Absence Management
BrightHR
Provenance unknown Report an errorPanel rating · 6 judges · How to read the stars
Category median
Sovereignty: 1 of 4 dimensions proven
0–5 in half steps. 5 means the rubric's top anchor is met on the evidence.
by BrightHR Ltd · www.brighthr.com
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BrightHR at a glance
- Vendor
- BrightHR Ltd
- Headquarters
- Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 28 Oct 2026
- Data hosting
- Default not stated; pages mention United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand source, captured 28 Oct 2026
- Free plan
- Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 28 Oct 2026
- Panel verdict
- The AI panel rates BrightHR 2/5, the mean of 6 judges. BrightHR is a UK-framed absence management suite, judged strongest on payroll handover with a flat 5: a documented open API with a developer portal covering leave balances, absence requests and Blip time-and-attendance data, Zapier links to over 5,000 services, and a sync into the vendor's own payroll software — with no public information on DATEV or other German payroll integrations. how scores are made
- As of
- Vendor pages captured 27 Oct 2026 to 28 Oct 2026; evaluated by the panel 29 Oct 2026. all sources
Read this page as one judge. Each weighs the same scores by what they care about.
The panel's verdict
BrightHR is a UK-framed absence management suite, judged strongest on payroll handover with a flat 5: a documented open API with a developer portal covering leave balances, absence requests and Blip time-and-attendance data, Zapier links to over 5,000 services, and a sync into the vendor's own payroll software — with no public information on DATEV or other German payroll integrations. Leave policies scored a flat 4 and requests and approvals 4-5: automatic annual leave calculations, pro-ration for joiners and leavers, mobile approvals with clash notifications and a 360-degree team calendar are documented, but every rule shown is UK law — 5.6 weeks statutory, bank holidays at the employer's choice, UK statutory sick pay. Scores spread a single point on sick leave and continued pay, absence data protection and sovereignty (3-4 each), with lower and higher scores citing the same missing information — eAU retrieval, six-week continued-pay counting, restrictions on sickness reasons, a subprocessor list. EU storage is stated only for Republic of Ireland subscribers. Pricing transparency scored 1-3; the public pages show only a quote route and a free demo.
Speaks for it
- Open API with a developer portal covers leave balances, absence requests and Blip time-and-attendance data
- Holiday requests can be accepted or denied from the mobile app, with clash notifications and a 360-degree team leave calendar
- Automatic annual leave calculations each working year, with pro-ration toggles from a start date and up to a leaving date, are documented
- Zapier connects to over 5,000 web services, and single sign-on runs via Microsoft Entra ID
- ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification is published, alongside two-factor authentication and role-based, need-to-know access
Held against it
- Every rule shown is UK law (5.6 weeks statutory, bank holidays at the employer's choice), with no public information on German federal-state holidays or half-day and hourly leave
- We found no public information on DATEV or other German payroll integrations; the only payroll sync documented is with the vendor's own software
- Sick pay is calculated under the UK statutory scheme, with no public information on eAU retrieval or counting toward a six-week continued-pay limit
- We found no public information on restricting sickness reasons and certificates to named roles, on retention periods per record type, or on works-agreement documentation
- We found no public information on a published subprocessor list, and EU storage is stated only for customers subscribing in the Republic of Ireland
Best for
- You run a UK-based team and want automatic annual leave calculations, mobile holiday approvals with clash notifications, and a shared team calendar
- Your developers can build on a documented open API with a developer portal for leave, absence and time-and-attendance data from Blip
- You plan to use the vendor's own payroll software and Blip clocking-in alongside absence management
Avoid if
- Your leave and sick-pay rules must follow German law — the documented rules are UK-framed, from 5.6 weeks statutory to UK statutory sick pay
- Your payroll runs on DATEV or another German system; the only payroll sync documented is with the vendor's own software
- You must document special-category handling of sickness data for a works council — the published compliance picture is framed around UK practice (ICO registration), and we found no public information on works-agreement documentation
- You need EU data storage outside a Republic of Ireland subscription; EU storage is stated only for customers subscribing there
The scores
| Criterion | Panel median |
|---|---|
| Entitlements & German leave rules | 2 of 5 |
| Requests, approvals & team calendar | 2 of 5 |
| Sick leave, eAU & continued pay | 2 of 5 |
| Payroll handover, time tracking & API | 2.5 of 5 |
| Health data, access & works council | 1.5 of 5 |
| European sovereignty | 2 of 5 |
Entitlements & German leave rules
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How this is scored
Whether the tool computes leave the way German and Austrian law and contracts do: entitlements per contract and working-time model, part-time proration, carry-over and expiry with the required notice, public holidays per federal state, half days and hourly leave, and special leave types.
