Free onboarding checklist for new production employees

A good onboarding checklist makes sure every new starter gets the same essentials, whoever is on shift and however busy the floor is. In manufacturing, logistics, construction and facilities, it is also your evidence that the health and safety basics were covered before someone started work.

Below you will find a free new starter checklist you can copy into your own template, the health and safety items UK employers should cover on day one, how to tailor the checklist per role, and how to record everything so it stands up in an audit.

Your legal duties for new starters in the UK

UK law does not prescribe a checklist, but it does set out what new employees must receive. Your checklist is the practical way to make sure none of it is missed.

• Training on recruitment: the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (reg. 13) require adequate health and safety training when someone is recruited, during working hours.
• Information they can understand: reg. 10 requires comprehensible and relevant information on the risks identified in your risk assessment, the control measures and emergency procedures.
• Health and safety policy: if you employ five or more people, your written policy must be brought to employees' attention (Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2(3)).
• Health and safety law poster or leaflet: the Health and Safety Information for Employees Regulations 1989 require you to display the approved poster or give each worker the leaflet.
• Fire safety training: in England and Wales, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires fire safety training when people are first employed.
• First aid: employees must be told about the first aid arrangements, including where to find equipment and first aiders.
• PPE: where PPE is needed, it must be provided free of charge with information and training on its use, under the PPE at Work Regulations 1992. Since 2022 this also covers limb (b) workers.
• Young workers: for anyone under 18, the risk assessment must take their inexperience and immaturity into account.

The free onboarding checklist

Copy this checklist into your own document or system and adapt it to your site. Each item should have an owner and a completion date.

Before day one

• Welcome message sent with start time, location, entrance and contact person
• Information on clothing and what to bring
• First safety information shared (site rules, emergency basics)
• PPE in the right sizes ready
• Locker, access pass and any system access arranged
• Buddy appointed and team informed
• Contract and HR paperwork completed

Day one: health and safety essentials

• Welcome and introduction to supervisor, team and buddy
• Site tour: work area, welfare facilities, canteen, first aid points
• Fire alarm, escape routes and assembly point explained
• First aid arrangements and first aiders introduced
• How to report accidents, near misses and hazards (including the accident book)
• Main risks of the role and the controls in place (from the risk assessment)
• PPE issued, fitted and use explained
• Site rules: traffic routes, pedestrian walkways, phones, smoking, housekeeping
• Health and safety policy and health and safety law poster or leaflet shown
• Who to ask when unsure

First week

• Machine and task training under supervision
• Work instructions for the role
• Role-specific safety topics, such as manual handling, forklift traffic, chemicals (COSHH), noise or work at height
• Quality standards and how to flag defects
• Shift patterns, breaks, absence reporting and rota
• First check-in with the supervisor

First month

• Skills checklist signed off per machine or task
• Refresher on key safety topics
• Review meeting and feedback on onboarding
• Further training needs identified

First three months

• End of probation review
• Cross-training opportunities
• Feedback on the onboarding programme

Building the checklist per role

One generic checklist rarely fits every job. Keep a common core and add role-specific blocks.

Role	Extra items on top of the core checklist
Production operator	Machine guarding, lock-off procedures, specific work instructions, noise
Warehouse operative	Pedestrian and vehicle routes, manual handling, racking, pallet trucks
Forklift driver	Valid training certificate checked, pre-use checks, site traffic plan
Maintenance engineer	Permits to work, isolation, confined spaces, work at height
Cleaner	COSHH for cleaning products, wet floors, lone working
Site operative (construction)	Site induction, work at height, plant, excavations, welfare

For role-specific topics, a set of short toolbox talks is a practical way to cover them. Browse our toolbox talk topics for ideas.

Recording safety instructions during onboarding

A checklist only helps if you can show it was completed. For each new starter, record:

• which items were covered, by whom and on which date;
• which version of each instruction was used;
• for knowledge-based items, whether the person understood, for example through questions;
• the signature or digital confirmation of the employee.

Paper checklists get lost, filled in later from memory or kept in different places per site. A digital record per person, with dates and results, is far easier to keep complete.

Common gaps in onboarding records

• The checklist was signed on day one for items that were only covered weeks later, or not at all.
• Night shift and agency starters have no record, because the induction was given verbally.
• Nobody knows which version of an instruction someone received.
• The record shows a signature, but the worker did not understand the language it was written in.

Making onboarding audit-proof

During an audit, after an incident or in an ISO 45001 certification, you will be asked to show that people were trained and competent. ISO 45001 (clause 7.2) asks you to retain documented information as evidence of competence.

To be ready:

1. Use one standard checklist per role across all sites and shifts.
2. Record completion per person, not per group.
3. Check understanding, not only attendance, for example with a few questions per topic.
4. Use the worker's language, so the record reflects real understanding.
5. Keep records accessible, so you can find them in minutes, not days.
6. Review regularly and update the checklist when risks change.

See also how to prevent failing a safety audit.

Tips for using the checklist on the shop floor

• Spread the items over several days. Nobody remembers twenty topics from one morning.
• Let the buddy own part of the checklist, such as the site tour.
• Make the essentials available on the phone, so new starters can look them up again.
• Give night and weekend starters the same checklist as day starters.
• Ask new starters after week one which items were unclear.

For the full programme around this checklist, see what makes an effective onboarding programme for manufacturing.

Frequently asked questions

What should a new starter checklist include?

Practical preparation before day one, the health and safety essentials on day one (fire, first aid, accident reporting, risks and controls, PPE, site rules), role training in the first week, and reviews after the first month and at the end of probation.

Which safety instructions are mandatory for new starters in the UK?

UK law requires adequate health and safety training on recruitment, understandable information on risks, controls and emergency procedures, fire safety training, information on first aid, and PPE training where PPE is needed.

How do I prove a new employee was onboarded?

Keep a record per person showing which items were covered, by whom, when and with which version of the material. Adding a few questions per topic shows understanding as well as attendance.

Should agency workers get the same checklist?

They need the same site-specific health and safety information before they start. The HR items may differ, but the safety essentials should be identical.

When should the checklist be completed?

The health and safety essentials should be completed before the new starter begins work, usually on day one or before it. Role training and reviews follow over the first weeks and months, each with its own date on the checklist.

Is a paper checklist good enough?

It can work, but paper is easily lost, completed late or kept inconsistently across sites. A digital record makes it much easier to show who completed what.

How E-lia helps

With E-lia, the safety and practical parts of your checklist go straight to the new starter's phone via WhatsApp, before and during their first weeks. No app, no login, in their own language. Each module ends with a few questions, and completion is recorded per person in your dashboard, so your onboarding records are always complete. Learn more about onboarding with E-lia.