At HR Henry, we've been on a mission to build the most comprehensive HR compliance software for UK small and medium-sized businesses. In 2026, we've shipped dozens of major updates — from employee audit tracking and site inspection management to AI-powered document analysis and automated compliance alerts. Here's everything that's new.
Whether you're tracking engineer site audits, managing holiday entitlements, or ensuring your company documents are always up to date, these updates are designed to save you hours of admin every week and keep your business fully compliant.
Why We Built These Updates
UK businesses face a growing web of employment law requirements, from GDPR compliance to health and safety obligations. Managing all of this with spreadsheets and filing cabinets isn't just inefficient — it's risky. A single missed audit deadline or expired certificate can result in fines, legal action, or worse.
🚨 The Real Cost of Non-Compliance
- • GDPR fines of up to £17.5 million or 4% of total annual worldwide turnover, whichever is higher (source: ICO)
- • Employment tribunal awards — the average (mean) unfair dismissal award was around £14,000 in 2023/24, and discrimination awards can run far higher (source: GOV.UK tribunal statistics)
- • HSE prosecutions that carry unlimited fines for serious health and safety breaches, frequently reaching six or seven figures (source: HSE convictions register)
- • Reputational damage that can take years to recover from
Figures verified against primary sources (ICO, GOV.UK, HSE), reviewed August 2026.
That's why every update we ship is focused on one goal: making HR compliance automatic so you can focus on running your business.
🔍 Employee Audit Tracking
Our biggest update of 2026 is the brand-new employee audit tracking system. If you manage engineers, tradespeople, or any field-based staff who undergo regular site audits, equipment inspections, or toolbox talks, this feature is built for you.
✅ What You Can Now Track Per Audit
- • Audit type: Site audits, equipment audits, toolbox talks, and custom audit types
- • Employee being audited: Select any staff member from your employee database
- • Audit date: Full date tracking with historical records
- • Pass / Fail / Partial Pass: Colour-coded results at a glance
- • Auditor notes: Detailed observations and action items
- • Report upload: Attach the full audit report PDF for compliance records
This means you can now see a complete audit history for every employee — which audits they've passed, which need attention, and which are overdue. Combined with our automated compliance alerts, you'll never miss a critical audit deadline again.
Custom Audit Types
Every business is different, which is why we've also introduced custom audit types. Whether you need to track gas safety inspections, electrical compliance checks, or bespoke quality assessments, you can create your own audit categories with custom icons and descriptions — all fully integrated with the documents and compliance dashboard.
📁 Document Compliance System
We've completely rebuilt the company documents system to act as your central compliance hub. Here's what's new:
📋 Document Categories
- • Company Policies with version tracking
- • Risk Assessments with review scheduling
- • Method Statements for safe systems of work
- • Employee Audits with pass/fail tracking
- • Company accreditations and certificates
- • Custom categories you define yourself
⚡ Smart Features
- • Filtered views: Click any category to see only those documents
- • Expiry tracking: Automatic alerts before documents expire
- • Review scheduling: Set and manage review dates
- • Document history: Full audit trail of changes
- • Bulk upload: Upload multiple documents at once
- • Smart search: Find any document instantly
Vehicle & Fleet Management
For businesses with company vehicles, we've added dedicated fleet compliance tracking including:
- Vehicle registration and manufacturer details
- MOT renewal dates with automated reminders
- Insurance expiry tracking with provider information
- Mileage recording and ownership status
- Fleet manager assignment for accountability
🤖 AI-Powered Features
We've integrated AI across the platform to help you work smarter, not harder. Here's how artificial intelligence is now embedded in HR Henry:
🧠 AI Features Across HR Henry
HR Henry AI Assistant
Your 24/7 HR compliance advisor. Ask questions about employment law, get guidance on disciplinary procedures, or draft compliant HR documents — all powered by AI trained on UK employment legislation.
Document Analysis
Upload any HR document and our AI will analyse it for compliance gaps, suggest improvements, and flag potential issues before they become problems.
Sickness & Absence Insights
AI analyses absence patterns, calculates Bradford Factor scores, and provides actionable insights for absence management.
Holiday Insights
Intelligent analysis of holiday booking patterns, team availability forecasting, and entitlement calculations for complex working patterns.
Employee Missing Data Analysis
AI scans your employee records to identify missing information — incomplete emergency contacts, expired right-to-work documents, missing next-of-kin details — and alerts you automatically.
