---
title: Your HRHive email, explained for employees
canonical_url: https://hrhive.co.uk/for-employees/
content_type: audience
summary: HRHive is the system your employer uses to keep your employment records. You have been sent a link because your employer wants you to give them something, or to open your own portal. This page explains what that means, in plain words.
audiences:
  - employee
jurisdiction: uk
status: published
last_updated: 2026-10-05
---

# You have an email from HRHive. Here is what it means.

> HRHive is the system your employer uses to keep your employment records. You have been sent a link because your employer wants you to give them something, or to open your own portal. This page explains what that means, in plain words.

## What HRHive is

HRHive is software that employers use to keep employee records in one place: your details, documents, contract, holiday
and policies. Your employer chose it and set it up. HRHive does not employ you, pay you or make decisions about your
job.

You do not need to install anything. HRHive works in a web browser, on a phone or a computer.

## Why you have been sent this

Your employer uses HRHive to ask you for something, or to tell you something. These are the messages people usually get.

- **A welcome link.** It says "Welcome" and your first name, lists what your employer needs from you and gives a rough
  idea of how long it will take. You can stop and come back at any time using the same link in your email.
- **A request for a document.** For example, "We need an updated driving licence", with a message such as "Your current
  driving licence expires on 14 November 2026. Please upload a replacement."
- **Something to sign.** Your contract, or a change to it. You read it in full first, and you are emailed a copy of the
  signed document.
- **A policy to read.** You confirm that you have received and read it.
- **A holiday decision.** An email to say that a holiday request has been approved or declined.
- **A confirmation.** If you have raised a concern or reported an incident, an email to say it has been received.

If you were not expecting a message, check with your employer before you use the link. Links stop working after a while,
or once a request is finished. If yours has stopped working, ask your employer to send a new one.

## What you may be asked for, and why

You will only see the steps that apply to you. Your employer decides which they need.

| What you may be asked for    | Why                                                                                                                                                    |
| ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Personal details             | So your employer has the right name, address and contact details on your record.                                                                       |
| An emergency contact         | So someone can be reached if you are ill or hurt at work.                                                                                              |
| Bank details                 | So that you can be paid. For your security, payroll confirms any change with you before your next pay date.                                            |
| A P45 or starter information | So payroll can set up your pay.                                                                                                                        |
| Documents                    | For example proof of who you are, a qualification or a driving licence, if your job needs them. HR checks what you upload before it joins your record. |
| Forms                        | Short forms your employer needs completed, such as a change of address.                                                                                |
| Your contract                | To read in full and sign if you agree. You can sign online or ask for a paper copy.                                                                    |
| Policies                     | To read and confirm you have received them. This is an acknowledgement of receipt. It does not change your contract.                                   |

**Right to work.** Your employer may also need to check your right to work. You may be asked for a share code from GOV.UK,
which starts with W and lasts 90 days, or to show your original documents. The check is made by someone your employer
has authorised, and they record it. HRHive does not contact the Home Office. After the check, only the last three
characters of your share code are kept.

## Who decides what is collected

Your employer decides what to ask for, and why. HRHive provides the system they use to keep it. If you want to know why
something is asked for, or what is held about you, ask your employer first.

In your employee portal, **Your data** shows the privacy notice your employer has published. It also lets you ask for a
copy of the information they hold about you, ask for it to be corrected, deleted or used less, object to how it is used,
or make a complaint. Each request is logged with the date a reply is due, and a complaint is acknowledged within 30 days.
You can also contact the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.

HRHive's own privacy notice explains how HRHive itself handles information.

## How your information is kept secure

Your employer's records are kept apart from every other organisation's. Your date of birth, National Insurance number and
bank details are each encrypted individually. There are no passwords to steal: you sign in with a one-time link, an
emailed code or a passkey. Documents open through links that expire. Downloads of documents and views of right to work
evidence and bank details are recorded in an audit log.

The full list of facts is at the end of this page. More detail is in the [Trust Centre](https://hrhive.co.uk/security/).

## What you can see and do in your portal

Once your employer has given you access, you sign in to your own employee portal.

