HR document templates

  • Release version: Zurich
  • Updated July 31, 2025
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of HR Document Templates

    HR Document Templates enable the creation and modification of reusable HR documents that can be personalized with dynamic data like dates, names, and signatures. Common use cases include generating employment verification letters, non-disclosure agreements, offer letters, and educational reimbursement agreements.

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    Important: Starting with the Zurich release, HR Document Templates are deprecated and no longer supported for new activations. Customers are encouraged to use the newer Document Templates feature for an updated experience and should consult migration guidelines for transitioning existing templates.

    Template Types

    • Document templates (HTML): Created within the HR application, these templates use variables to pre-fill data and allow configuration of headers, footers, images, and text layout. The system provides default templates such as Employee Verification Letters (Canada, USA), Offer Letter Template, and Education Agreement.
    • PDF document templates: Based on fillable PDF forms managed through Managed Documents, these templates use field mapping to insert data. The document must be uploaded and published before customization. A default sample PDF template is the Non-Disclosure Agreement.

    Personalization and Signature Capture

    Templates support field mapping and variables for data personalization. They can also capture multiple electronic signatures, with options to include acknowledgement text prompting users to confirm their agreement by checking a box during signing.

    Configuration Requirements

    • Company letterhead page and logo images (header max height 50 px, footer max height 15 px), preferably optimized SVG files.
    • Copies of existing company documents to model templates.
    • Configuration of templates with company branding and text before generating documents.

    Technical Considerations

    • Support for HR Document Templates with itext5 is discontinued; use itext7 instead.
    • The property itext7.pdfconversion must be set to true in the Human Resources: Core scope to enable itext7-based PDF generation. This is default since the Paris release.

    Document Generation

    Both HTML and PDF document templates generate final PDF documents that can be reviewed, printed, and signed by multiple parties. Typical scenarios include fulfilling employee requests for official letters, such as employment verification.

    Next Steps for Customers

    • Transition to the new Document Templates feature for ongoing use.
    • Review and update existing templates following the migration guidelines.
    • Ensure proper configuration of logos, letterhead, and signature capture fields to maintain corporate branding and compliance.
    • Verify that the itext7 property is enabled for PDF generation to avoid compatibility issues.

    HR Document Templates are used to create and modify reuseable HR documents.

    Important:

    Starting with the Zurich release, HR Document Templates is deprecated and no longer supported or available for new activation.

    Use Document Templates that provides the latest experience for this functionality. For migration guidelines, see Migrating from HR Document Templates to Document Templates.

    For deprecation details, see the Deprecation Process [KB0867184] article in the Now Support knowledge base.

    Use HR document templates for documents that can be customized with dates, names, and signatures like:
    • Employee verification letters
    • Non-disclosure agreements
    • Offer letters
    • Educational reimbursement agreements

    You can personalize HR document templates by mapping fields or using variables from the available tables to place data in fields. You can also capture multiple e-signatures in a document that automatically generates once all signatures are captured.

    There are two types of HR Document Templates, both create PDF files, but are created and maintained differently:
    1. Document templates (HTML)
    2. PDF document templates

    Acknowledgement text

    Within your document templates, you can capture the meaning of a signature. You can add acknowledgement text to your document templates that prompts the user to check a box when signing or providing credentials to a document.

    Document templates (HTML)

    Document templates are created within the HR application and use variables to pre-fill information from tables into the document. You create how the document looks by defining the header, footer, images, placement of footer, and the text within the template. The base system provides default document templates that you can use to model your documents:
    • Employee Verification Letter in Canada
    • Employee Verification Letter in USA
    • Offer Letter Template
    • Education Agreement

    Before you begin generating documents, configure the templates with your company logo and text. Obtain the following items and information to create or configure the predefined HR document templates.

    • A page of your company letterhead.
    • Copies of your current company employment verification letter and offer letter templates, if available.
    • The logo image to use in your header. The header image can be a maximum of 50 px high. If your letterhead includes a logo and text, ensure that the logo image includes the text, because you can only configure the image (not text) in the header.
    • The logo image to use in your footer, if applicable. The logo image can be a maximum of 15 pixels high. You can configure both an image and text in the footer.For best results, ensure that the image is optimized and a Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file.
    Important:
    Usage of HR document templates with itext5 is no longer supported. Use HR document templates with itext7 instead.

    To use HR document templates feature with itext7, the boolean property itext7.pdf_conversion must be set to true in the Human Resources: Core (sn_hr_core) scope. This property has been set to true, by default, since the Paris release. If you are using the version of HR Document templates that has been released prior to the Paris release, create the itext7.pdf_conversion property manually to switch to itext7.

    PDF document templates

    PDF document templates originate from Managed Documents and use field mapping to pre-fill information from tables into the document. Before you customize a document:
    • The document must be a fillable PDF. See the Adobe home page and search for Convert existing forms to fillable PDFs to learn how to create fillable PDF documents https://www.adobe.com/.
    • The document must be uploaded and published.
    The base system provides the default PDF document template as an example: Non-Disclosure Agreement (Sample).

    Generating documents

    Both the Document template and PDF document template generate PDF documents that can be reviewed or printed and can require multiple signatures.

    A common use case for generating a document from an HR case is when an employee requests an employment verification letter. For information on generating a PDF document from an HR case, see HR document generation.