Temp worker onboarding software for industrial recruitment agencies
GettingDocs is temp worker onboarding software for UK industrial recruitment agencies supplying warehouses, distribution centres and food factories. When a temp is booked, Amy messages them on WhatsApp or email asking only for what is still missing: right to work documents, a National Insurance number, a signed Key Information Document acknowledgement, a forklift licence. She checks every photo and PDF that comes back and files it on the temp’s record in your ATS, so your branch fills shifts instead of chasing paperwork through peak.
Thanks, Amy · Holmwick Recruitment
Peak is three weeks out. 60 temps start nights at the distribution centre on Monday, and 22 files are still open.
A retail client adds a full night shift at its regional distribution centre for the run-up to Christmas. Your branch books 60 temps on Wednesday for a Monday start. Each one owes right to work documents, a National Insurance number, a P45 or starter checklist, bank details, a signed Key Information Document acknowledgement and signed terms, and the reach truck drivers owe a forklift licence too. Here is that week, twice.
- Wednesday
60 temps booked. Consultants send each one a registration link and a list of what to bring on the first night.
- Thursday
Most links go unopened. Temps who did start registering stopped at the upload page on their phones.
- Friday
The branch shares out a call list. Share codes, P45s and licence photos arrive by text, email and WhatsApp to four different people.
- Saturday
Half the photos are blurred or cut off. Nobody has time to open them before the weekend is over.
- Monday, 10pm
22 files are still incomplete. Those temps cannot be cleared to work, and the client is short on its first peak night.
The client is a third short on night one of peak, and your branch spends Tuesday ringing round for replacements.
- Wednesday
The 60 bookings show in your ATS. Amy messages every temp on WhatsApp with exactly what each one still owes.
- Wednesday evening
Most reply from their phones after their current shift. Each file lands on the right record as it arrives.
- Thursday
A bank details form with the sort code cut off goes back with the reason. A clear photo comes back the same evening.
- Friday
Amy reminds the temps still missing something at the time you chose. Your compliance team starts its right to work checks from complete files.
- Monday, 10pm
Files are complete and in your ATS. The branch knows exactly who is cleared for the shift before the coach leaves.
The night shift starts full, and nobody at the branch chased a single document by hand.
Three steps, and nobody chases anybody
As soon as a temp is booked, Amy messages them on WhatsApp or by email from your agency’s own domain, listing only what their file is missing. They reply with a photo or PDF from their phone. There is no portal, no login and no app to install.
Every file is filed the moment it lands, then checked: is it the document that was asked for, and can it be read? A blurred licence or a half-cropped form goes back with the reason, and Amy sends reminders at the time you set until the file is complete.
Documents attach to the temp’s record in Zoho Recruit, Recruit CRM or Crelate, with an optional copy in Google Drive. Your branch and compliance team see who is ready to work across every site and shift.
- Right to work documents
- National Insurance number
- Key Information Document acknowledgement
- Forklift licence
- P45 or HMRC starter checklist
No portal, no login. Only what is still missing is ever asked for.
The industrial temp onboarding checklist Amy collects
Each client site adds its own rules, but most industrial temp files are built from the same four groups. Pick a placement type to see a typical list, and Amy asks each temp for only those documents.
Right to work and personal details3 of 3 documents
- Right to work documents (a share code for temps with an eVisa or other digital status, or a passport for British and Irish citizens; your team still completes the check)
- National Insurance number
- Emergency contact details
Agency worker terms, pay and tax5 of 5 documents
- Key Information Document acknowledgement (confirms the temp received the Key Information Document before agreeing terms)
- Signed terms of engagement
- P45 or HMRC starter checklist
- Bank details form
- 48-hour week opt-out (only from temps who choose to sign one; it is voluntary and can be cancelled)
Forklift licences and warehouse safety training4 of 4 documents
- Forklift licence (counterbalance or reach truck, from training accredited by RTITB, AITT, ITSSAR or NPORS)
- Manual handling training certificate
- PPE issue acknowledgement
- Site induction sign-off
Food production and client site requirements3 of 3 documents
- Health declaration (fitness to work with food, including any recent stomach illness)
- Food hygiene certificate (usually Level 2, where the client asks for one)
- Drug and alcohol test result (where the client requires one before a start)
Choose industrial and warehouse when you sign up, or later in Settings, and every document on this list is set up for your agency straight away. UK accounts also come with Right to Work, DBS Certificate, CV and Driving Licence built in, and on Pro you can add your own document types for client-specific forms.
Industrial recruitment onboarding for every kind of booking
The file changes with the booking. Chase rules read your ATS to decide who is asked for what, so a reach truck driver and a line operative each get their own list.
Warehouse and distribution
Pickers, packers, loaders and goods-in operatives for distribution centres and fulfilment sites, usually across days, nights and weekends.
Food production
Line and hygiene operatives for food factories, where clients want a health declaration and food hygiene training on file. Supplying workers to food processing and packaging needs a gangmaster licence held by your agency.
Manufacturing lines
Production operatives and machine minders on assembly and packing lines, with site inductions and PPE sign-offs kept on each temp’s record.
Forklift and MHE operators
Counterbalance, reach and other lift truck drivers. Amy collects the forklift licence up front, so the client’s own assessment is the only thing left before they drive.
Peak season
Hundreds of temps booked in a few weeks before Christmas or a seasonal rush, each messaged the moment they are booked.
Documents land in the ATS you already use
Industrial and warehouse staffing questions
What does temp worker onboarding software do for an industrial agency?
It gets every booked temp’s documents in without your consultants chasing them. GettingDocs asks each temp on WhatsApp or email for exactly what their file is missing, checks each document is the right one and readable, reminds them until the file is complete and attaches everything to their record in Zoho Recruit, Recruit CRM or Crelate. Greenhouse is coming soon.
Do temps need to download an app or log in to a portal?
No. They reply to a WhatsApp message or email with a photo or PDF from their phone. Nothing to install and no password to forget, which matters when someone is booked for a fortnight of peak nights.
Does GettingDocs carry out right to work checks?
No. Amy collects the temp’s share code or a photo of their passport, and your team still does the check before the temp starts work, using the Home Office online service, a certified identity service provider for British and Irish passports, or a manual check of the original documents. GettingDocs does not verify documents with the Home Office, HMRC or any training body. What it gives your compliance team is a complete file to start from.
Why collect a Key Information Document acknowledgement?
Since 6 April 2020, the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 have required employment businesses to give every new agency worker a Key Information Document, setting out their pay and any deductions, before terms are agreed. It also needs updating when things change, such as when a temp reaches 12 weeks in the same role and equal treatment under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 applies. You send the document as you do now; Amy collects the signed acknowledgement so you can show it was received. Northern Ireland has its own conduct and agency worker regulations.
Can we ask every temp to sign the 48-hour week opt-out?
You can offer it, but under the Working Time Regulations an opt-out must be voluntary and in writing, a temp cannot be penalised for refusing, and they can cancel it with at least seven days’ notice, or up to three months if that was agreed. Set your chase rules so Amy only asks the temps who have chosen to opt out, and she collects the signed form.
Do we need a gangmaster licence to supply temps to food factories?
Supplying workers to food processing and packaging, agriculture, horticulture or shellfish gathering needs a gangmaster licence. Since 7 April 2026 licences are issued by the Fair Work Agency, which took over from the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority. The licence belongs to your agency, not the temp, so GettingDocs does not manage it, but it keeps each temp’s documents complete and in one place on their record.
Start peak with every file complete
See Amy onboard a group of your own temps on WhatsApp in a 15 minute call.
