2.2Employee file & hiring formalities
The essentials in 30 seconds
- Declare before the start date (in France: pre-hiring declaration to URSSAF), keep the personnel register, organize the medical visit and enrollments.
- A complete, up-to-date, confidential file: identity and right to work, contract and amendments, evidence — restricted access.
- Reflex: a shared checklist (manager + HR + IT) for a frictionless day one: the newcomer chases nothing.
Threaded mini-case — Amira prepares Monday's arrival
Amira's fixed-term contract is signed; the new employee arrives Monday. Amira files the prior declaration, prepares the register, checks the permit authorizing work and builds the file (contract, documents, contacts). With the manager and IT, she sets badge, access and workstation: on Monday, everything is ready. Continued from case 2.1 — Amira moves from contract to file.
Continued from case 2.1 — Amira moves from contracts to formalities and files.
1. Before day one: declare
In France, the pre-hiring declaration (DPAE) is filed with URSSAF before the start date; it comes with the personnel register (kept up to date in order of arrival), the information and prevention visit and enrollments (social protection, health, provident cover depending on the country). Without a declaration, you face a qualification of undeclared work, heavily punished.
Each country has its own declarations: Amira keeps a list of local formalities, checked with a lawyer, and never lets an employee start with declarations unfiled.
2. The file: complete, up to date, confidential
One file per employee: verified identity and right to work, contract and amendments, diplomas, contacts, social documents. Permits authorizing work are checked and kept. This data is sensitive: restricted access, retention limited to needs and obligations, secured storage.
The file lives throughout the relationship (amendments, training, visits): an incomplete file costs you at the inspection or in a dispute.
3. Day one: invisible administration
Badge, access, workstation, internal rules handed over, enrollments launched: the newcomer should have nothing to chase. A three-step checklist — preparation, day before, day after — shared by manager, HR and IT keeps administration smooth.
This smoothness makes the first impression: Amira closes the register and opens tool rights from arrival.
🔎 Concrete example — 🔎 Hands-on example — Three-step checklist
Three milestones, three owners.
Preparation: signed contract, declaration filed, visit scheduled, workstation ordered.
Day before: badge and access, desk ready, health cover, rules printed.
Day after: register completed, file stored, HRIS rights opened.
→ the newcomer chases nothing, everything is there.Reading: each step has an owner and an internal deadline.
Lesson: permits authorizing work checked and kept.
Section vocabulary
- Hiring formalities
- The mandatory steps of hiring (declaration, register, medical visit, enrollments).
Simple example: Amira declares before Monday, completes the register and schedules the visit.
What it is not: starting first and “seeing later” for declarations.
Reflex: no start without declarations done.
- DPAE (pre-hiring declaration)
- Pre-Hiring Declaration (France): declaring the employee to URSSAF before the start date.
Simple example: Amira's pre-hiring declaration for Monday's arrival, filed upstream.
What it is not: a simple internal registration with no declarative effect.
Reflex: declare first, always.
- Personnel register
- A document listing all the company's employees, kept obligatorily up to date.
Simple example: Amira enters the newcomer on arrival, in order of arrival.
What it is not: a decorative chart with no tracking value.
Reflex: up to date continuously, never at month-end.
- Employee file
- All the administrative documents of one employee (contract, evidence, contacts…).
Simple example: Amira's contract, checked documents, amendments and training per employee.
What it is not: a folder in open access on a shared shelf.
Reflex: complete, up to date, restricted access.
- Social-protection enrollment
- Enrolling employees in mandatory schemes (social security, health, provident cover depending on the country).
Simple example: Amira enrolls the newcomer in health cover from hiring.
What it is not: letting employees “sort themselves out” with their cover.
Reflex: enroll from arrival, with proof kept.
In practice — Hands on — Handle formalities and the employee file
- Spot your country's mandatory formalities (in France: prior declaration before hiring, register, medical visit).
- Complete the required declarations and enroll the employee in the mandatory schemes.
- Build a complete file: signed contract, verified evidence, contacts, social documents.
- Protect this personal data (restricted access, limited retention, security) under the applicable rules.
Ready-to-say script — locking the arrival with the manager (30 s)
“They arrive Monday: I file the declaration first, build the file and update the register. On your side, workstation and access ready the day before; IT opens the rights. On Monday, they chase nothing: we review together at day's end.”
To say to the manager and IT: who does what, before arrival.
Copy-paste template — hiring checklist
EMPLOYEE / POSITION / ARRIVAL: _______________
DECLARATIONS (prior + register + visit + enrollments): _______________
RIGHT TO WORK CHECKED (yes / no): _______________
FILE (contract, documents, contacts): _______________
DAY ONE (badge, access, workstation, rules): _______________
OWNERS (HR / manager / IT): _______________SME / small budget
One single paper checklist is enough: declarations, file, welcome — ticked and stored with the contract.
Remote arrival
Send rules and documents upstream, check documents remotely, open access before the welcome video call.
Foreign employee
Check the permit authorizing work with particular care and keep proof, backed by a professional.
Volume / multiple hires
Standardize: same document list, same validation circuit, same check before every start.
✓ Best practices
- Declare before the start date, never after.
- Keep a complete, up-to-date file under restricted access.
- Steer arrival with a shared checklist (HR, manager, IT).
✗ Common pitfalls
- Letting someone start with no declaration (“we will see later”).
- Leaving the file in open access.
- Improvising day one (missing badge, access, workstation).
Key takeaways
- Hiring triggers mandatory formalities (prior declaration, register, medical visit, enrollments).
- In France: prior declaration to URSSAF; exact formalities depend on the country.
- The employee file gathers contract and evidence, kept up to date throughout the relationship.
- This personal data is sensitive: restricted access and limited retention.
48h Challenge — apply tomorrow
Take one real file and check right to work + signed contract + up-to-date register. List the missing documents and request them this week.
- I can quote hiring formalities without hesitating.
- I know what a secured employee file holds.
- I have audited one real file and listed its gaps.
Frequently asked questions
What do you risk by neglecting hiring formalities?
A lot: these formalities protect the employee and fund social protection as much as they protect the company. Skipping the prior declaration can amount to undeclared work, heavily punished, and deprive the employee of rights. Register, medical visit and enrollments are also mandatory and regulated: handling them rigorously and on time is part of the non-negotiable foundation. Exact terms depend on each country's law.
How long should employee-file documents be kept?
It depends on the document type and the applicable law: periods vary by document (contract, payroll, contributions…). The principle is to keep data only as long as needed for purposes and obligations, then archive or delete. Best practice: a retention policy by document type, based on local texts, with secured access in the meantime.
Amira's employee arrives Monday and the declaration is not filed. What should she do?