Hiring your first employee is an important sign that your business is growing, but it also changes the way you need to operate.
You are no longer only responsible for completing the work. You also need to think about the employee’s pay, written terms, legal rights, workplace pension, insurance, working time, personal information and day-to-day support.
The StratoWrite Hiring Your First Employee in the UK Pack has been created to help first-time employers approach these responsibilities in a clear and organised way.
This professionally prepared 30-page PDF guide brings the main steps together in one practical resource. It is written in straightforward language for startup founders, sole traders, company directors and small-business owners who are preparing to employ their first member of staff or build a very small team.
The pack does not assume that you already understand HR or employment law. Instead, it shows you what needs attention, the order in which to deal with it and where to find current official guidance when more detail is required.
The pack is currently available as a free introductory download while the StratoWrite shop continues to expand, giving you access to practical first-employer guidance at no cost.
Inside the pack, you will find guidance on:
- Choosing between an employee, worker and self-employed contractor
- Planning a realistic role, working pattern and employment budget
- Current 2026/27 National Minimum Wage and employer-cost information
- Writing a fair job advert and using a structured recruitment process
- Right-to-work checks, DBS checks and other role-related checks
- Conditional offers, employment contracts and written particulars
- Registering as an employer and setting up PAYE and payroll
- Workplace pension auto-enrolment duties
- Employers’ Liability insurance and basic health-and-safety responsibilities
- Employee data protection and record keeping
- Day-one onboarding and the employee’s first 90 days
- Holiday, working time, sickness and Statutory Sick Pay
- Family leave and flexible-working requests
- Equality, reasonable adjustments and preventing workplace harassment
- Probation, performance conversations and early problem handling
- Disciplinary, grievance, dismissal and redundancy basics
- Important employment-law changes taking effect during 2026 and 2027
- Practical first-hire checklists, templates and example wording
The guide also includes a clickable table of contents, a step-by-step first-hire walkthrough and direct links to relevant GOV.UK, Acas, HMRC, The Pensions Regulator, HSE and ICO guidance.
Whether you are only beginning to consider hiring or already preparing a start date, this pack will help you see the full process more clearly and reduce the risk of important steps being missed.
Free digital product – supplied as a printable PDF.
30 pages – reviewed and updated for 2026/27.
Includes a clickable contents page and live links to official guidance.
Available as an instant download after checkout.
This guide provides general information and does not replace advice from a solicitor, accountant, payroll professional, HR adviser, pension adviser, insurer or health-and-safety professional.
Employment rights and employer duties can depend on the worker’s status, contract, working arrangements, location and individual circumstances. Employment law also differs in Northern Ireland in several areas, and rules or implementation dates may change after publication.
Check current official guidance and obtain professional advice before making a higher-risk decision involving employment status, discrimination, long-term sickness, disciplinary action, dismissal or redundancy.
