How to manage and maintain your employee documents

Every worker you supply comes with a folder of paperwork behind them: proof they are allowed to work in the UK, a DBS certificate, a CV, and whatever else a particular client insists on. Keeping that paperwork current is what keeps a worker eligible for shifts.

Agency Accelerator keeps all of it in one place, on the worker's own record. There are two sections to know about. Document Compliance holds the standard documents needed for a compliance review, and Other Documents holds everything else you want to keep on file.

This guide walks through both: where to find them, how to read what you are looking at, how to upload something that is missing, and how to add paperwork that sits outside the standard list.

Before you begin

You will need a user access level that allows you to edit employee records. If the Update button is missing, or the fields look greyed out and will not respond, speak to the main user on your account.
The worker must already exist as an employee on your account.
Have your files saved and ready. Agency Accelerator accepts .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .docx and .pdf files.
Both sections open in read-only mode. You need to select Update before you can change anything, and Save Changes once you have finished. Nothing is kept until you save.

Finding a worker's documents

Select Employees in the left-hand menu.
Find the worker you want and open their record. The trail at the top of the page reads Employees > Employee Details, so you can always see where you are.
Scroll down to Document Compliance. The arrow in the section header collapses or expands the whole section, which is useful when you are working further down the page.

Understanding the Document Compliance section

This section contains the standard compliance documents required for the worker whose record you have open.

You do not choose which documents appear. The list is put together automatically from the worker's own profile, using details such as their worker type and their visa status. Two workers doing the same job will not necessarily need the same documents, which is why it is worth checking each record individually.

Documents marked as mandatory must be uploaded and verified before the worker can be treated as compliant. The rest are recommended wherever they apply.

The three groups of documents

The section is split into three groups, each with its own arrow so you can collapse the ones you are not working on. The number in brackets beside each heading tells you how many documents that group contains.

Right to Work Checks — the documents that prove the worker is allowed to work in the UK. Typically a Photo ID Document, a National Insurance Document and a Visa / Work permit proof.
Mandatory Documents — the documents Care Hires needs in order to carry out a compliance review. Typically a CV, a DBS Certificate, a Proof Of Address Document and a Driving Licence.
Optional Documents — documents that only apply to some workers, such as a PVG Certificate (Scotland), Evidence of Regulatory Setting where selected, an Overseas Check, or a Letter of Enrolment / CAS Letter.

A red asterisk beside a document name means that document is required. Optional documents have no asterisk.

What each column tells you

Document Name — the document being asked for. Where you see a Profile details link underneath the name, select it to see the information on the worker's profile that created this requirement.
Status — whether the document is in place. See below for what each icon means.
Issued Date — the date shown on the document itself. A dash means no date has been recorded yet.
Expiry Date — the date the document runs out, for example 2nd Jan 2028. No expiry means the document does not lapse.
Actions — what you can do with that row. This changes depending on whether you are reading the page or editing it.

What the status icons mean

A green tick means the document has been uploaded and accepted. Nothing further is needed for now, although you should still keep an eye on its expiry date.
A grey question mark means nothing has been uploaded yet, or the document is still waiting to be checked.

Hover over the small information icon beside the Status and Issued Date column headings at any time for a reminder of what each one means.

Versions and extra guidance

Once a document has been uploaded, a small tag appears beside its name showing which version you are on, for example v1. Each time that document is replaced the version number moves up, so there is always a record of what was held before.

Some rows also carry an information icon. Select it for extra guidance about that particular document.

The buttons at the top of the section

Three buttons sit beside the Document Compliance heading:

Profile — takes you back to the worker's profile details.
Compliance Guide — explains what is required for this worker and why. This is the quickest place to look if you are unsure why a document is being asked for.
Summary — gives you an at-a-glance view of where this worker stands.

Uploading a document that is missing

The section opens in read-only mode so that nothing can be changed by accident. To upload anything, you first need to switch it into edit mode.

Select Update at the bottom right of the Document Compliance section.
Look at the Actions column. It now shows a blue Upload button on every row where nothing has been uploaded yet, and an eye icon with a three-dot menu on every row that already has a document.
Select Upload on the row of the document you want to add.
Choose your file and confirm the details you are asked for, such as the issued date and, where the document has one, the expiry date.
Repeat for any other documents you need to add. You do not have to do them one at a time.
Select Save Changes at the bottom of the page.