Disciplinary Case Advisor
AI-powered guidance through the disciplinary process, ensuring every step follows UK employment law and ACAS guidelines.
🌴 Holiday & Sickness Management
Managing holiday entitlements and sickness absence is one of the most time-consuming HR tasks for any business. Here's what we've improved:
🌴 Holiday Management Updates
- • Auto-calculate entitlement for part-time and variable-hours staff
- • Holiday period management with customisable year start dates
- • Company closures that auto-deduct from allowances
- • Statutory holiday management with bank holiday tracking
- • TOIL (Time Off In Lieu) tracking and management
- • Team holiday calendar with department filtering
- • Medical appointment tracking separate from holidays
- • Working pattern support for complex shift patterns
🤒 Sickness Management Updates
- • Bradford Factor calculation with automatic trigger alerts
- • Back-to-work interviews with guided question templates
- • Sickness pattern analysis powered by AI
- • Absence reports by department, employee, and date range
- • Return-to-work notifications sent automatically
- • SSP tracking with eligibility checks
- • Long-term sickness management with milestone tracking
- • Wellness indicators for proactive intervention
👤 Employee Self-Service Portal
We've built a complete employee self-service portal that gives your staff 24/7 access to their HR information — reducing the number of "How many holidays do I have left?" questions landing on your desk.
🖥️ What Employees Can Do
- • View holiday balances and submit holiday requests
- • Access payslips and employment documents
- • Update personal details — address, emergency contacts, next of kin
- • View company announcements and important updates
- • Access company documents — policies, handbooks, and procedures
- • View training records and certification status
- • Request medical appointments directly through the portal
- • Message management through the built-in messaging system
The portal is fully branded to your company and accessible from any device. Each employee gets their own secure login with two-factor authentication for added security.
📧 Communications & Notifications
Keeping your team informed is critical for compliance. Here's what we've added to the communications toolkit:
- Staff email composer: Send professional communications to individuals, departments, or the entire company
- Company announcements: Post announcements that appear on the employee portal dashboard
- Automated notifications: Holiday approvals, sickness alerts, document expiry warnings, and task reminders — all sent automatically
- Sign-in/sign-out alerts: Real-time notifications when employees clock in and out via Sign In Sally
- Birthday reminders: Never miss a team member's birthday
- Task reminders: Automated follow-ups for outstanding compliance tasks
🔒 Security & Permissions
We take data security seriously. Here's how we protect your sensitive HR data:
🛡️ Security Features
- • Role-based access control: Admin, manager, supervisor, and director roles with granular permissions
- • Employee assignment system: Assign specific admins to manage specific employees or departments
- • Two-factor authentication: 2FA for admin and employee portal logins
- • Secure password management: Encrypted credentials with self-service reset
- • Data access audit logs: Full trail of who accessed what employee data and when
- • GDPR compliance: Built-in data protection features including data export and deletion
- • Permission gates: Feature-level access control for sensitive areas like payroll and disciplinary
Additional Features
Beyond the major updates above, we've also shipped:
📊 Reporting
- • Headcount reports
- • Holiday usage reports
- • Sickness absence reports
- • TOIL reports
- • Data export to Excel
🏢 Business Management
- • Department management
- • Skills & qualifications tracking
- • Performance review system
- • Recruitment & job listings
- • Salary management
🔧 Integrations
- • Outlook calendar sync
- • iCal holiday export
- • Sign In Sally kiosk
- • Contractor management
- • Stripe billing
🚀 What's Coming Next
We're not slowing down. Here's a sneak peek at what's on our roadmap:
🗺️ 2026 Roadmap Highlights
- • Enhanced analytics dashboard with predictive workforce insights
- • Mobile app for on-the-go HR management
- • Automated policy generation using AI and UK employment law templates
- • Advanced scheduling with shift pattern management
- • Employee wellbeing surveys with anonymous feedback collection
💡 Key Takeaway
HR compliance doesn't have to be complicated. With HR Henry, every update we ship is designed to automate the tedious parts of HR compliance management so you can focus on what matters — your people and your business. Whether you're a 5-person startup or a 500-person enterprise, our HR compliance software scales with you.
Try HR Henry Free Today
Ready to see these updates in action? Start your free trial and experience the UK's most comprehensive HR compliance software for yourself. No credit card required, no long-term commitment — just smarter HR management from day one.