# New starter checklist for a restaurant or pub: right to work, pay, rota, allergens and tips > 23 steps for taking on a new member of staff in a restaurant or pub: right to work, day-one paperwork, rota limits, allergen training and tips. - Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/new-starter-checklist-restaurant-pub-staff/ - Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/) - Section: Restaurants, pubs and small hotels, Staff, rotas and tips - Published 1 October 2026 - Key fact: We wrote this list of 23 steps in 5 stages from the rules set out in 5 of our guides and the official pages each step names. Three of the 23 steps have a first-day deadline on GOV.UK: the right to work check, which must be done before the person is employed, the principal written statement, and the information on sick pay, leave and notice. The longest period on the list is the 2 months allowed for the wider written statement. - Sources: GOV.UK, Checking a job applicant's right to work, read 1 October 2026; GOV.UK, Penalties for employing illegal workers, read 1 October 2026; GOV.UK, Employers' liability insurance, read 1 October 2026; GOV.UK, National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates, read 1 October 2026; GOV.UK, Written statement of employment particulars, read 1 October 2026; GOV.UK, Tell HMRC about a new employee, read 1 October 2026; GOV.UK, Rest breaks at work; GOV.UK, Rest breaks at work: young workers; Night working hours; Licensing Act 2003, section 153 (legislation.gov.uk, read 1 October 2026); GOV.UK, Night working hours; GOV.UK, Food safety: your responsibilities, read 1 October 2026; Food Standards Agency, Allergen guidance for food businesses (GOV.UK, updated 17 July 2026), read 1 October 2026; Food Information Regulations 2014; Food Standards Agency allergen guidance; Food Standards Agency, Allergen information for non-prepacked foods: best practice, 24 February 2025; Food Standards Agency guidance on prepacked for direct sale food, in force 1 October 2021; Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 and statutory code of practice; GOV.UK, Workplace pensions: employers and eligible staff, read 1 October 2026; each step names its source, and the linked guide shows the working. Hospitality takes on staff more often than most trades, and usually in a hurry: a kitchen porter for Friday, three bar staff for December. The steps are the same each time and the costly ones come first. This list follows one new starter from the offer to the end of their second month: the right to work check, the paperwork due on day one, the rota limits for their age, food hygiene and allergen training, and their place in the tips allocation. It is written for the owner or manager of an independent restaurant, pub or small hotel. Use one list for each person and tick each step as it is done. **Free tool on the page:** New starter checklist for a restaurant or pub. It runs in the browser at https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/new-starter-checklist-restaurant-pub-staff/#tool and asks for no sign-up. ## Before the first shift **Check the starter's right to work before they are employed, from original documents or a share code.** GOV.UK says you must check before you employ the person. British and Irish citizens cannot get a share code, so check an original document such as a passport with the person present. Biometric residence cards and permits are no longer accepted. Source: GOV.UK, Checking a job applicant's right to work, read 1 October 2026. **Copy the documents, record the date of the check and file the copy.** Copies are kept during the employment and for 2 years after it ends. The civil penalty is up to £60,000 for each illegal worker, and you do not have to pay it if you can show you made the correct checks. Source: GOV.UK, Penalties for employing illegal workers, read 1 October 2026. **Time-limited right to work: diary the expiry date for a follow-up check.** Where the right to work is time-limited, the documents must be checked again when it is due to expire. For a student, GOV.UK says to see evidence of their study and vacation times and to check any limit on hours. Source: GOV.UK, Checking a job applicant's right to work, read 1 October 2026. **Confirm employers' liability insurance is in force and the certificate is where staff can see it.** Cover must be for at least £5 million from an authorised insurer. GOV.UK gives the fine as £2,500 for every day without proper insurance and £1,000 for not displaying the certificate or showing it to an inspector. Source: GOV.UK, Employers' liability insurance, read 1 October 2026. **Check the agreed hourly rate against the minimum wage for the starter's age.** From 1 April 2026 the minimum is £12.71 an hour for staff aged 21 and over, £10.85 for 18 to 20 and £8.00 for under 18s and apprentices. The rates change on 1 April every year. Source: GOV.UK, National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates, read 1 October 2026. The working is in [Rota cost calculator](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/rota-cost-calculator-hospitality-employer-ni/). ## Day one paperwork **Give the principal written statement on the first day of work.