Before travel: documents and medicals
Send the self-onboarding link as soon as the offer is accepted. From home, the joiner fills in identity, address and bank details and adds a photo along with Aadhaar, PAN and bank proof. Collect the rest before travel, starting with what the client will ask for at the gate: recent photographs, a medical fitness certificate from an approved clinic, and copies of inspection or safety certificates with validity dates. HR can approve, reject or return a submission for changes, and only an approved submission becomes an employee record, where the other papers are then filed.
At site: client induction, gate pass and PPE
Most clients run their own safety induction before issuing a gate pass, sometimes only on set days of the week, so book the slot before the joiner arrives. On the first day, the site HSE officer runs the company's induction on site rules, emergency response and permits to work, stores issue PPE against the joiner's name, and admin allots a camp room and mess card. Set up the kiosk or mobile punch the same day, so attendance is on record from day one.
Appointment letter with posting and transfer terms
An appointment letter is mandatory for every employee under the OSH Code. For EPC staff it should cover the first site, the right to transfer to other projects, working days and hours at site, allowances, camp and mess terms, the home leave cycle, probation, and whether employment is permanent or fixed-term. A separate posting letter for each site keeps the appointment letter stable while postings change.
Probation judged from site
Three to six months is typical, depending on the role. The project manager or discipline lead sees the work, so the probation review should come from site, not head office. Before the end date, HR and the reviewer receive daily reminders. The discipline lead gives a rating on the 1 to 5 scale with a short comment. HR then has three choices: confirm, extend the probation by some months with the reason noted, or record the joiner as not confirmed. On confirmation, a letter is saved to the employee's documents.
How to set it up in ZeniaHR
- Send the self-onboarding link right after offer acceptance, and ask separately for medical fitness and certificates with their validity dates.
- Approve, reject or return each submission for changes; approval creates the record, where HR sets the site location, cost centre and discipline lead as reporting manager.
- File the appointment letter and the site posting letter, prepared from the HR letter library, in the employee's documents.
- Create the company site induction as a mandatory program in Learning and enrol each joiner for their first day at site.
- Set probation months by employment type in the Work terms policy, with manager review required and reminder days before the end date.
- Use the Probation & Confirmation queue to request reviews from discipline leads and confirm or extend on time.
Read more about onboarding in ZeniaHR.
Roles this applies to
See onboarding for engineering and epc companies in a demo
We set up your locations, shifts and rules on a video call and show it running for your team. Free for your first 50 employees.
Book a free demoSee pricingFrequently asked questions
What should an EPC company complete before a new engineer travels to site?
Collect documents through a self-onboarding link, complete the medical fitness check, sign the appointment and posting letters, book the client's safety induction, allot a camp room and plan the PPE issue. Doing this before travel lets the engineer get a gate pass and start work within a day of arriving.
Why do EPC clients require their own site induction?
Each client plant has its own hazards, emergency procedures and permit system, so clients run an induction before issuing a gate pass, even for experienced engineers. Book the slot before the joiner arrives, and keep a record of the company's own induction as well, since both may be checked in an audit.
Who should review probation for EPC site staff?
The project manager or discipline lead who supervises the joiner's daily work, because head office rarely sees site performance. Ask the site reviewer to rate the joiner and add a comment before the probation end date, then let HR confirm, extend or record not confirmed based on that review.
Should an EPC appointment letter mention transfers?
Yes. EPC staff move between projects, so the appointment letter should include the right to transfer to other sites, and each posting should be confirmed by a separate letter naming the site, allowances and camp terms. This avoids disputes when one project ends and the next is in another state.