Why isn't my worker ready to work after onboarding?

Last updated: November 4, 2026

Applies to: staffing Partners whose worker has finished their onboarding checklist, or who received an Onboarding Complete notice, but the worker is still not showing as ready to work. This covers employees and independent contractors alike.

Summary: Finishing the onboarding checklist is not the final step. After a worker completes their tasks, our team still reviews what they submitted, and the worker shows as ready to work only once those reviews clear. In most cases the worker has already done their part. Email support@ascen.com with the worker's full name, the client, and the start date, and we will tell you what is outstanding.

What "onboarding complete" means

An Onboarding Complete notice, or a checklist with every step done, tells you the worker has finished the tasks we asked of them. It does not yet mean they are cleared to start. Ready to work comes after our reviews, so there can be a gap between the two.

What can still be outstanding

These are the common reasons a worker who finished onboarding is not ready yet. The reason can be different for each worker, even within the same client.

  • A screening the role requires. A background check, drug test, driving record check, or other screening that is still running or is waiting for our review. This is the most common reason. Which screenings a role needs depends on the client's requirements. See Tracking background check progress.

  • Identity verification in review. The worker submitted their ID and it is waiting for a manual check. See My worker is stuck waiting for ID verification review.

  • Our review of the Form I-9 (US employees). After the worker and their representative complete the form, we review it before the worker is cleared.

  • A document-signing step that did not finish.

  • The assignment itself still needs an approval, for example its workers' compensation code. See Workers' comp codes (US): choosing them and getting them approved.

  • For independent contractors, a Certificate of Insurance that we have not finished checking.

Two situations look the same from your side but are not onboarding holds:

What to do

  1. Check the worker's checklist first. If a step is still open, the worker has something left to do. See A worker of yours has an incomplete onboarding step: what Partners need to do.

  2. If every step is done, email support@ascen.com with each worker's full name, the client, and the start date. Name every worker you are asking about. We check each one separately, because workers in the same group are often held for different reasons.

  3. Do not ask the worker to redo steps or start new attempts while you wait. When their checklist is complete, the outstanding item is usually a review on our side, and repeating a step does not speed it up.

  4. Ask the worker not to start until they show as ready to work. If the start date is close, say so in your email.

  5. Tell us if the start date moves or the worker drops out.

What we can tell you

We can tell you which step a worker is waiting on and whether anything is needed from them. We do not share the details of a worker's background report. For screenings, we tell you whether the worker meets Ascen's hiring standards for the role.

Who to contact

Ascen (support@ascen.com): what is holding a named worker, a start date at risk, or a worker who has done everything and is still not ready.

You (the Partner): keeping in touch with the worker and managing the start date with your client.

If your worker asks you the same question, you can send them How do I know when my onboarding is complete and I can start work?

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