Onboarding restaurant staff without WhatsApping their contracts

Your new commis chef starts on Monday. On Friday afternoon, the head chef sends her the contract, the staff handbook and the first rota over WhatsApp. She signs the contract, photographs her passport and sends it back the same way.

Two years later she has moved on. Her contract, your handbook and a photo of her passport are still sitting in at least three phones, one of which now belongs to somebody else.

How restaurant staff documents usually travel

Restaurants hire fast and often. A busy site might take on a dozen people a year, many of them part time, and the paperwork moves however is quickest on the day: WhatsApp, a personal email address, a printed copy left in the office.

That works until something goes wrong. A handbook sent to the wrong group chat, a contract forwarded to a partner for advice, a passport photo on a manager's phone that gets lost on the night bus. Each one is personal data you're responsible for, and getting it wrong under GDPR has a real cost, which we set out in what a GDPR data breach really costs.

The problem isn't sending documents. It's that they never stop being reachable.

What a new starter needs from you

Most kitchens and front-of-house teams send the same small pack:

• The employment contract or written statement
• The staff handbook, if you have one
• The first two weeks of rotas
• Training material, such as allergen procedures or till guides

If you're looking for a handbook template, sites such as ACAS publish guidance on what to include. The harder half is getting those documents to the right person and making sure they don't linger.

Sending contracts and handbooks on a link that ends

With TinyX you upload the document and send a short link instead of an attachment. You can put a password on it and send the password separately, by text rather than in the same message. You can also set the link to expire, on a date or after a number of downloads.

A contract link might expire after a week, once it's been signed. A handbook link could last for the probation period. When a link expires, the file is deleted and the link stops working. Password protection and expiry are on every plan, including Free, with files up to 150 MB. The full limits are on the pricing page.

This is the same problem we described in Google Drive's anyone with the link never expires, applied to a staff room.

Getting ID and right-to-work documents back

The return journey is the more sensitive one. You need copies of ID and right-to-work documents, and you don't want them on someone's phone.

TinyX upload links let a new starter send files straight to you through a link, password protected and limited, without creating an account. Upload links come with Pro and Max. On those plans, files can also be encrypted in the browser before they leave the device, so we can't read them. How TinyX encrypts your files explains how.

For a short induction questionnaire, such as emergency contact details, uniform sizes and availability, a TinyX form does the job on any plan and exports the answers to CSV.

What TinyX doesn't do

We'd rather be clear. TinyX isn't an HR system, a payroll tool or rota software. It won't store a personnel file for the length of someone's employment or remind you when a visa is due to expire. You still need a proper place to keep the records the law requires you to keep.

What it does is cover the moment of handover, so documents travel on links you control rather than in chat threads you don't.

Questions about restaurant staff onboarding documents

Is an employee handbook a legal requirement in the UK? Not as such, but employees must get a written statement of their main terms. GOV.UK explains what it must include.

Do new starters need a TinyX account? No. They open the link and enter the password if you set one.

Can staff send their ID documents through TinyX? Yes, through an upload link on Pro and Max.

Start with the next person you hire

Before your next new starter's first shift, send the contract and handbook as two TinyX links with a password and a sensible expiry date, and see how it compares with the group chat. If you also want ID back through an upload link, check which plan includes it on the pricing page. For more ideas for your team, see TinyX for restaurants.