New employee paperwork provides you with all the important information and documents you need to track about your employees. Some of these may be forms created by your organization and others are required by external sources such as the government or your benefit vendors. The employee completes these forms and submits them to HR to be stored in the employee's personnel file.

New hire paperwork gives your employees documentation outlining company expectations, policies, and procedures as well as ensuring compliance with certain employment regulations. Here are a few reasons to create a new hire packet.

Some new hire paperwork will be internal and specific to your organization. Other paperwork is provided by external sources such as vendors and government agencies. Here are some of the most common new hire paperwork employer's use.

New hire paperwork can be stored on paper or electronically, including in your people management software. Regardless of how you process and store the paperwork, you need to ensure that all employee personal information is stored securely and confidentially to ensure the integrity, accuracy, and reliability of the documents. Employers should consider the security of employees’ personal information when determining how to retain and store completed new hire paperwork. Depending on the document, new hire paperwork will be processed and stored in different ways.

Any payroll-related forms such as the federal Form W-4, state withholding W-4, and local tax withholding form, should be reviewed and the information entered into your payroll system. These forms can be updated by employees at any time and copies of the updated forms maintained in the employee’s personnel file. Employees are responsible for ensuring their tax-related information is correct, including providing accurate withholding information on their withholding forms and Form W-4. You can assist the employee by reviewing the form instructions and providing guidance, but it is illegal for an employer to complete a W-4 for an employee. Also, employees must fill out and sign their own W-4 forms.

Any forms created internally should be reviewed, the relevant information entered into your payroll and/or people management software and then stored in the employee’s personnel file.

Benefit enrollment forms should be reviewed and then passed along to the benefit carrier in the method they require. After processing the enrollment, store a copy of the completed form in the employee’s personnel file.

Employers are required to use the Form I-9 to verify the identity and employment authorization of anyone hired in the United States. All U.S. employers must properly complete a Form I-9 for each individual they hire in the U.S., including citizens and noncitizens. Both employees and employers (or the authorized representatives of the employer) must complete different sections of the form. Employers must retain each employee's completed Form I-9 as long as the employee is employed. Once an employee no longer works for the organization, HR must determine how long to retain and store the form, either three years after the date of hire or one year after the termination date, whichever is later. If there is ever an audit, Form I-9s must be presentable to government officials for inspection within three business days of the date they were requested, so they should be stored in a safe and accessible location. If you use the E-Verify system to verify employment eligibility, you and the employee still need to complete the Form I-9.