Starters and leavers, from first day to last

Send each new starter one link, and they do their details, right-to-work check, contract and handbook on their phone before day one. When someone leaves, we work out their notice and final pay, write the letters and keep the records.

Before day one: Right to work checked
Month 4: Probation review flagged
Last day: Final pay worked out

Included in your plan, for every starter and leaver. All names in the app previews are made up for the demo.

Welcome to Fernside

Leo, a few things before Monday

Your detailsAddress and emergency contact
Bank and tax detailsHMRC starter checklist
Right to workChecked with your share code
4Sign your contractAnd the union rights statement
5Staff handbook
6Respect at work trainingAbout 20 minutes

All names are made up for the demo.

One link for each new starter

You add the starter with their start date, job, pay and hours. We send them a link, and they work through it on their phone, in the app or in a phone browser.

Their details

Address, contact details and an emergency contact.
Bank and tax details

Their bank details and HMRC’s starter checklist: National Insurance number, student loan plan, and any other jobs or benefits since 6 April.
Right to work

Checked before they start: by share code (a code they get from the government’s online service), a certified digital check for British and Irish passports, or documents you see in person.
Contract and written statement

Read and signed online. From 1 January 2027, the government’s statement on the right to join a trade union comes with it.
Staff handbook

Read and signed off, so you have a record of which version they received, and when.
Harassment training

The online course, to finish within their first 2 weeks. Mirith, our assistant, chases anyone who hasn’t, and tells you.

Your side of it

While they work through the link, the app gives you your own checklist:

Payroll: their starter checklist and bank details go to whoever runs your payroll, in the next pay summary.
Pension: the letter to enrol them, to postpone enrolment for up to 3 months, or to tell them they’re not eligible.
Your first employee? A reminder to send The Pensions Regulator your declaration of compliance within 5 months of their start.
Equipment and logins to set up, on an induction checklist.
Cards and licences the job needs, such as a CSCS card or a driving licence check, with reminders before they expire.
The 6-month alarm, set automatically.

Job descriptions, offer letters and reference requests come from the same approved templates. Contracts and documents

What the law requires when someone starts

Four duties, with what each means for you and what we do about it.

The rule
Check their right to work before they start

What it means for you
Since 1 October 2026 that includes workers and individual subcontractors, not just employees: self-employed people you take on to do work you’ve agreed to provide for a customer. The fine is up to £60,000 for each illegal worker, and a correct check, done before they start, is your defence.

What we do
The check is a step in the starter link. We keep the copies for their employment plus 2 years, remind you when time-limited permission needs checking again, and check individual subcontractors too.
The rule
A written statement on day one

What it means for you
Every new starter must get a written statement of their main terms by their first day. It’s already the law.

What we do
The contract and written statement are in the starter link, to sign before they start.
The rule
The trade union statement, from 1 January 2027

What it means for you
New starters must get the government’s statement on the right to join a trade union at the same time as their written statement. Staff already with you need it by 5 April 2027.

What we do
It’s in the starter link, with the contract. More on the statement
The rule
Workplace pensions

What it means for you
You can postpone enrolling someone for up to 3 months. With your first employee, you must declare your compliance to The Pensions Regulator within 5 months, and staff are re-enrolled every 3 years.

What we do
We write the enrolment, postponement or not-eligible letter, and remind you of each deadline.

Probation and the 6-month alarm

From 1 January 2027, anyone with 6 months’ service can claim unfair dismissal (that they were dismissed without a fair reason or a fair process), not 2 years, and there’s no cap on compensation. So the decision on probation needs to come before the 6-month mark, not after it.

Month 4

We flag the review

The 6-month alarm flags each new starter at month 4, with a review form for their objectives, the evidence and your recommendation.
Month 5

A second reminder

Decide before the 6-month mark, follow a fair process and keep notes.
Before month 6

Pass, extend or end

We write the letter. Probation can only be extended if their contract allows it, and a letter ending probation stays locked until your HR expert signs it off.

Why month 4

Time already worked counts towards the 6 months, and so does notice: a dismissal in December whose notice runs into January falls under the new rules.