0 — Not a leave tool; entitlements and leave balances cannot be kept in the product.
3 — Annual entitlements per employee with remaining balances, public holidays, and custom leave types.
5 — Entitlements prorated for part-time working days and for joiners and leavers, public holidays per German federal state or Austrian region, and configurable carry-over with an expiry date.
8 — Several working-time models per employee with changes over time recalculated, half days and hourly leave, carry-over expiry with automatic notices to employees before leave lapses (as the BAG requires), special and parental leave types with their own rules, and entitlement changes logged.
10 — Leave law modelled and documented: entitlement rules per contract or collective agreement, statutory minimum and contractual leave kept apart where they expire differently, balances recalculated retroactively with an audit trail, and the rules a tool applies published in its help centre.
The Team Lead
Automatic annual leave calculations with each new working year, balance tracking, and proration toggles for starters and leavers are documented, and the guidance covers the 1.6-week carry-over cap, maternity accrual and sick-leave carry-over. Every rule on the captured pages is UK law — 5.6 weeks statutory, bank holidays, SSP — and we found no public information on German federal-state holidays, half-day or hourly leave, or automatic notices before carried-over leave expires. 4 5 5
The Managing Director
Leave balances with automatic annual leave calculations each working year, a setting to pro-rate entitlement from a start date and up to a leaving date, and absence recorded by leave type are documented — but every piece of leave-law content is UK: 5.6 weeks statutory, bank holidays at the employer's choice, a 1.6-week normal carry-over cap. We found no public information on German federal-state public holidays, half-day or hourly leave, part-time proration on German terms, or carry-over expiry with notices to employees before leave lapses. 4 5 5
The Payroll Accountant
Automatic annual leave calculations with each new working year, leave balance tracking and absence recording by leave type are documented, and the calculator pro-rates entitlement from a start date and up to a leaving date based on working days per week. The captured pages are UK law throughout — bank holidays at the employer's choice, a 1.6-week carry-over cap, maternity and sickness carry-over — with nothing on public holidays per German federal state or configurable carry-over with an expiry date. 4 5 7 5
The Data Protection Officer
Annual entitlements with remaining balances, automatic recalculation each working year and pro-ration toggles for joiners and leavers are documented, and absence is recorded by leave type — but every rule shown is the UK model: 5.6 weeks statutory, bank holidays at the employer's choice, Working Time Regulations. We found no public information on German federal-state holidays, half-day or hourly leave, or carry-over expiry with automatic notices. 4 5 7 5
The HR IT Integrator
The holiday planner tracks annual leave balances with automatic calculations each working year, and the vendor's entitlement calculator pro-rates from the employee's start date and up to the leaving date, covering part-time pro-rata and working days per week. All of it is framed around UK law — 5.6 weeks statutory entitlement and bank holidays at the employer's choice — and we found no public information on German federal-state holidays, half days, hourly leave, or carry-over expiry notices. 4 5 5 7
The Skeptic
Automatic annual-leave calculations, balance tracking, and pro-ration from the start date and to the leaving date are documented, and the calculator takes contractual entitlement and bank-holiday inclusion as inputs. But everything speaks UK law — 5.6 weeks statutory, a 1.6-week carry-over cap — and I found no public information on German federal-state holidays, half-day or hourly leave, or expiry notices before carried-over leave lapses; the carry-over pages read as legal guidance for employers rather than rules the tool computes. 4 5 5 7
Requests, approvals & team calendar
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How this is scored
The everyday flow: an employee requests leave on a phone, the right person approves, a substitute is named, and the team can plan around it — judged on configurable approval chains and on what colleagues are allowed to see.
