Here are our product releases for Week 30 of 2026, which includes July 20 - 24, 2026.

AI

Hero AI now shows an employee context banner when opened from a 1:1 session page, helping managers ask questions about the right employee without manually adding extra context. (Released: 22 July 2026, Global, Premium, Platinum, Plus, Unlimited, Engage, Elite)
Hero AI can now answer questions about learning assignments, due dates, overdue items, and team learning progress based on each user’s existing permissions. (Released: 17 July 2026, Global, Premium, Platinum, Plus, Unlimited, Engage, Elite)
Hero AI can now summarise performance review feedback, highlight strengths and development areas, identify recurring themes, and surface review status using each user’s existing review permissions. (Released: 21 July 2026, Global, Premium, Platinum, Plus, Unlimited, Engage, Elite)
HeroAI users on web can now mention colleagues directly in chat from a dropdown, making questions more precise and improving search accuracy when multiple people share similar names. (Released: 22 July 2026, All HeroAI users on web/desktop)

Core HR

Contractor profiles and contractor onboarding now support emergency contacts, bringing the contractor experience in line with the employee experience. (Released: 21 July 2026, All regions, Essentials and above)
Document templates can now use an employee FTE hours variable sourced from the full-time equivalent weekly hours field in salary data. (Released: 21 July 2026, All regions, Essentials and above)
Document templates can now include both primary and additional cost centre values from the employee file, making document generation more flexible. (Released: 21 July 2026, All regions, Essentials and above)
Employee, volunteer, and contractor profiles now retain policy visibility after termination in most cases, helping organisations preserve policy history and status. (Released: 20 July 2026, All regions, All plans)

New AU demo and free trial organisations now have the legacy Start Guide removed, creating a cleaner first-time experience and avoiding outdated onboarding content. (Released: 21 July 2026, AU free trial and demo orgs created on or after 21 July 2026)

Admins and owners using Hero Time Clock can now securely log out or switch kiosks directly from the app, removing the need for a reinstall workaround. (Released: 20 July 2026, Admins and owners in W&P orgs using HTC)
Admins and owners in cost-centre-based rostering organisations now see an upgrade prompt for worksites and positions directly in roster management. (Released: 21 July 2026, Admins and owners in CC orgs)

Payroll business users can now add an SSO email address and enable SSO during user onboarding, reducing setup steps for organisations with SSO enabled. (Released: 20 July 2026, Payroll business users with SSO enabled)

All customers now have a dedicated leave section in the employee profile, bringing balances, requests, and leave actions into one place for a more complete leave management experience. (Released: 22 July 2026, All customers)

Rostered shifts OpenAPI endpoints now follow the platform’s rostering permissions model, allowing authorised team members to use integrations without needing admin or owner credentials. (Released: 20 July 2026, Team members with rostering permissions)
AU Payroll API users can now retrieve installed and installing awards programmatically through new read-only award list endpoints. (Released: 17 July 2026, AU API users on Payroll Plus and Premium)

Custom forms can now include pending employees in Employee Picker fields, making it easier to complete forms for new starters before they accept their invitation. (Released: 21 July 2026, Global)
HR admins can now build bulk Hero Points recipient lists using organisational filters such as entity, location, group, worker type, and employment type, making large-scale recognition campaigns faster and more accurate. (Released: 20 July 2026, Global where Hero Points are offered)
Onboarding workflow emails now support expanded employee, manager, and custom field variables so shared service teams can prepare equipment, access, and services without logging into the platform. (Released: 23 July 2026, Global where workflows are supported)
Offboarding workflow emails now support expanded employee, manager, termination, and custom field variables so shared service teams can revoke access, recover equipment, and process final pay more efficiently. (Released: 23 July 2026, Global where workflows are supported)

Payroll users can now access enhanced pay condition engine settings for allowance limits and classification rules, improving automation across different work patterns and award scenarios. (Released: 17 July 2026, Payroll Plus and Premium businesses using the rules engine)
Payroll users now see clearer progress indicators for pay category updates, while new API and webhook support improves visibility and coordination during update processing. (Released: 15 July 2026, Payroll users, all plans)

Chat now sends a single unread message reminder email after 48 hours, helping members return to stalled conversations without receiving duplicate reminder emails. (Released: 20 July 2026, Employment Unlimited and Chat add-on customers)
Compensation Management now supports 0% guidance increases, multi-select filters, and clearer visibility help text for cycle setup and review. (Released: 21 July 2026, Global)

Branding settings now prevent low-contrast colour combinations from being saved, helping organisations maintain accessible and legible client-facing interfaces. (Released: 1 July 2026, All regions with branding access)
Organisation email management now offers a consolidated editor and preview experience alongside a clearer table view, helping admins review and update email settings more efficiently. (Released: 22 July 2026, All regions)

ATS users using the platform’s native email channel can now see candidate email replies within minutes instead of waiting up to a day, with a new unread indicator to highlight activity. (Released: 23 July 2026, Global ATS users using the native ATS email channel)