- **Home.** Your holiday balance, a button to request holiday, anything you still need to do, and your right to work
  status if it applies to you. It says "Nothing to do. You are all up to date." when there is nothing waiting.
- **Holidays.** Your balance, your requests and their status. You can cancel a request that is still waiting.
- **Documents.** Your contract, policies and documents HR has shared with you. You can upload a document, and HR checks it
  before it joins your record.
- **Policies.** Read each one and confirm you have received it.
- **My Details.** Your address, contact details, emergency contact and bank details. To change your legal name, date of
  birth or National Insurance number, contact HR.
- **Cases.** Report an incident, an accident, a complaint, a grievance or a whistleblowing concern, and follow what
  happens.
- **Your data.** The privacy notice, and requests and complaints about your information.

If you have a right to work share code to send, you can send it to HR from your portal.

## What happens when you leave

When your employment ends, your portal closes after your last day. Your employer keeps your record for the retention
period it has set for each kind of record.

## Getting help

- **Using HRHive,** such as signing in or finding something: the person who sent you the link can help.
- **Your job, pay, holiday, contract or records:** your employer. That means HR, your manager or whoever sent you the link.
  HRHive cannot change decisions your employer makes.

## If this is not the right page

There are separate pages for [workers](https://hrhive.co.uk/for-workers/), [subcontractors](https://hrhive.co.uk/for-subcontractors/) and
[managers](https://hrhive.co.uk/for-managers/).

## The facts behind this page

Each of these is something HRHive does.

- Employees have their own portal to request holiday, see their documents and policies, update their details, raise a case and send a share code.
- One emailed link lets a new starter give their details, emergency contact, bank details and documents, complete forms, sign their contract and acknowledge policies, with progress shown.
- Signing records the document's fingerprint before and after, produces a sealed PDF with an audit certificate, and sends every signer a copy.
- Policies are versioned and sent to everyone, a department, a location or a person, and each person acknowledges receipt online or on paper, with a register you can print.
- Setting a leaving date creates an offboarding checklist, notifies payroll, HR and the manager, closes the portal after the last day and archives the record with its retention date.
- Privacy notices, a retention schedule, legal holds, a destruction log, data requests with a one-month clock and data protection complaints with a 30-day acknowledgement are tracked.
- There are eight roles (owner, admin, HR, manager, payroll, compliance, employee and a read-only auditor), and sensitive fields such as bank, salary, National Insurance and medical details are shown only to the roles that need them.
- There are no passwords to steal. People sign in with a one-time link, an emailed code or a passkey.
- Each organisation's data is kept apart in the database by row-level security, which applies to every table that holds organisation data.
- Date of birth, National Insurance number and bank details are encrypted individually with AES-256-GCM, using a separate key for each organisation.
- Downloads of documents, views of right to work evidence and bank details, views of cases and most exports are recorded in the audit log.
- Documents are downloaded through signed links that expire, not through public addresses.
- After a right to work check, only the last three characters of the share code are kept.
- Retention periods are set for each kind of record, with legal holds and a destruction log.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is this email really from my employer's system?

If you were expecting it, or your employer told you to look out for it, it is very likely genuine. If you are not sure, do not use the link. Ask your employer first. HRHive has no passwords, so nobody needs yours.

### Do I have to create an account?

Not to follow a link from an email. Afterwards you can activate your employee portal, and you sign in with a secure email link, an emailed code or a passkey. There is no password to remember.

### Who can see what I upload?

People at your employer who have the right role. A document you upload goes to HR to check before it joins your record. Sensitive details such as bank, salary, National Insurance and medical information are shown only to the roles that need them.

## About this page

- Last updated: 5 October 2026

## Related

**In HRHive**

- [Employee self-service](https://hrhive.co.uk/product/employee-self-service/)
- [Onboarding new starters with one link](https://hrhive.co.uk/product/onboarding/)
- [Policies and acknowledgements](https://hrhive.co.uk/product/policies/)

Canonical URL: https://hrhive.co.uk/for-employees/