0 — No request flow; absences are entered by an administrator only.
3 — Leave requests with an approval by a manager, and a shared team calendar of absences.
5 — Requests and approvals from a mobile app, approvers configurable per team or department, email or push notifications, and a team calendar that syncs with Outlook or Google Calendar.
8 — Multi-level approval chains, substitutes named on the request, minimum staffing rules or blackout periods, delegation while the approver is away, calendar visibility per role that hides the absence reason, Microsoft Teams or Slack integration, and every request, approval and cancellation logged.
10 — Approval logic that matches a real organisation: rules per location, team and leave type, conflicts checked against staffing and shift plans before approval, a complete history per request, and reporting on pending and overdue approvals.
The Team Lead
Approving holiday requests on the go from the mobile app, instant absence notifications, and a shared team calendar giving a 360-degree view of who is in and who is out are all documented, and clash notifications plus automatic flags for scheduling issues are exactly what stops me finding out about collisions too late across two shifts. We found no public information on naming a substitute on the request, minimum-staffing or blackout rules, multi-level approval chains, or a calendar setting that hides the reason for a colleague's absence. 5 6 7 8 6
The Managing Director
Accepting or denying holiday requests, approving on the go from a mobile app, clash notifications, and a 360-degree team leave calendar with a shared full-team view are all clearly documented. We found no public information on approval chains configurable per team or department, named substitutes on requests, or calendar sync with Outlook or Google. 7 8 5
The Payroll Accountant
Holiday requests can be accepted or denied in seconds, approvals happen on the go via the mobile app, clashes are flagged, and a 360-degree team leave calendar plus absence notifications are documented. We found no public information on approvers configured per team or department, multi-level approval chains, named substitutes, or calendar sync with Outlook or Google. 5 7 8 5
The Data Protection Officer
Holiday requests can be accepted or denied from the mobile app with clash notifications and a 360-degree team leave calendar, and absences trigger instant notifications and real-time shift alerts. We found no public information on approval chains configurable per team, substitutes named on the request, or calendar sync with Outlook or Google Calendar. 5 7 8 5
The HR IT Integrator
Holiday requests can be accepted or denied from the mobile app with clash notifications, and a shared team calendar gives a full-team view of who is off, which covers the everyday flow. We found no public information on configurable approval chains per team, named substitutes, staffing or blackout rules, or calendar sync with Outlook or Google. 7 5 8 6
The Skeptic
Requests can be accepted or denied on the mobile app with clash notifications and a team calendar showing who's off — a real approval flow, not administrator entry. But I found no public information on approval chains configurable per team, named substitutes, staffing minimums or blackout periods, or whether colleagues see anything beyond the absence itself; the delegation in the terms is admins delegating system access, not an approver delegating while away. 5 7 8 5
Sick leave, eAU & continued pay
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How this is scored
Sick notifications and the German electronic certificate of incapacity: whether the tool retrieves the eAU from the health insurer itself or through a named payroll system, how sick days are counted towards the six-week continued-pay (EFZG § 3) and BEM (SGB IX § 167) thresholds, and how child-sick days and certificates from private insurance are handled.
0 — No sick-leave recording; the product handles holiday only.
3 — Sick leave recorded as its own absence type, with a certificate uploaded by the employee.
5 — Sick notification by the employee in the app, eAU retrieval offered with the route stated (by the tool itself or via a named payroll system), and child-sick days as a separate type.
8 — eAU retrieval from the statutory health insurers documented end to end with the certified software named, retrieval status and results written back to the absence, sick days counted towards the six-week continued-pay limit per illness, BEM thresholds flagged to HR only, and paper certificates for privately insured employees handled.
