Who it’s for: Administrators
Platform: Sense HR
Available on: All plans
Overview
Sense HR uses access roles to control what different users can see and do.
Every organisation starts with four default access roles:
Standard users — designed for employee self-service
Managers — adds access to direct reports
Manager with Indirect reports — extends manager access to direct and indirect reports
Administrators — full system access
This guide explains what these roles mean in practice across the main areas of Sense HR.
🖊️ What about Limited admin?
Limited admin is not one of the four default access roles, so it is not included in the comparisons in this guide. On Professional, Elite, and Enterprise plans with Access Role Management (ARM), a Limited admin role can be created when someone needs administrator-level access for a specific group of people.
👉 See Create and manage a Limited admin role for more information.
📖 About this guide:
This article describes the typical experience of each default access role in an out-of-the-box Sense HR organisation.
What a user can actually see or do may also depend on other configuration, including event rules, document permissions, company document assignment, profile templates, your plan, and any access role customisation.
For the exact out-of-the-box permission settings, see Default access role permissions in Sense HR.
At a glance
Role | People access | Dashboard | Typical use |
Standard users | Own profile only | Employee Dashboard | Employee self-service |
Managers | Own profile + direct reports | Manager Dashboard | Employee self-service and managing direct reports |
Manager with Indirect reports | Own profile + direct and indirect reports | Manager Dashboard | Managing across a wider reporting hierarchy |
Administrators | Everyone | Administrator Dashboard | Full HR administration and system management |
Dashboards
The dashboard a user sees is determined automatically by their access role type. It gives them a starting view suited to their level of access, with the Employee, Manager, and Administrator dashboards providing different information and shortcuts.
The screenshots below show the three default dashboard experiences.
Default Employee Dashboard showing the dashboard experience for a Standard-type access role.
Default Manager Dashboard showing the dashboard experience for an Advanced-type access role.
Administrator Dashboard showing the dashboard experience for an Admin-type access role.
🖊️ Note:
The dashboard is based on the access role type, not the individual role name. This means a custom Advanced role, for example, also uses the Manager Dashboard.
People and employee profiles
Standard users
Standard users can access their own profile for self-service.
By default, they can view or maintain selected personal information, including areas such as:
Personal details
Contact details
Bank details
Other contact details
Training
Pay details
Benefits
Exactly what they can view or update varies by screen.
Standard users do not have access to other employee profiles through the People module. To access their own profile screens, they can click their avatar/username in the upper-right corner and select Manage profile.
Managers
Managers can access their own profile and the profiles of their direct reports.
For their team, they have access to selected profile areas including:
Overview
To do
Planner
Documents
Contact details
Personal details
Training
Some screens have additional field-level restrictions. For example, managers can view selected Personal details and Contact details without automatically seeing every field on those screens.
Manager with Indirect reports
Manager with Indirect reports has the same default profile permissions as Managers, but those permissions extend to direct and indirect reports in the downward reporting hierarchy.
Administrators
Administrators can access all employee profiles and profile data.
🖊️ Note:
On Elite and Enterprise plans using Screen Designer, profile templates also affect which screens are available in an employee’s profile.
Planner and time off
Standard users
Standard users can access their own Planner to view and manage their events using the standard employee booking processes.
They do not have additional Planner administration permissions by default, such as:
managing their own Planner settings
editing or deleting past events
adding their own sickness directly
adding or editing attendance records
Managers
Managers can access the Planner for their direct reports.
They can view and manage Planner information for their team according to their profile permissions and the rules configured for each event.
Manager with Indirect reports
Manager with Indirect reports has the same Planner permissions as Managers, extended to direct and indirect reports.
Administrators
Administrators have full access to employee Planners and can manage Planner settings and events across the organisation.
Event requests and approvals
Who can book an event and whether it requires approval is not determined by the access role alone.
Event rules are configured under:
Settings > Calendar & Planner > Event manager
For example, if an event rule requires approval, a manager can receive an approval To Do for the relevant employee.
