# Onboarding checklists

An onboarding checklist is the list of tasks to finish for a new starter — contract, badge, uniform, induction. An Admin builds the list once as a template; each employee then gets a copy on the Onboarding tab of their profile, where Admins and Managers tick items off. The template is versioned: you edit a draft and activate it, and checklists already started keep the version they were taken from. Adding or editing items on the organisation's template is broken today; this page says how to work around it.

## Who can do what?

| Task | Who | Permission |
|---|---|---|
| Build and activate the template | Admin | `MANAGE_ONBOARDING_TEMPLATE` |
| Start a checklist and tick items off | Admin, Manager | `EDIT_ONBOARDING` |
| See a checklist | Admin, Manager, Control — and the employee, on their own **Screening** page | `VIEW_ONBOARDING` |

Agencies have their own template and checklists — see [Onboard officers](/docs/agency/officer-onboarding).

## Where is the template?

**Settings → Onboarding Template**. On the left, **Versions** lists every version with its item count and the date it was made; the one in use is marked **Active**. On the right are the items of the version you select.

![Settings → Onboarding template — Configure the checklist you start for new hires from their Onboarding tab, or for everyone with Apply to all. Edit the draft → activate to apply going forward. In-flight onboardings keep their snapshot. Versions · 2, with Sample and New buttons, lists Template v2 (v2 · 9 items · 01 Sep 2026, selected) and New starter checklist, marked Active (v1 · 8 items · 01 Apr 2026). Template v2 is open on the right with Add item and Activate, and nine items, each with an edit and a delete button: Right to work checked (Pre-start, required, doc, linked to rightToWork), Signed contract received, P45 or starter checklist received, Added to the roster, ID badge made, Uniform issued (linked to uniformIssued), Site induction completed (linked to trainingCompleted), Fire safety briefing, and Meadowhall gatehouse procedures read.](/docs/img/onboarding-template-editor.png)

Each item has a **Label**, an optional **Category** that groups it on the checklist, a **Sort order**, optional **Help text**, and three ticks: **Required**, **Doc upload** and **Completed date**. **Doc upload** and **Completed date** are markers on the template only — the checklist does not ask for a file or a date. The date an item was done is stamped when it is set to **Done**.

An item can also have a **Linked roster column** — `rightToWork`, `uniformIssued` or `trainingCompleted`. Setting the item to **Done** on someone's checklist then ticks that column on their employee record.

## How do I set up the template?

The active version cannot be changed. You work on a draft and then make it active.

1. Go to **Settings → Onboarding Template**.
2. Start a draft:
   - **Sample** (or **Import sample**, when there are no versions) creates a draft from the built-in new-starter list: 26 items in four categories — *Documents & Identity*, *Pre-start checks*, *Operational*, and *Induction & Training*.
   - **Clone**, shown while the active version is selected, copies it into a new draft.
   - **New** (or **Start blank**) creates an empty draft.
   Drafts are named **Template v2**, **Template v3** and so on; they cannot be renamed.
3. Change the draft's items: **Add item**, an item's edit button, or its bin button to remove it.
4. Press **Activate**. The draft becomes the active version, and the one before it stops being active.

Activating changes nothing for checklists already started — *In-flight onboardings keep their snapshot*. It applies to checklists started from then on.

A version that is not active can be deleted with its bin button, unless someone's checklist was made from it — *Template in use by one or more employees and cannot be deleted…*. The active version cannot.

### How do I add or change an item?

**Add item**, or an item's edit button, opens the item with the fields described above. Change what you need and press **Add** or **Save**.

## How do I start someone's checklist?

Nothing creates a checklist automatically — not adding the employee, and not activating a template.

For one employee:

1. Open their profile from **People → Employees** and choose the **Onboarding** tab.
2. Press **Initialise from active template**.

For everyone at once, select the active version on the template page and press **Apply to all**. It starts a checklist for every Admin, Manager, Control and Employee in the organisation who has no onboarding items yet, and tells you how many it started. People who already have a checklist are left alone.

## How do I tick items off?

On the employee's **Onboarding** tab, each item has a status:

| Status | Means |
|---|---|
| **Pending** | Not done yet |
| **Done** | Finished; stamped with the date |
| **N/A** | Does not apply to this person. Counts towards the required items |
| **Blocked** | Held up — add a note to say why |

Change it with the picker beside the item. The note button opens a box for a note, saved when you click away. The top shows how far through they are — complete items, required items done, and a percentage — and **All required items complete** once every required item is **Done** or **N/A**.

![Priya Raghunathan's Onboarding checklist: 4 / 8 complete · 4 / 6 required · 50%, with a progress bar half full and a Template link. Pre-start · 3: Right to work checked, Done, required, roster, 20 Apr 2026; Signed contract received, Done, required, 20 Apr 2026; P45 or starter checklist received, N/A. Operational · 3: Added to the roster, Done, 21 Apr 2026; ID badge made, Done, 22 Apr 2026; Uniform issued, Blocked, required, roster. Induction & Training · 2: Site induction completed, Pending, required, roster; Fire safety briefing, Pending. Each item has a status picker and a note button.](/docs/img/employee-onboarding-tab.png)

Control see the checklist without the pickers. The employee sees their own, read-only — under **Onboarding** on the portal's **Screening** page, and in **My Screening** in the app.

## What happens when everything is done?

When an employee's required items are all **Done** or **N/A** and their employment screening is complete, ShiftTracker marks them active — *Employee activated — Screening + onboarding both complete.* Admins and Managers are notified, and so is the employee. It happens once, whichever of the two finishes last. See [Screen staff to BS 7858](/docs/organisation/employment-screening).

## If it goes wrong

| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| No **Add item** or **Activate** | You have the active version selected. **Clone** it first. |
| *No active onboarding template — Admin must activate one first* | Nothing is active yet. Activate a version. |
| **Apply to all** started nobody | Everyone already has a checklist. |
| A version will not delete | It is active, or someone's checklist was taken from it. |

## Related

- [Manage employees](/docs/organisation/manage-employees)
- [Screen staff to BS 7858](/docs/organisation/employment-screening)
- [Onboard officers](/docs/agency/officer-onboarding) — the agency's side