10 — Sick leave handled as the regulated process it is: eAU retrieval automated with error and follow-up handling, continued-pay and sickness-benefit transitions tracked, BEM invitation workflow supported, reasons and documents restricted to named roles, and the whole process documented in the help centre.
The Team Lead
Sick days are logged as their own record with fit notes and return-to-work documents uploaded, sick pay entitlements are calculated automatically and sickness records can be pulled as reports — though what the pages show is the UK statutory sick pay scheme and Bradford Factor scoring, not the German regulated process. We found no public information on the electronic certificate of incapacity, retrieval from health insurers, six-week continued-pay counting, or child-sick days as a separate type. 7 8
The Managing Director
Sick days are logged as their own absence type with proof of sickness including sick notes uploaded, sick pay entitlements calculated automatically, and a payroll sync for statutory sick pay requirements — all built around UK sick pay and fit notes. We found no public information on eAU retrieval, counting sick days towards a six-week continued-pay limit, BEM thresholds, or child sick days. 7 8
The Payroll Accountant
Sick days are logged as their own type, sick notes and return-to-work documents are uploaded, Bradford Factor scores are calculated, and sick pay entitlements are automatically calculated with a payroll sync for SSP. This is a UK product's evidence; we found no public information on eAU retrieval, child-sick days as a separate type, or any counting of sick days towards a six-week continued-pay limit. 7 8
The Data Protection Officer
Sick days are logged as their own type with sick notes, fit notes and return-to-work documents uploaded, sick pay entitlements are calculated automatically and synced with payroll for UK statutory sick pay, and patterns are reviewed with Bradford Factor scores. We found no public information on the German electronic certificate of incapacity (eAU), six-week continued-pay or BEM thresholds, or child sick days. 5 7 8
The HR IT Integrator
Sick days are logged as their own type with uploaded sick notes and return-to-work documents, and the software automatically calculates sick pay entitlements and syncs with payroll for UK SSP, plus Bradford Factor analysis. The captured pages are UK-law throughout; we found no public information on eAU retrieval from statutory health insurers, the six-week continued-pay limit, or child-sick days. 8 7
The Skeptic
Sick leave is its own tracked type with employee-uploaded sick notes and return-to-work documents, and sick pay is calculated automatically — but the pay logic is UK statutory sick pay synced to payroll, not the six-week continued-pay regime, and the certificate route is upload, not retrieval. I found no public information on electronic certificate retrieval from health insurers, any named German payroll route, child-sick days, or BEM thresholds; Bradford Factor scoring is the nearest thing to pattern analysis. 7 8
Payroll handover, time tracking & API
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How this is scored
Getting absences into the payroll run with the right codes and keeping balances consistent with time tracking: exports or integrations for the payroll systems German companies use, time-account interaction, and an API.
0 — A closed tool with no export, integration or API.
3 — A CSV or Excel export of absences per month for the payroll office.
5 — An export or integration for DATEV (LODAS or Lohn und Gehalt) or another named payroll system, and either a documented API or absences shared with a named time-tracking tool.
8 — Several named payroll integrations, absence types mapped to configurable payroll codes, absence and overtime balances shared with time tracking, monthly closing that locks past periods, webhooks, and an API with published limits.
10 — Payroll handover that closes the month: absences, sick days and eAU results delivered to payroll in its own format with corrections flagged, a period lock with an audit trail, a versioned API with a deprecation policy, and the full absence history exportable at contract end.
