Template
Manager checklist
A monthly check that the people tasks in your team have not slipped. It covers new starters, probation reviews, holiday and absence, expiring cards and documents, incidents and leavers. Print one a month.
- New starters have a first-week planAnyone who started this month. Welcome done, equipment issued, check-in booked.
- Probation reviews bookedNames and review dates in the next 30 days. Book each review.
- Holiday requests answeredClear anything waiting, and check cover for busy weeks.
- Absence recordedThe dates of any absence this month, entered in your records.
- Return to work conversations heldOne for each return from absence. Write the date.
- Documents and cards expiring soonLicences, cards, certificates and insurance expiring in the next 90 days.
- Right to work follow-ups passed onAnyone with a follow-up check due soon. Pass it to the person who makes the checks.
- New policies received by the teamChase anyone who has not confirmed they received a new or changed policy.
- Incidents and near misses written upAnything that happened, even if nobody was hurt. Write the date it was reported.
- One-to-ones heldThe date of the last one for each person. Book any that are overdue.
- Training due is arrangedRefreshers and renewals due next month, and who will arrange them.
- Changes sent to payrollStarters, leavers and changes of hours, pay or address, sent before payroll's deadline.
- Leavers' tasks doneEquipment back, access removed, handover done. Write who has what left to do.
- Concerns raised with you passed onWrite that a concern was raised and who you passed it to. Keep the detail off this sheet.
What this checklist is for
Managers often hold the people tasks that nobody else sees: a holiday request waiting for an answer, a probation date coming up, a card about to expire, a new starter in their first week. This checklist is a monthly check that none of them has slipped.
When to use it
Once a month, at a regular time, such as the first Monday. Print one for each month and keep the completed sheets together, or fill it in on screen. It also works as a handover list when a manager changes.
How to fill it in well
- Go through your team list person by person for the first five items, rather than working from memory.
- Write a name or a date beside each line, not just a tick.
- Where nothing is due, write "none". A blank line looks like a missed line.
- Where an item belongs to someone else, such as payroll, HR or whoever makes right to work checks, write who you passed it to and when.
- Keep it short. If something needs a record or a conversation, put the detail on the person's record, not on this sheet.
- Use the other templates for the detail: the return to work form after an absence, the probation review form and the incident report.
What to keep afterwards
Treat the completed checklist as a working note. The detail belongs on each person's record, so the checklist only needs to show that you looked. Decide how long to keep completed sheets and follow that rule. The employment records guide explains how to set retention rules.
What to leave off it
Do not put health details, reasons for absence or the substance of a concern on the checklist. Write "return to work conversation held on 14 October", not what was said. Other people may see the sheet, so names and dates are enough.
The questions in plain text
If you would rather work in your own document, here are the same items as a list.
Frequently asked questions
Who counts as a manager for this checklist?
How much of my team's information should a manager see?
Change history
- First published.
General information only. This is not legal advice. Check the official sources above and take advice on your own circumstances.