Who it’s for: Administrators and users with screen designer permissions
Platform: Sense HR
Available on: Elite and Enterprise plans
Before you begin, make sure you’re:
☑️ Logged in
☑️ Assigned relevant permissions
Overview
Screen Designer gives you complete control over how employee information is structured, displayed, and captured in Sense HR.
It is the foundation of configurable data capture across Sense HR, allowing administrators to define how information is captured in employee profiles, Return to Work processes, and expense claims. Understanding this model will make the rest of the Screen Designer articles much easier to follow.
This article introduces the five key components of Screen Designer and explains how different screen types use them.
Screen designer system:
Screens
Fields
Profile templates
Access roles (handled via Settings > Access roles)
Variants
You will learn what each component does, how they relate to one another, and which tool to use in different situations.
This is a high-level guide — the practical steps for creating or editing screens and templates are covered in dedicated articles.
Navigation paths
To open the Screen Designer:
Dashboard > Settings > Screen designer
You will find two main areas:
Screens
Used to create and manage:
Profile screens
Return to Work screens
Expense line item screens
Dashboard > Settings > Screen designer > Screens
Profile templates
Used to assign and order Profile screens to workforce groups.
Dashboard > Settings > Screen designer > Profile templates
Core Concepts
Screen Designer is built around five interconnected components. Once you understand how these pieces fit together, the entire feature becomes much simpler to use.
1. Screens — the structure of your data
A screen is a container that holds fields.
Every page you see in an employee profile (such as Personal details, Training records, Equipment issued, or Job details) is a screen. Return to Work forms and Expense line items are also implemented as screens within Screen Designer.
When creating a screen you’ll first choose a Screen type.
This determines where the screen is used within Sense HR.
Screen type | Primary purpose |
Profile | Employee profile information |
Return to Work | Return to Work processes |
Expense Line Item | Expense claims |
All screen types use the same Screen Designer and share many of the same concepts.
Each screen type is designed for a different purpose and supports different capabilities.
Capability | Profile | Return to Work | Expense Line Item |
Appears in employee profiles | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
Assigned through Profile templates | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
Linked to sickness rules | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
Used for expense claims | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
Form layout | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Table layout | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
Custom fields | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
System-defined fields | Some (locked screens) | ✓ | ✓ |
Variants supported | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
Export template available | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
Although each screen type serves a different purpose, they all use the same Screen Designer canvas to add and configure fields.
While screen type determines where a screen is used, screens are also categorised by how they are managed:
System screens
Built-in screens that support essential system behaviour.
Examples: Overview, Documents, To do, Planner, Leaver details.
These cannot be edited, deleted, or renamed.
Locked screens
Sense-created screens that include system-protected fields.
Examples: Personal details, Job details, Pay details.
These can be partially edited but not deleted, and some fields cannot be removed.
Custom screens
Screens created by administrators or automatically created by workflows.These are fully editable, can be renamed, and can be added to any profile template.
Screens answer the question:
“What information do we want to collect?”
Screens define the fields, structure, and formatting of that information.
Custom screens can be created as Profile, Return to Work, or Expense Line Item screens, depending on how they will be used.
2. Fields — the individual pieces of data
Fields are the building blocks inside each screen — such as text fields, dropdowns, dates, checkboxes, and attachments.
Fields can either be:
Existing fields
Fields already available in your system that can be reused.
Reusing fields keeps reporting clean and avoids duplication.
New fields
Fields you create from scratch when designing screens.Once a new field is created and saved on a screen, it becomes an existing field and can be reused elsewhere.
Fields answer the question:
“What is the specific data point we want to store?”
3. Profile templates — availability and order (not visibility)
Profile templates control:
Which profile screens appear for a worker
The order in which those screens appear
The structure of the left-hand navigation inside People > Profile
Templates do not control visibility.
They simply determine whether the screen is available for that worker type.
Common worker groups include:
Employees (locked system default)
Interns
Contractors (system default)
Volunteers
Seasonal or temporary workers
Profile templates answer the question:
“Which profile screens should this worker type have in their profile?”