The Team Lead
An open API with a developer portal handles holiday and absence balances and requests, time-and-attendance data comes from the Blip clocking-in app, and HR records integrate with the vendor's own payroll software, with Zapier linking over 5,000 services. We found no public information on DATEV or other named German payroll systems, absence-type mapping to payroll codes, monthly period locks, or published API limits. 4 7 9 10
The Managing Director
An open API with a developer portal manages leave balances and requests, time and attendance data from Blip comes through it, and HR records integrate with the vendor's own payroll software including a statutory-sick-pay sync. We found no public information on integrations with payroll systems German companies use such as DATEV, absence-type mapping to payroll codes, or a monthly period lock. 4 8 9 10
The Payroll Accountant
An open API documented on a developer portal covers leave balances and requests and pulls time and attendance data from Blip, and HR records sync with BrightHR's own payroll software for statutory holiday pay and SSP compliance. For a German payroll run there is nothing here: we found no public information on DATEV or other German payroll integrations, absence types mapped to configurable payroll codes, or a monthly closing that locks past periods. 4 7 8 9 10
The Data Protection Officer
An open API with a developer portal manages leave balances and absence requests and pulls time-and-attendance data from the named clocking-in app Blip, and HR records integrate with the vendor's own named payroll software with a statutory-sick-pay sync. We found no public information on DATEV or other German payroll integrations, absence-to-payroll-code mapping, or published API limits. 4 7 9 10
The HR IT Integrator
There is a documented open API with a developer portal covering employee leave balances and absence requests plus time-and-attendance data from Blip, alongside SSO via Microsoft Entra ID and Zapier connections — the API side is genuinely documented. The only payroll handover shown is syncing with BrightHR's own payroll software; we found no public information on maintained connectors to DATEV or other German payroll systems, absence-to-payroll-code mapping, webhooks, or monthly period locking. 9 10 4 8
The Skeptic
There is a documented open API with a developer portal covering leave balances, absence requests, employee HR data and Blip time-and-attendance data, plus a sync into BrightHR's own payroll product and Zapier connections to 5,000+ services. But the payroll system named is the vendor's own UK-facing one — I found no public information on DATEV or any German payroll format, on mapping absence types to payroll codes, on webhooks or published API limits, or on locking past periods. 9 10 7
Health data, access & works council
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How this is scored
What the tool does with data that is health data in law (GDPR Art. 9): who can see a sickness reason or certificate, how long absence records are kept, whether access is logged, and whether the vendor documents what a works agreement on absence recording needs.
0 — The vendor describes every absence and its reason as visible to all users, with no roles.
3 — Roles for employees, managers and administrators that govern who sees absence data.
5 — Sickness reasons and certificates restricted to HR or named roles, colleagues shown only that someone is absent, and a data processing agreement offered.
8 — Field-level permissions per leave type, access to health-related records logged, retention rules per record type with automatic deletion, employees able to see their own records, and documentation aimed at works councils or a works agreement.
10 — Health data governed and evidenced: Art. 9 GDPR processing explained per feature, deletion runs logged and reportable, audit logs exportable, no analytics or AI features run on sickness data without explicit configuration, and the vendor publishing a template or checklist for the works agreement.
The Team Lead
Access is restricted by role and need-to-know, data is encrypted, deletion on request is permanent, and changes to admin accounts are monitored. We found no public information on restricting sickness reasons and certificates to HR or named roles, whether colleagues see only that someone is absent rather than why, retention rules per record type, or documentation aimed at a works council or works agreement. 2 3
The Managing Director
Access restricted by user role and need, two-factor authentication, admin-change monitoring, and permanent deletion on request are documented, alongside GDPR compliance statements. We found no public information on sickness reasons or certificates restricted to named roles, retention rules per record type, or documentation aimed at works councils — and Bradford Factor scoring of sick-leave patterns is presented as a standard management feature. 2 3 7
The Payroll Accountant
Role-based access control restricts access to data by role and need, data is encrypted, deletion on request is permanent, and sick notes sit in document storage behind two-factor authentication. We found no public information on sickness reasons or certificates restricted to named roles, logged access to health records, retention rules per record type, or documentation for a works agreement. 3 8
The Data Protection Officer
Access is restricted by role and need-to-know, data is encrypted and deleted permanently on request, retention on termination follows a stated policy, and GDPR compliance is claimed alongside two-factor authentication and admin-change monitoring. As the data protection officer I must note we found no public information on whether sickness reasons and certificates are hidden from colleagues' calendar view, whether access to health records is logged, retention periods per record type, or documentation for a works agreement. 2 3
The HR IT Integrator
Access to data is restricted by user role and need to know, and the vendor publishes permanent deletion on request, two-factor authentication, admin-account change monitoring and ISO 27001 certification. We found no public information on sickness reasons or certificates being restricted to named roles, retention periods per record type, logged access to health records, or documentation for a works agreement. 3 8 2
The Skeptic
Access is restricted by role and need, two-factor authentication and admin-change monitoring are documented, deletion on request is permanent, and a data processing agreement with GDPR language is offered. But nothing names sickness specifically: I found no public information on field-level permissions per leave type, access logs on health records, retention periods per record type, or documentation aimed at a works council — this is ICO-registered UK practice, not special-category governance. 3 2 8
European sovereignty
panel opinion
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How this is scored
Where absence and sickness data lives, who the contracting entity is, and who the subprocessors are — including email, push-notification and support providers. Independently sourced by the sovereignty pipeline; dimensions the evidence does not establish are unknown, not non-European.