** It is due on the first day and must state pay, hours and days of work and how they may vary, holiday entitlement, the place of work, any probation period and any obligatory training. Workers get one as well as employees. Source: GOV.UK, Written statement of employment particulars, read 1 October 2026. **Give the information on sick pay, other paid leave and notice periods on the first day too.** GOV.UK lists these three as information the employer must also provide on the first day. They can sit in the principal statement or in a separate document the worker has reasonable access to. Source: GOV.UK, Written statement of employment particulars, read 1 October 2026. **Get the starter's P45, or have them fill in HMRC's starter checklist.** The P45 or the starter checklist gives the details needed to work out the tax code. The same details show whether the starter is repaying a student loan, which payroll has to deduct. Source: GOV.UK, Tell HMRC about a new employee, read 1 October 2026. ## Rota and hours **Put the starter on the rota with 11 hours between shifts and a break in any shift over 6 hours.** An adult is entitled to 11 hours' rest between working days and one uninterrupted 20-minute break in a shift of more than 6 hours. Staff who close at 12:30am should not start again before 11:30am. Source: GOV.UK, Rest breaks at work. The working is in [Pub and bar staff rota template](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/bar-staff-rota-template-rest-breaks-clopen/). **Aged 16 or 17: cap shifts at 8 hours a day and 40 a week, with 12 hours between shifts.** A worker aged 16 or 17 also gets a 30-minute break in any shift over 4.5 hours and 48 hours off each week, and cannot work between midnight and 4am. The limits cannot be averaged across weeks. Source: GOV.UK, Rest breaks at work: young workers; Night working hours. The working is in [Pub and bar staff rota template](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/bar-staff-rota-template-rest-breaks-clopen/). **Aged under 18 and working the bar: have each sale of alcohol approved by a responsible person.** It is an offence to knowingly allow someone under 18 to sell alcohol unless the sale is specifically approved by the licence holder, the designated premises supervisor or an adult they have authorised. Alcohol sold with a table meal, in a part of the premises used only for table meals, is excepted. Source: Licensing Act 2003, section 153 (legislation.gov.uk, read 1 October 2026). **Regular closing shifts: record the starter as a night worker.** Anyone who regularly works at least 3 hours between 11pm and 6am is a night worker, limited to an average of 8 hours in 24. The employer must keep records of night workers' hours for at least 2 years. Source: GOV.UK, Night working hours. The working is in [Pub and bar staff rota template](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/bar-staff-rota-template-rest-breaks-clopen/). ## Food safety and allergens **Train the starter in food hygiene and personal hygiene for the job they will do.** GOV.UK lists it among a food business's duties: you must train all your staff and make sure they follow good personal hygiene practices. Keep a dated note of what was covered and who gave the training. Source: GOV.UK, Food safety: your responsibilities, read 1 October 2026. **Give allergen training before the starter takes an order or plates food.** The Food Standards Agency's guidance says food businesses must make sure that staff receive training on allergens, and it offers free food allergy training that staff and managers can complete and share. Source: Food Standards Agency, Allergen guidance for food businesses (GOV.UK, updated 17 July 2026), read 1 October 2026. The working is in [Natasha's Law for restaurants and pubs](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/natashas-law-allergen-labelling-restaurants-pubs/). **Show the starter where the allergen matrix is kept and have them answer a question from it.** A customer's question is answered from the document, not from memory. "I'll check" is the right answer, and a written sign that points customers to a member of staff who does not know does not meet the rule. Source: Food Information Regulations 2014; Food Standards Agency allergen guidance. The working is in [Natasha's Law for restaurants and pubs](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/natashas-law-allergen-labelling-restaurants-pubs/). **Teach the question to ask with every order: does anyone have any allergen requirements?** The Food Standards Agency's best practice guidance gives this as the question for front of house. It is asked when the order is taken, and the answer about a dish comes from the matrix, which names the specific nut or cereal. Source: Food Standards Agency, Allergen information for non-prepacked foods: best practice, 24 February 2025. The working is in [Allergen matrix template for a restaurant or pub](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/allergen-matrix-template-restaurant-pub-14-allergens/). **Bar and counter staff: explain which food is packed before it is ordered and must carry a label.