🖊️ Note:
Once a template is assigned to a person, it cannot be changed. This rule ensures that existing data remains accessible and avoids structural conflicts.
4. Access roles — who can see or edit what
Access roles determine visibility and permissions inside the employee profile.
They control:
Whether a role can see a screen
Whether they can update it
Whether they can add or delete records
Whether they can see or edit individual fields
Whether the screen appears at all to that role
Access roles answer the question:
“What should this role be able to see or do?”
Visibility is controlled here, not in Screen Designer.
To manage visibility:
Settings > Access roles > [Role] > Permissions > Own profile
5. Variants — workflow-specific visibility
Variants are used for workflows only.
They do not affect what appears in the employee profile.
Variants control:
What each workflow participant can see
What they can edit
Which fields must be completed
Which fields are hidden during a workflow step
Variants answer the question:
“What should this person see during this workflow task?”
Use variants when you have a single screen but different workflow participants (such as Employees, Managers, HR) need different view/edit rules.
Variants are supported for Profile and Return to Work screens.
How the components fit together
A simple relationship map:
Screens define the structure.
Fields define the data.
Profile templates organise Profile screens.
Access roles control Profile visibility.
Variants control workflow behaviour for supported screen types.
Return to Work screens are linked through sickness rules.
Expense line item screens are used in expense claims.
[Screen Designer]
|
v
[Screens + Fields]
|
+--> [Profile screens]
| |
| v
| [Profile templates]
| |
| v
| [Access roles]
| |
| v
| [Employee profiles]
|
+--> [Return to Work screens]
| |
| v
| [Sickness rules]
| |
| v
| [Return to Work process]
|
+--> [Expense line item screens]
|
v
[Expense claims]
When to use Screens, Access Roles, or Variants
Choosing the right tool prevents duplication and ensures your HR system remains easy to maintain.
Use Profile screens when:
You need different fields for different worker groups
The data structure is unique (form vs table)
You want truly separate datasets
You need separate reporting categories
Use Return to Work screens when:
Collecting post-sickness information
Different participants need different RTW forms
Use Expense line item screens when
Capturing expense claim information
Different expense types require different fields
Use Access roles when:
The screen is the same, but visibility must differ
You want some roles to see more or fewer fields
You want fields to be read-only or hidden on profiles
You want to limit add/edit/delete rights for table entries
Use Variants when:
Different workflow participants need different view/edit/required settings
You are dealing with workflow behaviour only
The underlying screen structure must remain consistent
⚠️ Important:
Variants never affect the employee profile.
For profile visibility, always use Access roles.
FAQs
Click here to see answers to frequently asked questions
Click here to see answers to frequently asked questions
Why can I see some screens in Screen Designer > Screens but not others?
The reason you can see some screens in Screen Designer > Screens but not others is because only custom screens and certain locked screens appear there. System screens never appear in the Screens area because they cannot be edited or deleted.
Why does the Overview screen appear greyed out?
The reason the Overview screen appears greyed out is because it is a system screen that is always required in every profile template. Some system screens are required for the system to function and system screens cannot be edited, deleted, or removed from templates.
What’s the difference between a Screen and a Profile template?
The difference between a screen and a profile template is that a screen defines the data and layout, while a profile template determines which screens are active for a particular workforce segment. Screens hold the content; templates organise them.
Why don’t variants change what my employees see on their profile?
The reason variants don’t change what employees see on their profile is because variants only affect workflow task visibility. To change profile visibility, you must use Access roles.
Why can’t I change someone’s profile template later?
You cannot change a person’s profile template later because templates define structural data availability. Changing a template after data exists could hide or orphan information, so the system prevents reassignment for safety.
Q: What’s the difference between a Profile screen and a Return to Work screen?
A: Profile screens collect information that forms part of an employee’s profile and are assigned through Profile templates.
Return to Work screens are linked to sickness rules and are used only during the Return to Work process.
Q: Can Return to Work or Expense line item screens be added to Profile templates?
A: No, Return to Work and Expense line item screens cannot be added to Profile templates. Only Profile screens are assigned to Profile templates. Return to Work screens are linked to sickness rules, and Expense line item screens are used during expense claim processes.