Employment Hero HR and Payroll API for Beginners
Table of Contents
- What is an API?
- What is Employment Hero's HR and Payroll API?
- Key Features of Employment Hero’s API
- How Does the API Work?
- Step-by-Step: Using the API
- Common Use Cases
- Advanced Topics
- Integration with KeyPay
- Basic Example in Python
- Resources
What is an API?
API stands for Application Programming Interface. It acts as a bridge that allows different software applications to communicate with each other. Think of it as a waiter in a restaurant: you (the software) tell the waiter (API) what you want, and the waiter brings back the desired information from the kitchen (another software system).
For example, Employment Hero's HR and Payroll API lets your company's internal systems communicate with Employment Hero’s platform to manage employee data, payroll processing, and HR tasks seamlessly.
What is Employment Hero's HR and Payroll API?
Employment Hero's HR and Payroll API is a set of tools that allows businesses to automate and integrate their HR and payroll processes with Employment Hero's platform. It enables:
- Employee Management: Add, update, or remove employee records.
- Payroll Processing: Automate salary calculations, tax deductions, and payments.
- HR Functions: Manage leave requests, benefits, performance reviews, and more.
This API is designed to streamline HR operations, reduce manual data entry, and ensure data consistency across your organization’s software systems.
Key Features of Employment Hero’s API
-
Employee Management
- Add Employees: Create new employee records.
- Update Employees: Modify existing employee details.
- Delete Employees: Remove employee records.
- Retrieve Employee Data: Fetch detailed information about employees.
-
Payroll Processing
- Run Payroll: Automate the payroll cycle for all employees.
- Manage Deductions: Handle taxes, superannuation, and other deductions.
- Generate Payslips: Create and distribute payslips to employees.
-
Leave and Attendance
- Track Leave: Monitor employee leave balances and requests.
- Approve/Reject Requests: Manage leave approvals via the API.
- Attendance Logs: Record and retrieve attendance data.
-
HR Functions
- Benefits Management: Administer employee benefits.
- Performance Reviews: Conduct and store performance evaluations.
- Onboarding Processes: Streamline new employee onboarding.
How Does the API Work?
1. Authentication
Before you can interact with Employment Hero's API, you need to authenticate your requests to ensure they are secure. Employment Hero uses OAuth 2.0 for authentication, which is a robust and widely-adopted standard.
Steps to Authenticate:
-
Obtain API Credentials:
- Client ID and Client Secret: Provided by Employment Hero when you register your application.
-
Request an Access Token:
- Send a POST request to the authentication endpoint with your credentials to receive an access token.
bashPOST https://api.employmenthero.com/oauth/token Content-Type: application/json { "grant_type": "client_credentials", "client_id": "YOUR_CLIENT_ID", "client_secret": "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET" }
-
Use the Access Token:
- Include the token in the
Authorization
header of your API requests.
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN
- Include the token in the
Example in Python:
import requests
# Authentication details
client_id = "YOUR_CLIENT_ID"
client_secret = "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET"
auth_url = "https://api.employmenthero.com/oauth/token"
# Requesting access token
response = requests.post(auth_url, json={
"grant_type": "client_credentials",
"client_id": client_id,
"client_secret": client_secret
})
access_token = response.json().get("access_token")
2. Endpoints
Endpoints are specific URLs that allow you to perform various operations. Employment Hero’s API is organized around RESTful principles, making it intuitive to use.
Common Endpoints:
-
Employees
-
GET /v1/employees
: Retrieve a list of employees. -
GET /v1/employees/{employee_id}
: Get details of a specific employee. -
POST /v1/employees
: Add a new employee. -
PUT /v1/employees/{employee_id}
: Update an existing employee. -
DELETE /v1/employees/{employee_id}
: Remove an employee.
-
-
Payroll
-
POST /v1/payroll/run
: Execute payroll processing. -
GET /v1/payroll/{payroll_id}
: Retrieve payroll details.
-
-
Leave
-
GET /v1/leaves
: Get all leave requests. -
POST /v1/leaves
: Submit a new leave request.
-
3. Request and Response
When interacting with the API, you send requests and receive responses.
- Request: Contains the method (GET, POST, etc.), endpoint, headers, and optionally a body with data.
- Response: Contains the status code, headers, and the data requested or a confirmation of the action.
