An honest Employment Hero review 2026:
Pricing, features, pros & cons

Employment Hero review - quick summary

Overall Score

6.2/10

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Score breakdown

Who is Employment Hero?

Employment Hero is an Australian HR and payroll platform founded in 2014 and headquartered in Sydney. With over 300,000 businesses across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Singapore, and Malaysia, it's one of the larger players in the Australian HR software market.

We found Employment Hero positions itself as an all-in-one solution covering HR management, payroll, rostering, time and attendance, recruitment, and employee benefits. There's also a staff-facing app called "Swag" (formerly Employment Hero Work) that gives employees access to payslips, leave requests, and various lifestyle perks and discounts.

Employment Hero review methodology

Our team evaluated Employment Hero by setting up a live account, configuring HR workflows, testing the rostering and time tracking modules, and attempting payroll integration with Xero. Every observation in this review comes from direct experience with the platform.

• Built and tested real rosters using a live Employment Hero account
• Tested Xero payroll integration workflows
• Analysed 600+ verified reviews from Xero App Store, Capterra & G2

This means you can trust our assessment is based on real-world experience with Employment Hero — not vendor-provided demos or marketing materials.

Employment Hero user reviews

Xero App Store ratings

Employment Hero is a certified Xero-connected app listed on the Xero App Store. We prioritise Xero App Store reviews in our analysis because they come from verified Xero users who have actually integrated Employment Hero with their accounting software — with no incentives offered for leaving reviews.

This matters because Xero is the leading accounting platform for Australian small businesses, so feedback from this community directly reflects the experience of the businesses most likely to use Employment Hero for HR and payroll integration.

3.4 / 5

15 verified reviews on Xero App Store

What Xero users highlight

• Comprehensive HR suite — businesses praise the depth of HR features and compliance tools
• Document management — centralised storage and template library valued by HR teams
• Employee self-service — staff can easily access payslips and manage leave

Common concerns from Xero users

• Support is difficult to reach — multiple reviewers report being unable to reach anyone, with calls only answered for new sales
• Integration problems — Xero integration described as having "major bugs" preventing setup
• Long setup times — one reviewer reported still not properly set up after 12+ months

Other Employment Hero reviews

Employment Hero's ratings tell different stories depending on who's reviewing. The platform scores well on Google Reviews (4.1/5) but poorly on Xero App Store (3.4/5). Understanding this gap matters for businesses evaluating the platform.

We prioritise independent, non-incentivised reviews while including incentivised platforms for transparency. Review sources are clearly labelled so you can assess credibility.

Employment Hero ratings on key platforms

Understanding the ratings gap

The ratings show a stark divide. Google Reviews (4.1/5) skew positive — but many are from employees praising the app's usability for viewing payslips and managing leave. These reviews reflect the employee experience, not the employer/admin experience.

Xero App Store reviews (3.4/5) tell a different story. Recent reviews from business owners highlight serious concerns about support availability, billing issues, and integration problems.

This disconnect — positive employee reviews vs. negative admin reviews — aligns with our own findings about Employment Hero's support and documentation challenges.

Employment Hero rostering and scheduling

Employment Hero's rostering sits under the "Time" section as "Roster Management". The roster displays by work site with positions listed below, viewable in weekly, 2-weekly, or 4-weekly formats.

We appreciated that the roster interface shows unavailable staff and leave, with options to add leave directly from the roster view. Each shift cell provides a nice breakdown of total time, break duration, and cost — a helpful touch for managers tracking labour costs.

What works well

Adding shifts is straightforward — hit the plus symbol to open a side panel with shift details. The "bulk shift" option lets you repeat shifts across multiple days, which saves time. The roster templates include helpful metadata showing cost, hours, staff count, and original save date, and there's a search function for businesses managing multiple templates.

For basic rostering needs, the core functionality is present and the interface works well enough.