Sickness
Standard users can see their own sickness events and sickness reasons in their personal Planner.
By default:
Managers can see sickness events and reasons in the personal Planner for their direct reports.
Manager with Indirect reports can see them for direct and indirect reports.
Administrators can access sickness information across the organisation.
This is different from sickness visibility in the Company Calendar, where the default configuration hides the sickness reason from other users.
🖊️ Note:
The Dashboard sickness widget is also separate from access role permissions. It can be enabled under Settings > Calendar & Planner > General and allows employees to notify their manager that they will be absent today.
Company Calendar
The Company Calendar provides a broader view of events across the organisation without necessarily giving access to the corresponding employee profiles.
By default, Standard users, Managers, and Manager with Indirect reports have access to the Company Calendar.
The default Calendar configuration allows them to see selected events for their team, including:
Holiday
Paternity
Maternity
Sickness, with the sickness reason hidden
Attendance data
Administrators have full Company Calendar visibility.
🖊️ Note:
Company Calendar visibility and profile access are separate. Being able to see an event for another person does not give you permission to open that person’s profile.
To Dos
Standard users
Standard users can access and manage their own To Dos.
This can include:
simple tasks
event requests
forms
document read or sign requests
other workflow-generated tasks
Managers
Managers can access the To do screen for their direct reports and may be able to action supported To Dos on their behalf.
They may also receive manager-specific To Dos, such as event approval or return-to-work tasks, depending on the process that created them.
Manager with Indirect reports
Their default To Do profile access extends to direct and indirect reports.
Administrators
Administrators can manage To Dos across the organisation, although some actions can still depend on the To Do type, workflow, completion status, or legal requirements.
🖊️ Note:
Access to the To Do screen does not determine everything a user can do with an individual To Do. Behaviour also depends on the task type, assignment, underlying workflow, and other applicable rules.
Personal documents
Personal documents are stored against individual employee profiles.
Standard users
Standard users can access the Documents screen in their own profile.
Which individual documents they can see depends on the access permissions set for each document.
Managers
Managers can access the Documents screen for their direct reports by default.
However, this does not mean they automatically see every document stored against those profiles.
When a personal document is added, document-level permissions determine whether access is given to:
the employee
their manager
additional named users
Manager with Indirect reports
The same principle applies, with profile access extended to direct and indirect reports.
🖊️ Note:
Document screen access and individual document access are separate. A manager can therefore have access to an employee’s Documents screen without having permission to view every document in it.
Administrators
Administrators have full access to personal documents.
Company documents
Company documents are managed separately from personal documents.
Access to an individual company document is determined when the document is uploaded by selecting who it is assigned to and, where needed, who should be excluded.
This means company document visibility is not determined by the user’s default access role alone.
Administrators manage company documents by default. On plans with Access Role Management, other roles can also be given access to the Company Documents area.
Organisation Explorer
Standard users, Managers, and Manager with Indirect reports have access to Organisation Explorer by default.
Organisation Explorer does not bypass profile permissions.
This means a user may be able to see someone in the organisation structure without being able to open that person’s profile.
Administrators can access profiles throughout the organisation via Organisation explorer.
Reports
Standard users
Standard users do not have access to the Reports module by default.
They can still open a published report that has been shared with them. The shared report only shows data that their existing permissions allow them to access.
Managers
Managers do not have access to the Reports module by default.
They can still open a published report that has been shared with them. Report results are limited to the people and data they already have permission to access.
Manager with Indirect reports
Manager with Indirect reports does not have access to the Reports module by default.
They can still open a published report that has been shared with them, with results limited to the people and data they already have permission to access.
Administrators
Administrators have full access to the Reports module and reportable data.
Shared reports
Normal Reports access and report sharing are separate.
A user does not need access to the full Reports module to open a published report that has been shared with them. Sharing a report does not grant additional access to employee data — each recipient only sees data they already have permission to access.
