Induction to work
It is good practice for your employer to prepare for your arrival and integration into the job and the workforce. Ask at your interview if the company does an induction.
Not all workplaces have a formal induction process, but you can ask for an induction as a reasonable adjustment
What you need to know at each stage varies. More complicated roles with many different relationships, or jobs within large organisations may require more structured inductions. It’s good to have a written plan to support your first few weeks. This should be provided by the organisation ideally before you start work, but usually on your first day.
Your induction could be delivered to you by your manager, colleagues in different parts of the organisation at a welcome day, or online, using an ‘onboarding’ game or app. It will depend on the size of the organisation and the number of people joining at one time
You may have to interact with a lot of people in the induction process which you might find challenging – if so, ask to work out a reasonable adjustment with your manager or supervisor
Induction can last up to 12 months depending on the job and probation processes. An induction could include:
General Information (These are usually delivered face to face in the first couple of days)
- Emergency procedures, such as what to do in case of fire
- Where you will be working
- Your work hours, timings of meal breaks (although these may be different during your induction)
- Where to find the toilets
- Arrangements for food and drink, transport and parking
- Smoking areas and policy
- Organisational structure (who’s who – names, roles and responsibilities)
- Dress codes
- Site layout,