Where it falls short

The rostering module lacks the advanced features we'd expect from dedicated rostering platforms. There's no option to customise views — if you prefer a staff list view rather than position-based view, you're out of luck. We also noticed limited filtering options for specific staff or positions, and no live labour budgeting tool to forecast costs as you build the roster.

For businesses where rostering is a core operational need, these limitations will likely prove frustrating compared to purpose-built rostering software.

Pros & cons

Employment Hero time and attendance

Time and attendance features are enabled through the settings tab. Staff can clock in and out via the Employment Hero Work app, with geo-fence support and optional selfie capture for verification.

What works well

The basic time tracking covers essential needs. The geo-fence feature allows you to set boundaries, and we liked that you can allow clock-ins outside the geo-fence (triggering a timesheet warning for review). Selfie capture on clock in/out adds an extra layer of verification.

Where it falls short

Customisation is limited compared to dedicated time and attendance platforms. There's no option to set a specific pin drop location — a notable gap for businesses at large sites with designated clock-in points. We couldn't find a kiosk-style app option, and you can't set different rules for different sites.

This becomes problematic for businesses with field-based team members or multiple venues needing different attendance rules per location. The feature covers the basics but lacks the advanced settings that complex operations require.

Pros & cons

Employment Hero payroll

Employment Hero offers built-in payroll as part of its one-platform approach covering HR, rostering, time tracking, and payroll. For an HR-first platform, having integrated payroll makes sense.

Setup challenges

Unfortunately, the payroll setup experience was the most disappointing part of our review. The "Payroll Start Guide" in the main menu includes tutorial videos for getting started — however, clicking on these videos marks them as complete without actually playing the content.

The help centre provides directions for accessing the pre-built award library, but these options weren't available in the account. Searching for "payroll" was unsuccessful despite having a dedicated payroll section in the platform. Two linked articles were found — one with an unrelated video from 2023, and another with a video that simply doesn't work.

This setup experience was notably challenging. We were unable to find working resources to complete payroll configuration. Attempts to reach support were unsuccessful as phone support required a "Support Pin" with unclear setup instructions, and online booking showed no available slots until January 2026.

What this means for users

We couldn't fully evaluate Employment Hero's payroll functionality because we couldn't complete setup. Businesses considering Employment Hero for payroll should request a live demonstration and ensure adequate support is available during implementation.

Pros & cons

Employment Hero communication tools

We looked closely at Employment Hero's communication tools and found they don't include a dedicated messaging feature for company-wide updates or direct staff messages in the traditional sense.

What's available

Employment Hero provides bulk email messaging for recruitment updates, bulk document issuing, onboarding invites, and customised pay run messages. Features include Bulk Email Candidates, Bulk Issue Documents, and Company Feed posts — though availability depends on your plan and access level.

Limitations

For quick team announcements or one-to-one communication, you'll likely still need external tools like Slack or email. Employment Hero's communication is more administrative than conversational — useful for HR processes but not a replacement for day-to-day team messaging.

Pros & cons

Employment Hero mobile app

We tested the mobile app, called "Employment Hero Work", which covers Work, Money, and Perks sections. The Work section includes timesheets, shift swaps, leave requests, and document access.

What works well

Employees can access key HR functions from their phone including viewing payslips, requesting leave, and accessing company documents. We liked that the app stores certifications and qualifications, making compliance verification straightforward.

Where it falls short

The interface feels cluttered with many features crammed into limited menus. We found the lifestyle features like phone plan offers (Money & Perks sections) distracting from core workforce management. Navigation between HR, timesheets, and rostering requires more taps than we'd like.

Pros & cons

Employment Hero HR tools

HR is where Employment Hero truly excels, and it's clear this is the platform's core strength. From employee profiles to compliance tracking, document management to performance reviews — the HR suite is genuinely comprehensive.

What works well

Employee profiles are detailed, with tabs for Employment records, Pay & compensation, Documents, and Performance. We were particularly impressed by the template library, which is extensive and covers contracts, policies, and compliance documents relevant to Australian businesses. Onboarding workflows can be automated with document signing and checklist tracking — a real time-saver for HR teams.

