Employment Hero
AU's biggest HR and payroll platform. Handles Award compliance, onboarding, and leave so you don't have to guess pay rates. The interface feels a bit corporate, but it gets the compliance stuff right.
Starting from
Quote
Free trial
No
Free plan
Yes
Overall rating
4.4/5 (239)
“Widely used for HR and payroll in AU trades, and the Award compliance handling is solid. The platform has grown complex though, you'll pay for modules you don't need, and the UX takes getting used to.”
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Overview
Employment Hero is Australia's largest HR and payroll platform, used by over 200,000 organisations. For trade businesses, it solves the HR headaches that come with hiring, onboarding, contracts, payroll, leave management, and critically, Award compliance. If you've ever been unsure whether you're paying an apprentice correctly under the Building and Construction General On-site Award, Employment Hero is built to handle exactly that.
The platform covers the full employee lifecycle: job ads and recruitment, digital onboarding (contracts, tax file declarations, super choice forms), rostering, time and attendance, payroll processing, and leave management. The Award interpretation engine automatically calculates correct pay rates, overtime, allowances, and penalties based on the applicable Modern Award.
Strengths: Award interpretation is the killer feature for trade businesses. The platform handles the complexity of the Building and Construction General On-site Award (MA000020) including casual loading, travel allowances, tool allowances, and overtime tiers. Payroll is processed through a compliant Single Touch Payroll (STP2) engine. Digital onboarding means a new apprentice can complete all paperwork on their phone before day one.
Limitations: Employment Hero is an HR and payroll platform, not a trade-specific tool. There's no job management, scheduling, or field service capability. The interface is functional but can feel bureaucratic, it's built for HR processes, not field operations. Pricing per employee can add up for larger teams, and some features (like the benefits marketplace) are geared more toward corporate employees than tradies.
If you're running payroll on spreadsheets or struggling with Award compliance, Employment Hero is the standard AU platform for a reason. Pair it with a job management tool and you've covered both operations and employment.
Pros & Cons
What we like
- ✓Award interpretation handles Building and Construction Award complexity automatically
- ✓STP2-compliant payroll processing reduces ATO compliance risk
- ✓Digital onboarding means new hires complete paperwork before day one
- ✓Free plan is genuinely useful for basic HR and document management
- ✓200,000+ AU organisations, well-tested and reliable at scale
Watch out for
- ✕Not a trade-specific tool: no job management, scheduling, or field service features
- ✕Interface can feel bureaucratic and HR-heavy for a tradie audience
- ✕Payroll add-on is a separate cost on top of HR, total price adds up
- ✕Benefits marketplace is geared more toward office workers than field crews
- ✕Customer support can be slow during peak payroll periods
Best for
Trade businesses with employees (especially apprentices and labourers) who need Award-compliant payroll, proper onboarding, and leave management. Critical for building and construction businesses under the MA000020 Award.
Not ideal for
Sole traders with no employees, or businesses already using a payroll-specific tool like KeyPay. If you only need timesheets, Deputy or Tanda are simpler starting points.
Key Features
Frequently Asked Questions
Ratings
239 reviews
Source: Capterra
Checked April 2026
Pricing
Basic features only
Full HR suite with performance, goals, and reporting
Payroll processing with Award interpretation and STP2
HR + Payroll bundle with dedicated support
Free plan covers basic HR. Payroll and Award interpretation require paid plans. Pricing is approximate AUD per employee per month. Verify current pricing at employmenthero.com/pricing.
Technical
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View all →Deputy
Sydney-built rostering and timesheet app that actually understands AU award wages, penalty rates, overtime, the lot. Worth its weight in gold once you've got apprentices on the books.
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Connecteam
Team scheduling, chat, checklists, and training in one app, basically replaces the WhatsApp group chat. Free plan is genuinely usable for small crews.
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KeyPay
Solid AU cloud payroll with STP Phase 2 and award interpretation that actually works. Powers Employment Hero's payroll under the hood. Does payroll well, don't expect HR features.
4.7/5 (230)
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