Two things about a document matter more than the file itself. Its type decides who can read it, and its expiry date is the only thing that makes AB Talent remind anyone. A visa filed with no date is stored safely and never mentioned again.
Who can read what
Documents live on each person's record, on the People tab under Documents.
| Type | HR admin | The person | Their manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract | Reads | Reads their own | No |
| Right to work | Reads | Reads their own | No |
| Certification | Reads | Reads their own | Reads |
| Disciplinary | Reads | Reads their own | No |
| Identity | Reads | Reads their own | No |
| Other | Reads | Reads their own | No |
A manager sees certifications and nothing else, because that is the one type that decides whether somebody can do the work in front of them. The manager's list does not hint at anything else: a document you may not read simply is not on your list, and its link does not open for you. You can always read your own, including a disciplinary letter.
Adding is narrower than reading. An HR admin can add any type to anyone's record. You can add to your own record, except Disciplinary, so somebody holding a renewed visa can file it themselves. A manager cannot add to a report's record. See Access for how these fit together.
Add a document
- Open the person. People → List, click their name, and find Documents.
- Click Add a document.
- Choose the Type. This sets who can read it.
- Fill in What is it? For example, “Work visa 2026”. If you leave it blank, the file name is used.
- Choose the File. It can be up to 10 MB.
- Set Expires on if it expires. Leave it blank for something with no end, such as a contract with no end date or a warning letter.
- Check Start reminding. It appears once there is an expiry date. See the next section.
- Click Upload.
How expiry reminders work
A single reminder ninety days out, missed while somebody was on leave, might as well not have been sent. So reminders come as a ladder:
- Start reminding sets the top of the ladder, and the form opens at 60. For a visa you want the 90-day reminder, so set it to 90. The field takes 1 to 90.
- Only those six points send a reminder. A value between them starts at the next point down: 45 means the first reminder comes at 30 days.
- It stops after the day it expires. Reminding every day about a document nobody replaced turns into noise, and noise is how the next one gets missed. The list keeps showing Expired 3 days ago and so on.
- A missed day loses nothing. The check runs once a day. If a run does not happen, the next one sends the reminder that is due.
Who gets the reminder
| Type | Reminded |
|---|---|
| Right to work, Certification, Identity | Every HR admin, and the person it belongs to, because they are the one who has to renew it |
| Contract, Disciplinary, Other | Every HR admin |
A reminder arrives as a message from AB Talent in Microsoft Teams, or by email if that chat cannot be reached. The person it belongs to is reminded only if their record is linked to a signed-in account.
Turning reminders off
An HR admin can click Turn reminders off beside a document with an expiry date, and Turn reminders on to bring them back. The list shows Reminders off beside it.
Reminders do not stop by themselves when somebody leaves. If a leaver's document still has an expiry date ahead of it, turn its reminders off or archive it.
When a document is renewed
A document's expiry date cannot be changed after upload. To renew one, add the new document with its new date, then archive the old one. If you leave the old one in place, it carries on reminding as if nothing had been replaced.
Nothing is deleted
There is no delete. An HR admin can click Archive, which takes the document off the list and keeps the file, because a contract is kept long after somebody leaves. Archiving also stops its reminders.
Archive with care. It happens at once, with no confirmation, and there is currently no screen that lists archived documents. Only an HR admin can archive, including on their own record.
Downloading
Click Download beside a document. Files are private and have no public address: each download runs the same check as the list, so a link sent to somebody who may not read the document does not open it.
Set the right type and a real expiry date when you file a document, and AB Talent will take care of who sees it and when you hear about it.