Key HR features

• Comprehensive employee profiles with document storage
• Extensive template library for Australian compliance
• Automated onboarding workflows with e-signatures
• Leave management with accrual tracking
• Performance review tools (higher plans)

Pros & cons

Employment Hero analytics and reporting

The reporting section is well organised into categories: People, Compliance, Time, and Development. We found the interface clean, with report cards showing brief descriptions of what each report covers.

Available reports

• People: Headcount, turnover, demographics, tenure
• Compliance: Policy acknowledgments, document tracking
• Time: Attendance, leave balances, timesheets
• Development: Training completion, performance metrics

Pros & cons

Employment Hero pricing and plans

Employment Hero offers three pricing tiers: Lite ($20/employee/month, minimum $200/month), Plus ($40, minimum $400/month), and Unlimited ($60, minimum $600/month). All tiers include HR, payroll, rostering, and time tracking, with higher tiers adding performance management, expense claims, and telephone support.

The pricing positions Employment Hero for medium to large businesses with complex HR needs. For small businesses focused primarily on rostering, we'd note the pricing is less competitive compared to dedicated workforce management platforms that include all features in one price.

Employment Hero pricing evidence (January 2026)

Screenshots from Employment Hero's official pricing page:

Employment Hero pricing comparison

Employment Hero pricing by team size

Employment Hero's minimum charges mean small businesses pay more per employee. Below are real costs accounting for minimums. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees will hit minimum charges on all plans.

Pros & cons

Employment Hero use cases

Employment Hero works best for certain business profiles. Based on our testing and user feedback, here's where the platform fits:

Best suited for

• Medium to large businesses with complex HR requirements
• Companies prioritising HR compliance over rostering
• Businesses with dedicated HR staff to manage the platform
• AEST-based operations (matching support hours)

Less suitable for

• Small businesses focused on rostering and scheduling
• Businesses needing advanced roster filtering and budgeting
• Western Australian businesses (AEST support only)
• Teams wanting quick, intuitive payroll setup

Employment Hero security and privacy

Security is an area where Employment Hero performs well. As an Australian company handling sensitive HR and payroll data, they've invested in enterprise-grade credentials, achieving SOC 2 Type II compliance in October 2025.

The SOC 2 audit evaluates controls across five Trust Service Principles: security (safeguarding systems from unauthorized access), availability (ensuring uptime), processing integrity (accurate data processing), confidentiality (protecting sensitive information), and privacy (regulatory compliance).

Pros & cons

Employment Hero customer support

Customer support was the most disappointing aspect of our Employment Hero review.

Support experience

Two days into the trial, we received no automated onboarding emails or welcome communication. Attempting to call the advertised number (1300 084 847) prompted for a "Support Pin" with unclear instructions to set it up in "hr" — not helpful guidance.

Booking support through the onboarding option showed no available slots until January 2026. Support is only offered during AEST hours — a significant limitation for Western Australian businesses.

Documentation quality

Help articles aren't formatted well. We found outdated instructions, broken in-app videos, and videos that simply don't play or open externally. Some features link to a help button that opens the entire help centre rather than the relevant article — requiring users to search again for their specific question.

Pros & cons

Final verdict

Employment Hero is a platform of contrasts. The HR tools genuinely impressed us — comprehensive, well-organised, and suitable for businesses with complex compliance needs. The template library alone justifies consideration for HR-focused organisations.

However, the operational workforce management features tell a different story. We found rostering lacking advanced features, time tracking customisation limited, and payroll setup frustrating due to broken documentation. Support availability is a genuine concern.

Choose Employment Hero if: HR compliance is your primary concern, you have dedicated HR staff, and you're based in AEST timezone with resources for potentially challenging implementation.

Look elsewhere if: Rostering and scheduling are your core needs, you want quick payroll setup, you need WA-friendly support hours, or you're a smaller team without dedicated HR resources.

4.8+ stars

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