How do you hire a UK employee in 2026?

1. Issue the offer letter

   Send a written offer the same day as verbal acceptance. Include role, salary, start date, notice period of 1 week minimum by law, and any conditions such as right-to-work or references.

2. Complete the right-to-work check

   Run the Home Office online check or verify original documents before the employee starts. Save the certificate. This step cannot happen after day one.

3. Issue the Section 1 statement

   Written particulars must be given on or before day one. Teamed's standard UK contract covers all requirements. Clients sign off on commercial terms. Teamed signs as the legal employer.

4. Complete onboarding admin

   Register the employee on PAYE, enrol them in the pension scheme, collect their P45 or starter checklist, and set up bank details and benefits. This runs across days one to seven.

5. Issue the first payslip and file RTI

   Run the first payroll at the end of the first pay period. File the Full Payment Submission with HMRC on or before payday. The employee receives their payslip and is on the payroll record.

Three traps to avoid in UK offer letters:

• Overstating discretionary benefits. Saying the bonus typically pays out at full target can become a contractual entitlement if the candidate relies on it.
• Inconsistent dates. If the offer letter states one start date and the contract states another, that inconsistency can become tribunal material.
• Promising things outside your authority. A commitment to promote after six months without manager sign-off creates a constructive dismissal angle if it is not honoured.

Teamed's standard UK offer letter template covers all required ground without overcommitting. Clients customise commercial elements. Teamed holds the legal-employer position.

Online right-to-work check

Anyone with an eVisa proves their right to work through the Home Office online checking service. The person gives you a share code, you enter it with their date of birth, and you save the result as your record. This covers most people with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme and most visa holders, including Skilled Workers.

British and Irish citizens do not use share codes. They usually show a passport in a manual check, or you can use a certified digital identity provider. If your hire needs a visa to work for you, see UK visa sponsorship.

Manual right-to-work check

Where the online route does not apply, you must see the original documents in person, check them, copy them and record the date of the check. Some documents show a right to work with no time limit. Others show a time-limited right, which needs a follow-up check.

A correct check, done before work starts, gives you a statutory excuse. That is a legal defence against the civil penalty if the person turns out not to have the right to work. A late or incomplete check loses it. The full steps are in the Home Office employer's guide to right to work checks.

Follow-up checks for time-limited right to work

For employees whose right to work has an expiry date, the employer must run a follow-up check on or before the day that permission ends.

What changes on 1 October 2026?

For employees, the check itself does not change. From 1 October 2026 the duty also covers workers and individual subcontractors, so more engagements need a check before work starts. The date comes from SI 2026/683, which brings section 48 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 into force. The penalty amounts stay the same, and for these new groups a penalty can only apply where the work started on or after that date. This is the position as of 15 September 2026, and the Home Office guide is a draft until 1 October.

Whether a contractor is in scope depends on how the arrangement works in practice. Our UK contractor hiring guide covers that. For your own situation, Talk to an Expert.

What the Section 1 statement must include:

• Names of employer and employee
• Date employment began and date continuous employment began
• Pay rate and payment intervals
• Hours of work and normal working hours
• Holiday entitlement, including public holidays and holiday pay calculation
• Sickness and sick pay terms
• Pension scheme details
• Notice required by employer and employee
• Job title or brief description
• Whether the role is permanent or fixed term
• Place of work and any mobility requirement
• Any collective agreements that apply
• Probationary period terms, if any
• Any training the employer requires the employee to complete
• Any additional benefits
• Disciplinary and grievance procedures

The Section 1 obligation extended to workers (not just employees) in April 2020. Anyone in a working relationship with Teamed Ltd gets the statement, including casual workers and zero-hours workers.

Teamed's standard UK contract is a full Section 1 statement. It is reviewed annually against current legislation. Clients choose commercial elements such as salary, notice extensions, bonus, and restrictive covenants. Teamed signs as the legal employer.

Real HR and legal experts handle your UK hires, from the first offer letter through every RTI submission and year-end P60. An actual person, not a chatbot or a pooled queue. There is no setup fee and no exit fee. Employer cost passes through at cost, itemised on every invoice.

EOR payroll, contractor onboarding, and entity setup all live on one platform. A UK contractor who converts to PAYE keeps their record. Run the Crossover Calculator to see the month your UK hire is ready to graduate to your own entity. Start from the UK hiring overview. Each guide takes one layer of UK employment law.

Key sources: GOV.UK employing people, HMRC PAYE for employers, and ACAS employment advice.