Check Employment Documents
Verify contracts, letters, and forms against your handbook policies
What is Document Checking?
Document checking analyses your existing HR documents against your employee handbook to find inconsistencies, compliance issues, and improvement opportunities. It's like having an expert review every contract, letter, and form for policy alignment.
Why Check Documents?
- Catch Contradictions: Find where documents say something different from policy
- Ensure Compliance: Verify statutory requirements are met (ERA 1996, etc.)
- Maintain Consistency: Ensure terminology matches across all documents
- Reduce Risk: Identify issues before they become tribunal problems
How to Check a Document
Select Document Type
Go to Document Studio and find the document type that matches what you're checking. For example, if checking an employment contract, select "Employment Contract".
Click "Check Compliance" (not "Draft New").
Tip: Selecting the correct type helps Bounda check the right things. A contract is checked differently from a disciplinary letter.
Paste Your Document
Copy the full text of your document and paste it into the text area. Include:
- • The complete document content (headers, body, signature blocks)
- • Any annexes or schedules if relevant
- • Don't worry about formatting — plain text is fine
Run Analysis
Click "Analyse Document". Bounda will:
- • Verify the document matches the type you selected
- • Load your relevant handbook policies
- • Compare every clause against policy
- • Check for statutory requirements
- • Calculate a compliance score
Analysis typically takes 1-3 minutes — our AI is reviewing your document against UK employment law in detail.
Review Results
You'll see a compliance score and a list of findings. Each finding includes:
- • The issue: What's wrong and where
- • The policy: Which handbook policy it relates to
- • The fix: Suggested wording or action
Get Redrafted Version
Bounda automatically generates a redrafted version with all fixes applied. You can:
Understanding Issue Types
Issues are categorised by severity. Each type affects your compliance score differently:
Compliance Fix (Red)
Must change. Legal requirement or direct policy violation that creates risk.
Example: "Contract states 20 days holiday but your Annual Leave policy says 25 days"
Alignment Correction (Amber)
Should change. Terminology or wording doesn't match handbook policy language.
Example: "Contract uses 'Gross Misconduct' but policy calls it 'Serious Misconduct'"
Enhancement (Green)
Could add. Not required but would strengthen the document.
Example: "Consider adding reference to your Employee Assistance Programme"
Understanding Compliance Scores
Your document gets a score from 0-100. The score starts at 100 and points are deducted for each issue found.
Good
Minor or no issues
Needs Attention
Several corrections needed
Review Required
Significant issues to address
Before & After Comparison
After checking, you'll see both your original score and the improved score if you adopt all the suggested changes. This shows the value of each fix.
Smart Type Detection
Bounda automatically detects if the document you pasted doesn't match the type you selected. If there's a mismatch, you'll see:
Type Mismatch Detected
"This looks like an Offer Letter, but you selected Employment Contract. Would you like to reanalyse as an Offer Letter?"
You can either continue with your original selection or switch to the detected type for more accurate analysis.
What Gets Checked
Policy Alignment
Do values and statements match your handbook? (e.g., notice periods, holiday entitlement)
Completeness
Are all required clauses present? Both statutory requirements and policy-mandated items.
Conflict Detection
Do any clauses contradict your handbook policy or create inconsistencies?
Statutory Requirements
For contracts: Are all ERA 1996 required particulars included with explicit values?
Terminology Consistency
Do defined terms match handbook terminology? (e.g., "Company" vs "Employer")
Best Practice
Optional enhancements that would strengthen the document even if not strictly required.
Tips for Best Results
Build your handbook first
The checker can only verify against policies that exist. Create your Disciplinary, Leave, and Notice policies before checking related documents.
Include the full document
Don't just paste excerpts. The AI needs context to check cross-references and ensure nothing is missing.
Select the right document type
A disciplinary outcome letter is checked differently from an employment contract. Bounda will warn you if it detects a mismatch.
Prioritise Compliance Fixes
Red issues are the most important. Address these first, then move to amber alignment corrections. Green enhancements are optional.
Important Note
Document checking is a powerful tool for identifying issues, but it's not a substitute for legal advice. For complex documents like settlement agreements or contracts with restrictive covenants, consider having them reviewed by an employment lawyer before issuing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of documents can I check in Bounda?
You can check any HR document against your policies, including employment contracts, offer letters, disciplinary letters, grievance responses, flexible working requests/decisions, redundancy letters, settlement agreements, and more. Bounda supports 40+ document types.
How does document checking work?
Paste your document into Document Studio and select the document type. Bounda's AI analyses the content against your handbook policies and UK employment law. It identifies compliance issues, alignment problems, and suggests improvements with a detailed report and compliance score.
What's the difference between checking and generating documents?
Checking analyses existing documents you already have - useful for reviewing contracts before sending or auditing past correspondence. Generating creates new documents from scratch based on your policies. Use checking when you have content to review, generating when starting fresh.
Can Bounda automatically fix document issues?
Yes, after analysis you can request an AI-redrafted version that addresses all identified issues. The redraft maintains your original intent while improving compliance and alignment with your policies. You can then edit further or use as-is.
What do the document compliance scores mean?
Document compliance scores reflect alignment with your policies and UK law. Scores above 90 indicate good compliance, 70-90 needs review, below 70 requires attention. The score factors in issue severity - critical compliance gaps impact the score more than minor improvements.
📋 Check Your Documents
Ready to verify your HR documents are policy-compliant? Head to Document Studio.