duty, the deadline, the particulars list and the probationary period definition behind step 3.
- GOV.UK, "Employ someone: step by step" / new employee guidance, https://www.gov.uk/new-employee, read 4 November 2026: the six-step sequence, the starter checklist instruction, the HMRC first-pay-day deadline, and the pension and DBS wording behind steps 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6.

# new-starter-paperwork-checklist

## You are given
The new starter's name, role, start date, pay rate and basis, hours, holiday entitlement, notice period, any probationary period and its length, place of work, and training entitlement not fully paid by the employer. Whether a P45 is held. Whatever right to work evidence has been supplied, with its type and expiry if any. The role's DBS requirement, already decided by the owner. The pension scheme name and auto-enrolment status already decided by the owner. The first payroll run date.

## Produce
Write into a `./new-starter-paperwork-checklist-output/` folder:

1. `starter-record.csv` with columns: `starter_name`, `role`, `start_date`, `p45_held`, `starter_checklist_completed`, `starter_checklist_statement` (exactly one of `A`, `B`, `C` as used on the HMRC starter checklist, or blank if a P45 is held), `right_to_work_evidence_type`, `right_to_work_checked_date`, `dbs_required`, `dbs_checked_date`, `pension_assessed`, `pension_checked_date`, `hmrc_told_date`, `first_pay_day`, `hmrc_deadline_met`. `hmrc_deadline_met` is `yes` or `no`, computed by comparing `hmrc_told_date` to `first_pay_day`, never guessed.
2. `written-statement.md` containing every particular required by section 1(3) and 1(4) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 that was supplied: employer and worker names, date employment began, pay and how calculated, pay interval, hours and variability, holiday and holiday pay, sick pay, notice period, job title or brief description, duration if non-permanent, probationary period and length if any, place of work, and training entitlement not fully paid. Any particular with no supplied value is listed under a heading "Not supplied" rather than omitted silently.
3. `particulars-checklist.csv` with columns: `particular`, `required_by`, `supplied`, `value_or_reason_missing`. One row per particular in section 1(3) and 1(4). `supplied` is `yes` or `no`.
4. `compliance-flag.md` stating `COMPLIANT` or `NOT COMPLIANT`, and if not compliant, a numbered list of exactly which rows in `particulars-checklist.csv` are `no`, whether the written statement's issue date is after the start date, and whether `hmrc_deadline_met` is `no`.

## Rules
- Codex counts, checks and records. It never drafts a contract term, never decides whether a role needs a DBS check or a pension, and never gives tax or immigration advice.
- Never invent a pay figure, a date or a particular not supplied.
- The written statement's issue date is the date this run is produced; Codex never backdates it.
- `hmrc_deadline_met` is computed only from the two supplied dates, never assumed from the start date alone.
- Any particular genuinely not applicable to the role (for example no fixed end date) is recorded as `supplied: no, value_or_reason_missing: not applicable - permanent role`, never left blank.
- Use British English, GBP and DD Month YYYY dates. No em dashes in any file you write.
- Every file ends with this line: this is a working document prepared for the owner to check against their own employment contracts and payroll records, and for their accountant or solicitor to check where a tax, pension or immigration question is involved. It is not legal or tax advice.

## Return
The absolute path of each file written and the row count of each CSV. The `COMPLIANT` or `NOT COMPLIANT` verdict in full, with every missing particular named. Whether `hmrc_deadline_met` is `yes` or `no` and the two dates compared. Whether a starter checklist statement (A, B or C) was recorded or whether a P45 was held instead.