Stop hunting through email attachments and filing cabinets for employee documents.
Paper HR files expire unnoticed, email attachments vanish in inboxes, and shared drives have no audit trail. Treegarden gives every employee a complete digital HR file - with expiry alerts, role-based access, e-signatures and GDPR-compliant storage built in from day one.
How HR documents are managed at most companies - before Treegarden
The problems below are not edge cases. They are the default state of employee document management without a dedicated system.
Paper files and shared drives nobody trusts
The employment contract is in a physical folder. The signed copy of the amendment is in someone's email. The medical certificate from last year was scanned but nobody remembers the folder name. When an employee queries their contract, HR spends an afternoon searching.
Certificates and permits expiring silently
A work permit expires. A professional certification lapses. A mandatory health check certificate passes its renewal date. Nobody flagged it because nobody was tracking expiry dates in a system - they were tracked in a spreadsheet that someone forgot to update.
No audit trail for document access
Who opened the disciplinary letter? Did the employee receive the updated contract? When was the NDA last viewed? Without a document management system, these questions have no reliable answer - which becomes a serious problem during audits or disputes.
No access control on sensitive documents
Disciplinary records, salary information and medical documents sit on the same shared drive as general HR materials. Anyone with drive access can see everything. This is not just a GDPR risk - it erodes employee trust and creates potential legal exposure.
Employee document management built for how HR actually works
Six capabilities that replace the filing cabinet, the shared drive and the expiry spreadsheet with one connected, auditable system.
Digital employee HR files
Every employee has a structured digital HR file in Treegarden. Documents are organised by category - contracts, certificates, performance records, disciplinary files, offboarding paperwork - and linked directly to the employee profile. No more hunting through shared drives.
Automated document expiry alerts
Assign an expiry date to any document. Treegarden sends automated reminders to HR and the responsible manager at 90, 30 and 7 days before expiry. Work permits, medical certificates, professional certifications and driving licences are tracked without any manual effort.
Document templates and e-signatures
Create reusable templates for employment contracts, offer letters, policy acknowledgments and addendums. Send documents for e-signature directly from Treegarden. Signed documents are automatically stored in the employee's HR file with a timestamp and audit record.
Role-based access control
Define which document categories each role can view, upload and download. HR managers see everything. Line managers see their direct reports' non-sensitive documents. Employees access their own documents through the self-service portal. Sensitive categories like medical and disciplinary files are restricted by default.
Full audit trail
Every document upload, view, download and deletion is logged with user, timestamp and IP address. Audit logs are immutable and exportable for compliance reviews, labour inspections and internal investigations. You always know who did what to which document and when.
GDPR-compliant retention management
Configure retention periods per document category. Treegarden flags documents that have exceeded their retention window and supports automatic or manual purging. Special category data - medical records, disciplinary files - is stored in a separate access-controlled repository with tighter permissions.
Everything your HR team needs to manage documents properly.
Every item below comes included. No module unlocks, no add-on fees.
From paper files to digital HR records in three steps
Most HR teams complete the initial document setup in Treegarden within a single afternoon.
Configure your document categories
Define the document types your HR team uses - contracts, certificates, performance docs, disciplinary records, offboarding paperwork. Set access permissions per category and configure retention periods for GDPR compliance. Takes less than 30 minutes.
Upload existing documents and create templates
Upload your existing HR files to each employee's digital profile. Create reusable templates for documents you issue regularly - employment contracts, offer letters, NDA agreements, policy acknowledgment forms. Set expiry dates on any document that has a renewal cycle.
Documents managed, tracked and audited automatically
From this point forward, Treegarden handles the tracking. Expiry alerts fire automatically. New hires get their document file the moment they are created in the system. Documents signed via e-signature are stored instantly. The audit trail runs in the background on every interaction.
What HR teams use document management for in practice
From day-one employment contracts to offboarding paperwork, every document has a place in Treegarden.
Employment contracts and addendums
Store the signed employment contract, every addendum and every amendment in one searchable location. When an employee queries their notice period, HR finds the answer in seconds. Signature timestamps confirm when each document was executed.
Medical certificates and health records
Link medical certificates to the corresponding sick leave records. Store health and safety compliance documents with expiry alerts for annual renewals. Access is restricted to HR - line managers see that a certificate exists, not its contents.
Performance review documentation
Performance review forms, PIP documents, improvement plans and disciplinary letters are stored in the employee's file alongside their review history. When a disciplinary case reaches a tribunal, the complete paper trail is accessible instantly.
Policy acknowledgment forms
Issue updated company policies via Treegarden and request digital acknowledgment from each employee. The signed acknowledgment is stored automatically. HR can run a report at any time showing which employees have and have not signed each policy version.
Offboarding and exit documentation
Resignation letters, settlement agreements, reference letters and exit interview summaries are captured in the employee's file during the offboarding process. Documents are retained according to your configured post-employment retention schedule.
New hire document collection
When a candidate is converted from the Treegarden ATS, their offer letter and pre-employment documents transfer automatically to their new employee HR file. Onboarding task documents - ID copies, bank details, right-to-work verification - flow in without re-uploading.
HR document management that pays for itself the first time a document dispute arises.
Treegarden's HR module starts at $299/month flat-rate - unlimited users, all features included. Document management, expiry tracking, e-signatures, audit trail and GDPR retention controls are part of the core module. No add-on fees. No per-document charges. One price, complete functionality.
Book a demoCommon questions about HR document management
Answers to what HR teams ask before moving from shared drives and email to Treegarden.
What types of HR documents can be stored in Treegarden?
Treegarden supports all standard HR document types: employment contracts, addendums and amendments, medical certificates, performance review documents, disciplinary records, policy acknowledgment forms, offboarding paperwork, identification copies and any custom document type your HR team defines. Documents are linked directly to the relevant employee profile and categorised for easy retrieval.
How does Treegarden handle document expiry and renewal reminders?
Every document in Treegarden can be assigned an expiry date. The system sends automated reminders to HR and the responsible manager at configurable intervals before expiry - typically 90, 30 and 7 days out. This applies to work permits, medical certificates, certifications, driving licences and any document type with a renewal cycle. Expired documents are flagged on the employee profile and in the HR dashboard.
Is Treegarden's document storage GDPR compliant?
Yes. Treegarden provides GDPR-compliant document storage with configurable retention periods per document category. Access to sensitive document types is role-controlled - HR managers, line managers and employees each see only what their access level permits. Every document access and modification is logged in a full audit trail. Documents can be purged automatically when retention periods expire, supporting your right-to-erasure obligations.
Can documents created during recruitment flow automatically into the employee HR file?
Yes. Because Treegarden's ATS and HR module share a single platform, documents collected during the recruitment process - signed offer letters, pre-employment checks, onboarding task completions - are automatically transferred to the employee's permanent HR file when a candidate is converted to an employee. No manual re-uploading or data migration is required.
The last time a document goes missing should be today.
Stop managing employee records across paper files, email attachments and shared drives that nobody fully trusts. Treegarden gives your HR team a single, structured, auditable home for every document - with expiry tracking, role-based access and GDPR controls built in. Book a demo and see the HR document module in 30 minutes.