Please note: files must be in one of the supported formats — .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .docx or .pdf. Check that the whole document is readable before you upload it, as an unclear file may not pass the compliance review.

Tip: If you select Update and then change your mind, select Cancel. Everything you have done since selecting Update is discarded and the section returns to read-only.

Checking or updating a document already on file

On any row that already holds a document, two actions appear once you are in edit mode.

The eye icon opens a preview of the document, so you can check you are looking at the right file and that the dates on screen match the dates on the paperwork.
The three dots hold the further actions available for that document, such as replacing it with a newer copy.

When a document is replaced, the previous version is not lost. The version tag beside the name simply moves up, for example from v1 to v2.

A word about optional documents

Optional documents work in exactly the same way as mandatory ones. In edit mode, each one gains its own Upload button.

A worker can be compliant without them, so there is no rush. It is still worth adding them where they apply. A PVG Certificate for a worker based in Scotland, for example, is far easier to upload now than to chase on the morning a client asks for it.

Storing paperwork that sits outside the standard list

Underneath Document Compliance you will find Other Documents. This is where anything that is not part of the standard compliance list goes: paperwork a particular client insists on, general workforce arrangements, or any supporting record you want to keep against the worker.

Please note: documents added here are not part of compliance validation. They will not affect the worker's eligibility for jobs, even if they have expired. They are stored purely as a reference on the worker's record.

Adding a document

Like Document Compliance, this section opens with its fields greyed out. Select Add new in the top right corner of the section, or Update at the bottom of it, to make the fields available.

Enter a Document Name. This is the only name the document will be known by, so choose something a colleague would recognise, such as "Client induction certificate" rather than "Scan 3". This field is required.
Check the Issued/Created date. Hover over the information icon beside the field if you are unsure which date to use.
Choose a Relevant Client if the document belongs to one client in particular. Leave it blank if it applies generally. If a client you have added recently is not in the list, select the refresh icon beside the dropdown.
Tick This document is Mandatory if it is a document you treat as required. Leave it unticked for supporting paperwork.
Decide whether to leave Share this document with Care Hires ticked. It is ticked by default — see below.
Tick This document has an expiry Date if the document runs out, then enter the date. Leave it unticked for documents that never lapse.
Add anything your own team needs to know under Internal Notes. There is a limit of 100 characters, and the counter underneath tells you how many you have left.
Under Upload Document, select Select File and choose your file. The supported formats are .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .docx and .pdf.
Select Add Document. The document then appears in the table underneath.
Repeat for anything else you want to store, then select Save Changes at the bottom of the page.

Sharing a document with Care Hires

Share this document with Care Hires is ticked by default, which means our team can see the document alongside the rest of the worker's record. That is usually what you want, particularly where a placement or a client requirement depends on it.

Untick it for anything that is genuinely internal to your agency. It is worth pausing before you do, as anything hidden from Care Hires cannot be taken into account if a query comes up later.

Saving your changes

Two buttons sit at the very bottom of the Employee Details page.

Cancel — discards everything you have done since you selected Update, and returns the page to read-only.
Save Changes — commits your changes to the worker's record.

Save Changes stays greyed out until you have actually changed something, which makes a handy check. If it is still grey, nothing has been altered.

Please note: choosing a file, or selecting Add Document, does not save anything on its own. Nothing is kept against the worker until you select Save Changes.

Staying on top of expiry dates

Work down the Expiry Date column rather than waiting to be told. A DBS certificate showing 2nd Jan 2028 is no concern today, but a right to work document that lapses in the middle of a rota can cost you a shift at very short notice.
Replace rather than start again. Uploading a newer copy over an existing document keeps the history intact, so you can always show what was held and when.
Where a client repeatedly asks for the same piece of paperwork, store it under Other Documents and select them as the Relevant Client. It is then easy to find the next time they ask.
Make document checks part of onboarding. Working through a new starter's list in one sitting is far quicker than picking documents off one at a time.

If something is not right

Most of what sits on these two sections is maintained by your own team, so the majority of corrections are simply a case of switching the section into edit mode and uploading the right file.

Please contact our Support Team, quoting the worker's name and reference number, if:

A document you expect to see is not on the list, or a document appears that should not apply to this worker
A document is still showing a grey question mark some time after you uploaded it and saved
A file will not upload even though it is in a supported format
An expiry date on screen does not match the document you hold
A worker is showing as non-compliant even though every mandatory document has a green tick

Check out our step-by-step guide to managing your employee documents: