The September 2026 release gives organizations more ways to express their brand in EmployeeWorks Web App, helps employees find and navigate content more easily, and expands communication and task management capabilities for global teams.
Here's what's new.
What's launching in September 2026
• Home Page Background and Branding Enhancements • Topic Pages and Browse Experience Updates • Multilingual Announcements • Task Delegation |
Product Rename: Employee Slate is now EmployeeWorks Web App
As of this release, the Employee Slate product family has been rebranded to ServiceNow EmployeeWorks, with updated names across all product plugins. If you are an existing customer, your experience and configurations are not affected — only the plugin names have changed.
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Previous plugin name |
New plugin name |
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Employee Slate (built for Now Assist) |
No Change |
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Employee Slate (built for Moveworks) |
EmployeeWorks Web App |
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Employee Slate Core |
EmployeeWorks Web App Base |
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Employee Slate Advanced |
EmployeeWorks Web App Extended |
All documentation, store plugins, and Admin Console references will reflect the updated names going forward.
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Home Page Background and Branding Enhancements
Organizations can now set a custom background for the EmployeeWorks Web App home page, giving admins more control over how the experience reflects their brand. Choose from a solid color, a gradient, or an image, and configure each independently for light mode and dark mode.
- Three background types – Choose from a solid color, a gradient, or an image to create a home page that reflects your organization's visual identity. Each background type can be configured independently for light and dark mode.
- Solid – Select a color from the color picker or enter a hex code to match your exact brand specifications.
- Gradient – The system automatically generates a WCAG-compliant gradient in real time using your accent color as the base, so you get an on-brand, accessible result without any manual effort. Admins can also override this by entering a custom CSS value for full control.
- Image – Upload a PNG file up to 1MB and set the image behavior to fill or repeat pattern. An image overlay option (none, light, or dark) helps ensure text remains readable over any background image.
- Accessibility built in – A confirmation message tells you whether your chosen background meets text contrast standards, so admins can make informed decisions without needing to run separate accessibility checks.
- Logo and text color control – Choose whether to display light or dark text and logo against your background, giving organizations precise control over how their brand appears to every employee regardless of their display preference.
- Live preview before publishing – Use the preview panel to check how the background renders across light mode, dark mode, desktop, and mobile before saving, so there are no surprises after the change goes live.
All configurations are managed from the Homepage Background section under Branding and Theming in the Admin Console. Changes render on both desktop and mobile.
Refer to Home Page Background product documentation for additional details.
Other theming improvements
This release also brings two additional refinements to how EmployeeWorks Web App respects your brand configuration. Empty state and error state illustrations now draw from your neutral palette, ensuring they stay visually consistent regardless of your background. Quick Link icons now reflect your accent color, so the full experience aligns with your organization's branding. Both changes take effect automatically from your existing Admin Console configuration.
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Topic Pages and Browse Experience Updates
This release introduces several improvements to how employees navigate and explore content in EmployeeWorks, and gives admins more control over how those pages are configured.
Breadcrumb navigation
Breadcrumbs are now available across all browsing surfaces, including topic and subtopic pages. Employees can see the exact path they followed to reach a page and jump back to any point in that path without using the browser's back button. The breadcrumb trail is consistent across all topic templates.
Directory topic template
Admins now have a second template option for topic pages. The new directory template presents all subtopics as a visual hub, with rich images and content subtitles displayed prominently. This gives organizations a more structured, gallery-style alternative to the standard topic template for content-heavy or hierarchical topic areas.
How to configure the Directory Topic Template?
To apply the directory template to a topic:
- Navigate to the relevant Topic record.
- Open the Experience Topic Template Mapping tab in the related list.
- Add a new record.
- Select Topic Template Directory from the template dropdown.
- Set the experience to EmployeeWorks.
- Save the record to apply the template to that topic page.
Inline admin configuration
Admins can now configure the Explore page and topic pages directly from the page itself, without navigating to widget instance options separately. Select Admin Editor in the bottom-right corner to enter edit mode, then use the edit icon on any widget to open its configuration panel. Editable options include page headings, welcome label text, hero banner content, and topic page descriptions. Changes apply immediately and can be reset to default at any time.
Refer to Browse and Topic Pages product documentation for additional details.
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Multilingual Announcements
Global organizations can now deliver announcement content in multiple languages directly from the EmployeeWorks content library. Content managers can translate a single source announcement into as many languages as needed, without creating separate content records for each audience.
Two translation paths are available. For manual translations, use the language menu on the announcement record to create a language-specific copy, edit the translatable fields, and save. For organizations using the Localization Framework, translation requests can be submitted for one or more languages at a time, and completed translations are published automatically when the task is done. Machine translation is also supported for customers who have a machine translator configured in the Localization Framework.
Scheduling is inherited – Translated copies use the publishing schedule from the source announcement and cannot be edited independently.
Version control – Each translated copy maintains its own version history, independent of the source.
Chat channel delivery – When an announcement is promoted to a chat channel, employees receive it in their own language. If a translation is not available, the source language is used as a fallback.
This framework applies to announcements today and will extend to other content types, including news and events, as they are added to the content library.
Refer to Multilingual Announcements product documentation for additional details.
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Task Delegation
Employees can now delegate tasks and approvals to one or more colleagues for a defined time period, directly from their Tasks and Requests view. This is useful when an employee is unavailable or needs another person to act on an item on their behalf.
Delegates receive the item in their own Tasks and Requests view and can act on it just as the original assignee would. Once any delegate or the original assignee completes the item, it is automatically removed from everyone's view. The original assignee retains visibility of the item throughout and can manage delegates or act on the task themselves at any time.
Multiple delegates – A task or approval can be delegated to more than one employee at a time.
End date required – Every delegation requires an end date, which can be updated after the fact.
Delegate visibility – A note on the item shows each delegate who assigned it to them.
Note: Task Delegation requires the Granular Delegation plugin to be installed and task delegation to be configured in HR Administration before use.
Refer to Task Delegation product documentation for additional details.
Note: EmployeeWorks Native Mobile Experience launches in controlled availability with this release. Contact your account team to learn about prerequisites and eligibility criteria for early access ahead of general availability.
Get started with EmployeeWorks Web App
EmployeeWorks Web App is available within ServiceNow EmployeeWorks, with new capabilities shipping every month. Explore the May 2026 Release Blog, review the Getting Started Guide, check the FAQs, and access product documentation to get started.