Example: Adding a New Employee
- Request:
POST /v1/employees
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN
Content-Type: application/json
{
"first_name": "Jane",
"last_name": "Doe",
"email": "jane.doe@example.com",
"position": "Software Engineer",
"salary": 80000,
"start_date": "2024-05-01"
}
- Response:
{
"employee_id": 123,
"status": "Employee added successfully",
"message": "Welcome aboard, Jane!"
}
4. Error Handling
APIs can return errors for various reasons, such as invalid requests or server issues. Employment Hero uses standard HTTP status codes to indicate success or failure.
Common Status Codes:
- 200 OK: The request was successful.
- 201 Created: A new resource was successfully created.
- 400 Bad Request: The request was malformed or missing required parameters.
- 401 Unauthorized: Authentication failed or was not provided.
- 403 Forbidden: You don’t have permission to access the resource.
- 404 Not Found: The requested resource doesn’t exist.
- 500 Internal Server Error: An error occurred on the server.
Example of an Error Response:
{
"error": "InvalidRequest",
"message": "The 'email' field is required."
}
5. Pagination
When retrieving lists of data (e.g., employees), the API may paginate results to manage large datasets efficiently.
Pagination Parameters:
-
page
: The page number to retrieve. -
per_page
: The number of items per page.
Example: Fetching Employees with Pagination
GET /v1/employees?page=2&per_page=50
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN
Response:
{
"data": [
// Array of employee objects
],
"pagination": {
"current_page": 2,
"per_page": 50,
"total_pages": 10,
"total_records": 500
}
}
Step-by-Step: Using the API
1. Get API Credentials
-
Register Your Application:
- Log into your Employment Hero account.
- Navigate to the API section.
- Register your application to receive a Client ID and Client Secret.
2. Set Up Your Development Environment
-
Choose a Programming Language:
- Common choices include Python, JavaScript, Ruby, etc.
-
Install Required Libraries:
- For Python, you might use
requests
:pip install requests
- For Python, you might use
3. Authenticate and Obtain an Access Token
Refer to the Authentication Section for detailed steps.
4. Send API Requests
- Example: Fetching All Employees
import requests
# Authentication details
client_id = "YOUR_CLIENT_ID"
client_secret = "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET"
auth_url = "https://api.employmenthero.com/oauth/token"
# Requesting access token
auth_response = requests.post(auth_url, json={
"grant_type": "client_credentials",
"client_id": client_id,
"client_secret": client_secret
})
access_token = auth_response.json().get("access_token")
# API endpoint to get employees
employees_url = "https://api.employmenthero.com/v1/employees"
# Headers for authentication
headers = {
"Authorization": f"Bearer {access_token}"
}
# Sending GET request to fetch employee data
response = requests.get(employees_url, headers=headers)
# Check if the request was successful
if response.status_code == 200:
employees = response.json().get("data")
for employee in employees:
print(f"{employee['first_name']} {employee['last_name']} - {employee['position']}")
else:
print(f"Error: {response.json().get('message')}")
5. Handle the Response
- Successful Response: Process and use the data as needed.
- Error Response: Implement error handling based on the status code and error message.
6. Implement Pagination if Necessary
If you have many records, use pagination parameters to retrieve data in chunks.
Common Use Cases
-
Automating Payroll
- Automatically calculate salaries, taxes, and deductions.
- Schedule regular payroll runs without manual intervention.
-
Integrating with Internal HR Systems
- Sync employee data between Employment Hero and your internal systems.
- Ensure consistency and reduce duplicate data entry.
-
Custom Employee Dashboards
- Build dashboards that display real-time employee information, leave balances, and performance metrics by pulling data from the API.
-
Generating Reports
- Create customized reports for management by aggregating data from Employment Hero.
-
Onboarding Automation
- Streamline the onboarding process by automatically adding new employees to various systems.
Advanced Topics
Webhooks
Webhooks allow Employment Hero to send real-time notifications to your application when certain events occur (e.g., new employee added, payroll run completed).
Setting Up Webhooks:
-
Register a Webhook URL:
- Provide a URL endpoint in your application to receive webhook events.
-
Handle Incoming Webhooks:
- Implement logic to process the incoming data securely.
Example Use Case:
- Automatically update your internal CRM when a new employee is added via the API.