For example:
an administrator may see organisation-wide results
a manager may see results only for people they can access
a Standard user is limited to data they already have access to
Shared reports are view-only for recipients, although they can temporarily filter and sort the results.
🖊️ Note:
On plans with ARM, normal Reports module access can also be given to Standard or manager-type roles. Report visibility continues to respect the role’s people access.
Settings
Standard users
Standard users do not have access to HR Settings areas by default.
Managers
Managers do not have access to HR Settings areas by default.
Manager with Indirect reports
Manager with Indirect reports does not have access to HR Settings areas by default.
Administrators
Administrators have full access to Settings and system configuration.
On Professional, Elite, and Enterprise plans using ARM, selected Settings permissions can be given to other roles where required.
⚠️ Important:
Take particular care when giving non-admin roles access to sensitive Settings areas such as Access roles.
Profile photos
Profile photo access is not configured through ARM.
Users can add or change their own profile photo.
Managers cannot change another person’s profile photo simply because they have access to that person’s profile.
Administrators can add or change profile photos for other users.
Sense Mobile
Sense Mobile access is not activated by assigning a particular default access role.
An administrator, or another user with the relevant permission, sends the employee a verification code to activate mobile access.
Verification codes can be sent:
individually from a person’s profile
in bulk from the People list
Once logged in, what the user can see and do in Sense Mobile depends on the organisation’s setup, available mobile functionality, and their permissions.
Automatic role changes for line managers
New users are assigned the Standard users role by default.
If a Standard user is assigned as a Line Manager in another employee’s Job details, Sense automatically changes their role from Standard users to Managers.
If they are later removed as Line Manager for their last or only direct report, Sense automatically changes them back to Standard users.
🖊️ Note:
Automatic role changes only apply between Standard users ↔ Managers. Other access roles can still be assigned manually.
If your organisation uses Access Role Management
On Professional, Elite, and Enterprise plans, the default experience described in this article can be changed through Access Role Management.
Depending on the role type, administrators can customise:
profile screen and field access
access to other people
Planner actions
Company Calendar visibility
Reports
Settings and features
Custom actions
This means a customised Managers role, for example, may behave differently from the default Managers role described in this article.
For the exact out-of-the-box settings, see Default access role permissions in Sense HR.
FAQs
Click to see ansers to frequently asked questions
Click to see ansers to frequently asked questions
Q: What is the main difference between Standard users and Managers?
A: The main difference between Standard users and Managers is people access. Standard users are limited to their own profile, while Managers also have default access to selected areas of their direct reports’ profiles.
Q: What is the difference between Managers and Manager with Indirect reports?
A: The default difference between Managers and Manager with Indirect reports is the people scope. Managers have access to direct reports, while Manager with Indirect reports extends the same default profile permissions to direct and indirect reports.
Q: Can managers see everything in an employee’s profile?
A: No. Managers cannot see everything in an employee’s profile by default. Their access is limited to selected screens, and some visible screens also have field-level restrictions.
Q: Can managers see every personal document for their team?
A: No. Managers do not automatically see every personal document for their team. Their role gives them access to the Documents screen, but individual document access also depends on the permissions set when each document is added.
Q: Why can a manager see someone’s event in the Company Calendar but not open their profile?
A: The reason a manager may see someone’s event in the Company Calendar but not be able to open their profile is that Calendar visibility and profile access are separate permissions.
Q: Can managers see sickness reasons?
A: Yes. By default, Managers can see sickness reasons when viewing a direct report’s sickness event in their personal Planner. Manager with Indirect reports can do the same for direct and indirect reports. The default Company Calendar configuration hides the sickness reason.
Q: Can managers view reports if they don’t have access to the Reports module?
A: Yes. Managers can view a published report that has been shared with them even if they do not have normal access to the Reports module. The shared report only shows data for people and records they already have permission to access.
Q: Can a manager’s access be different from what is described in this article?
A: Yes. A manager’s access can differ from this article if your organisation has customised access roles using ARM or uses other configuration that affects the feature, such as event rules, document permissions, or profile templates.