Who this guide is for
System Administrators building or editing automated workflows and email content in Workflow Builder. Requires 'System Admin' role.
Overview
This guide explains how to configure the Date-based trigger in Workflow Builder — including the wider range of date options and the new Before/After trigger timing — and how to insert employee and date-based trigger parameters into workflow email steps.
How Date-based Trigger and Email Parameters Work
The Date-based trigger starts a workflow based on a date associated with a user's profile or record. The date selector is organised into a single-select dropdown with three categories: One-time, Recurring, and Event-based. A trigger time option lets admins fire the workflow At time of, Before, or After the selected date, using an offset in days, months, or years.
Workflow email steps support parameters that pull user-specific data into email subject lines and bodies. Two parameter groups support this:
- Employee Information (existing group) – now includes additional fields: User Job Title, Manager Full Name, Manager First Name, User Employment Start Date, User Continuous Start Date, User Probation End Date, and User Leaving Date.
- Date-Based Trigger (new group) – contains Date From Date-Based Trigger, which pulls the specific profile date the trigger is built around (for example, employment start date, probation end date, or visa/permit expiry date). This group only appears when a Date-based trigger is included in the workflow.
Both parameter groups are available even where Core HR is not visible on the platform.
How to Set Up Date-based Trigger and Email Parameters
- Go to Workflow Builder.
- Select an existing workflow or select Create Workflow.
- In the trigger section, choose Date-based trigger.
- Open the date selector dropdown and choose a category: One-time, Recurring, or Event-based.
- Select the specific date option required, for example Employment start date (one-time), Birthday, or Leaving date.
- If the selected date option supports trigger timing, choose a trigger time: At time of, Before, or After.
- If you selected Before or After, enter the offset amount and select the unit: Days, Months, or Years.
- Years is only available for One-time and Event-based date options, and is not available for Work anniversary, Continuous work anniversary, or Birthday.
- Add or edit an Email step within the workflow.
- Click into the Subject or Body field of the email template.
- Click Insert Parameter.
- Select Employee Information to add fields such as Manager Full Name, Manager First Name, User Job Title, User Employment Start Date, User Continuous Start Date, User Probation End Date, or User Leaving Date.
- If your workflow includes a Date-based trigger, you can instead select Date-Based Trigger, then choose Date From Date-Based Trigger to insert the relevant profile date.
- Repeat steps 8–12 for any additional email steps or parameters required.
- Select Save to confirm the workflow.
Additional Information
- One-time triggers run only once on the specified date category and will not fire again afterwards, e.g. Specific date, Employment start date (one-time), Continuous start date (one-time), Date of birth (one-time).
- Recurring triggers fire repeatedly, e.g. Recurring date (previously "Day of the month"), Any day, Day of the week, Leave year start date, Work anniversary (previously "Employment start date"), Continuous work anniversary, and Birthday (previously "Birth date").
- Event-based triggers fire when a specific record or event date is reached, e.g. New job effective date, New compensation effective date, Probation end date, Visa/permit expiry, TOIL expiry date, and Leaving date. Carryover expiry date will be added as an event-based option in a separate release.
- Trigger time (At time of / Before / After) does not apply to Specific date, Any day, Day of the week, or Recurring date.
- Manager Full Name and Manager First Name refer to the user's direct line manager and are distinct from the workflow Authoriser field.
- Date From Date-Based Trigger reflects the profile date the trigger is configured on (e.g. probation end date), not necessarily today's date.
- Warning: The Years offset unit is not available on all date options – check the option's category before configuring.
- Warning: The Date-Based Trigger parameter group only displays when a Date-based trigger is part of the workflow; it will not appear otherwise.
- These parameters function whether or not Core HR is visible on your platform.
- Requires 'System Admin' role to access and edit Workflow Builder.
- Tip: Use the search function within the platform to quickly find features or settings.
Using the Probation End Date and "14 days before", you can send a reminder to managers about scheduling an upcoming probation review meeting, or ask them to complete any relevant documentation required as part of that process.
Using Visa/Permit Expiry and "30 days before", you can send a reminder to key people in the business to ensure application is renewed and documentation is uploaded into edays