Rate Limiting
To ensure fair use and maintain performance, Employment Hero enforces rate limits on API requests.
Understanding Rate Limits:
- Limits: Number of requests allowed per minute/hour.
- Headers: API responses include headers indicating your current usage and limits.
Best Practices:
- Monitor Usage: Keep track of your API calls to avoid exceeding limits.
- Implement Retries: Use exponential backoff strategies when rate limits are hit.
- Optimize Requests: Batch requests where possible and avoid unnecessary API calls.
Integration with KeyPay
KeyPay is another popular payroll platform. Integrating Employment Hero's API with KeyPay's API can provide a more comprehensive HR and payroll solution.
Why Integrate Employment Hero with KeyPay?
- Enhanced Functionality: Combine the strengths of both platforms.
- Data Consistency: Ensure that employee and payroll data is synchronized across systems.
- Streamlined Processes: Automate workflows that span both platforms.
Steps to Integrate:
-
Understand Both APIs:
-
Map Data Fields:
- Identify corresponding data fields between Employment Hero and KeyPay (e.g., employee IDs, payroll cycles).
-
Set Up Authentication:
- Authenticate with both APIs using their respective methods (Employment Hero uses OAuth 2.0; KeyPay may have its own authentication mechanism).
-
Develop Integration Logic:
- Create scripts or middleware that fetch data from one API and push it to the other.
- Handle data transformations as needed.
-
Test Thoroughly:
- Ensure data is accurately transferred and that workflows function as expected.
-
Monitor and Maintain:
- Implement logging and monitoring to track the integration's performance.
- Update the integration as APIs evolve.
Example Use Case:
- Synchronizing Employee Data: When a new employee is added in Employment Hero, automatically create a corresponding record in KeyPay to ensure seamless payroll processing.
Basic Example in Python
Here’s a more comprehensive Python example that demonstrates authentication, fetching employee data with pagination, and handling errors.
import requests
import time
# Configuration
CLIENT_ID = "YOUR_CLIENT_ID"
CLIENT_SECRET = "YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET"
AUTH_URL = "https://api.employmenthero.com/oauth/token"
EMPLOYEES_URL = "https://api.employmenthero.com/v1/employees"
PER_PAGE = 50 # Number of records per page
def get_access_token(client_id, client_secret):
response = requests.post(AUTH_URL, json={
"grant_type": "client_credentials",
"client_id": client_id,
"client_secret": client_secret
})
if response.status_code == 200:
return response.json().get("access_token")
else:
raise Exception(f"Authentication failed: {response.json().get('message')}")
def fetch_all_employees(access_token):
employees = []
page = 1
while True:
params = {
"page": page,
"per_page": PER_PAGE
}
headers = {
"Authorization": f"Bearer {access_token}"
}
response = requests.get(EMPLOYEES_URL, headers=headers, params=params)
if response.status_code == 200:
data = response.json().get("data")
employees.extend(data)
pagination = response.json().get("pagination")
if page >= pagination.get("total_pages"):
break
page += 1
time.sleep(1) # Respect rate limits
else:
print(f"Error fetching page {page}: {response.json().get('message')}")
break
return employees
def main():
try:
token = get_access_token(CLIENT_ID, CLIENT_SECRET)
all_employees = fetch_all_employees(token)
print(f"Total Employees Retrieved: {len(all_employees)}")
for emp in all_employees:
print(f"{emp['first_name']} {emp['last_name']} - {emp['position']}")
except Exception as e:
print(str(e))
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
Explanation:
-
Authentication: The
get_access_token
function handles OAuth 2.0 authentication to retrieve an access token. -
Fetching Employees: The
fetch_all_employees
function retrieves all employees by iterating through paginated results. -
Rate Limiting: A
time.sleep(1)
call ensures that requests are spaced out to respect potential rate limits. - Error Handling: Errors during authentication or data fetching are caught and displayed.
Resources
- Employment Hero API Documentation: https://developer.employmenthero.com/api-references/
- KeyPay API Documentation: https://api.keypay.com.au/australia/guides/Home
- Postman API Tool: https://www.postman.com – Useful for testing API requests.
-
Python Requests Library: https://docs.python-requests.org – Documentation for the
requests
library used in Python examples. - OAuth 2.0 Overview: https://oauth.net/2/ – Learn more about OAuth 2.0 authentication.