** Food packed on the premises before the customer asks for it needs a label with the name of the food and a full ingredients list, with each of the 14 allergens emphasised. A sandwich made and wrapped to order does not. Source: Food Standards Agency guidance on prepacked for direct sale food, in force 1 October 2021. The working is in [Natasha's Law for restaurants and pubs](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/natashas-law-allergen-labelling-restaurants-pubs/). ## Tips, first pay day and the first two months **Give the starter the written tips policy.** Where tips are received more than occasionally the employer must have a written policy saying how tips are allocated and how fairness is ensured, and must make it available to all workers, agency workers included. Source: Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 and statutory code of practice. The working is in [The tips law for restaurants and pubs](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/tips-act-tronc-restaurants-pubs/). **Add the starter to the tips allocation from their first shift.** Every qualifying tip goes to workers in full, with no deductions other than tax, and is paid by the end of the month after the month it was received. Tips cannot be used to top pay up to the minimum wage. Source: Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 and statutory code of practice. The working is in [The tips law for restaurants and pubs](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/tips-act-tronc-restaurants-pubs/). **Tell the starter they can ask to see their own tips record.** A worker may ask for the record of tips received and their own allocation once in any three-month period and must be given it within four weeks. The employer keeps the records for three years. Source: Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 and statutory code of practice. The working is in [The tips law for restaurants and pubs](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/tips-act-tronc-restaurants-pubs/). **Register the starter with HMRC on a Full Payment Submission on or before their first pay day.** GOV.UK says you must tell HMRC about a new employee on or before their first pay day. The starter is registered by including them on the Full Payment Submission your payroll software sends. Source: GOV.UK, Tell HMRC about a new employee, read 1 October 2026. **Assess the starter for the workplace pension.** Staff aged between 22 and State Pension age who earn at least £10,000 a year must be enrolled, with an employer contribution of 3% of qualifying earnings. Someone who becomes eligible later must be enrolled and written to within 6 weeks. Source: GOV.UK, Workplace pensions: employers and eligible staff, read 1 October 2026. The working is in [Rota cost calculator](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/rota-cost-calculator-hospitality-employer-ni/). **Send the wider written statement within 2 months of the start date.** It covers pensions and pension schemes, collective agreements, any right to non-compulsory training and the disciplinary and grievance procedures. Changes to a written statement must be notified within one month of the change. Source: GOV.UK, Written statement of employment particulars, read 1 October 2026. ## How to use the list File the finished list in the starter's personnel record with the dated right to work copy and the signed written statement. A step that did not apply, such as the under-18 limits for an adult, can be ticked once somebody has checked the date of birth. Two steps come back later: a follow-up check when a time-limited right to work is due to expire, and a pension assessment when the person's age or earnings change. Put both in the diary on the day you tick them. A ticked list is a record that the steps were done, not proof that each was done properly. The list covers the points our guides and the official pages named above set out; it is not every duty a firm has. This page is general information, not legal advice. Overlyft ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/ours-badge.png) sets up AI assistants for restaurants, pubs and small hotels: they prepare drafts for a person to approve. They do not tick off any of these steps for you, and you can do every one without them. ## Short answers from this page **When do I have to check a new bar or kitchen worker's right to work, and how long do I keep the copies?** Check before the person is employed, from original documents with the person present or from a share code. Keep the copies during the employment and for 2 years after it ends. The civil penalty is up to £60,000 for each illegal worker, and an employer who can show the correct checks were made does not have to pay it. --- ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/owner-line.png) General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.