From January 2027, anyone with 6 months’ service can also ask for written reasons for their dismissal. A review at month 4 leaves time to decide fairly before the 6-month mark.

Unfair dismissal after 6 months: what changes

Young workers and apprentices

Every record has a date of birth, so the extra rules apply by themselves. Anything involving a worker under 18 goes to your HR expert.

Under 18

No more than 8 hours a day or 40 a week.
A 30-minute break when the day is longer than 4.5 hours.
12 hours’ rest a day and 2 days off a week.
No night work: 10pm to 6am, or 11pm to 7am if the contract allows work after 10pm. Jobs such as hospitality and retail have limited exceptions, but never between midnight and 4am.
A permit from the council for children under school leaving age.
No 48-hour opt-out, because under-18s can’t opt out of the weekly limit.
A young worker risk assessment, checked by your HR expert.

Apprentices

An apprenticeship agreement, with the apprenticeship standard, the training provider and the end date.
At least the apprentice rate: £8.00 an hour for apprentices under 19 or in their first year. The pay check blocks a contract below it.

The minimum wage for under-18s is also £8.00 an hour, and £10.85 at 18 to 20, since 1 April 2026. Every contract is checked against the rate for the person’s age.

When someone leaves

Whether they resign, you dismiss them or a contract ends, we take you through it step by step. When someone hands in their notice, you record it in the app and we take you through the rest.

We work out

Their notice: the contract’s or the legal minimum, whichever is longer. The minimum is 1 week after a month’s service, then 1 week for each full year, up to 12 weeks.
Their last day, from the notice in their contract.
Their final pay, including holiday they haven’t taken. It’s owed even after a dismissal for gross misconduct, and you can only deduct holiday they took early if they agreed to it in writing beforehand.
How the notice is spent: worked, on garden leave (at home, on full pay) or paid instead, where their contract allows.

Agreeing terms for someone to leave? A settlement agreement, drafted and checked by our employment solicitor, costs £395 + VAT at 20% (£474 including VAT). How it works

Resignations are routine: Mirith drafts the letters and you approve them. A dismissal, a redundancy or the end of a fixed-term contract, which counts as a dismissal in law, is checked by your HR expert first.

We do the paperwork

The letters: a resignation acknowledgement, or the dismissal letter your HR expert has signed off.
Their final pay and a reminder to issue their P45 (the form showing their pay and tax so far this tax year), in the pay summary for whoever runs your payroll.
An exit checklist, so equipment and logins come back.
Exit questions, if you want them.
A reference template: factual only, or a fuller reference.
Their records, kept for as long as the law requires.
Their login stays open for 30 days after their last day, with a reminder a week before it closes. You can change this in settings.

Questions

Do I need to check the right to work of self-employed people?

Yes, for individual subcontractors: self-employed people you take on to do work you’ve agreed to provide for a customer. Since 1 October 2026, right-to-work checks cover them and workers, not just employees. They don’t cover someone running an independent business of their own. We keep a list of your individual subcontractors, their check records and follow-up reminders.

Can you help me sponsor someone on a visa?

No. Sponsoring a worker needs a regulated immigration adviser, so your HR expert refers that part out. We still run their right-to-work check.

Do you run payroll for starters and leavers?

No. We send whoever runs your payroll a summary each pay period, with starters’ details and bank details, and leavers’ final pay, holiday owed and a P45 reminder. We don’t run payroll or file with HMRC.

What happens to a leaver’s records?

They stay on your file for as long as the law requires, such as right-to-work copies for their employment plus 2 years and holiday records for 6 years. If a leaver deletes their own account, the records you must keep stay on your file.

How much notice do staff have to give me?

At least a week after a month in the job, unless their contract says more. When they hand in their notice and you record it in the app, their last working day is worked out from the notice in their contract.

Sources

Checked against the law on 8 October 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Your HR team, from January 2027.

Start with the free checklist. Reserve your founding price, and we set you up in January. It’s refundable until launch.

Reserve your founding price Book a 15-minute call

Not ready yet? Get the free 1 January 2027 checklist.

Starters and leavers, from first day to last

One link for each new starter

Their details

Bank and tax details

Right to work

Contract and written statement

Staff handbook

Harassment training