0 — Vendor, contracting entity and hosting all shown to be outside the EU, with no data processing agreement offered.
3 — A privacy policy and a data processing agreement offered, with hosting or the contracting entity outside the EU or not established.
5 — EU hosting stated and an EU contracting entity or EU representative, with a data processing agreement offered.
8 — EU hosting on named infrastructure, EU contracting entity, subprocessor list published with locations, and a DPA that covers sickness data as special-category processing.
10 — Sovereign end to end and evidenced: European ownership, entity, hosting and every subprocessor, and certification (ISO 27001, BSI C5 or equivalent) published.
The Team Lead
Hosting is documented on Microsoft Azure — in-country for UK and Canadian subscribers and in the European Union only for those subscribing in the Republic of Ireland — with Bright HR Limited registered in Manchester under England and Wales law, an Irish entity under Irish law, and ISO 27001:2022 certification published. The captured pages do not state the Azure region or the Microsoft contracting entity, and we found no public information on a subprocessor list with locations or a data processing agreement covering sickness data as special-category processing. 2 3 8
The Managing Director
The contracting parties are BrightHR group entities with the registered office in Manchester under English law, data sits on Microsoft Azure, and EU storage is stated only for customers subscribing in Ireland through the Irish entity — with ISO/IEC 27001 certification published. We found no public information on ownership, a published subprocessor list with locations, or an EU contracting entity and EU hosting for a German customer. 2 3 8
The Payroll Accountant
Irish subscribers' data is stored in the European Union on Microsoft Azure, a Bright HR Ireland Limited entity with Irish governing law is among the group's contracting entities, and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification is published. Ownership is not established on the captured pages, no subprocessor list with locations is published, and the Azure hosting carries US Cloud Act exposure through Microsoft's US-headquartered parent. 2 3 5
The Data Protection Officer
Customers subscribing in the Republic of Ireland are told their data is stored in the European Union, and a Bright HR Ireland entity with Irish governing law exists alongside the UK-registered parent. The platform is Microsoft Azure under a US-headquartered parent, and we found no public information on a published subprocessor list, European ownership, or the specific hosting region beyond "European Union" storage for Irish subscribers. 2 3 8
The HR IT Integrator
Hosting is on Microsoft Azure, with data stored in the UK for UK subscribers and in the European Union only for customers subscribing in the Republic of Ireland, where Bright HR Ireland Limited applies Irish law — an EU route exists but is tied to Irish subscriptions. The contracting entity may be any BrightHR group entity per the order form, the registered office is in England and Wales, and we found no public information on subprocessor locations or a data processing agreement for a German customer; ISO 27001 and other certifications are published. 3 2 8 5
The Skeptic
The group is headquartered in Manchester with a UK registered company, hosting is on Microsoft Azure, and EU storage is stated only for customers subscribing in the Republic of Ireland — while the contracting entity may be any BrightHR legal entity in the group. No subprocessor list with locations is published, and the Azure dependence carries a US-parent exposure the captured pages do not resolve; ISO 27001 and other certifications exist, but ownership and the entity for a European mainland buyer remain unestablished. 3 2 8 5
Pricing transparency
not rated — the vendor publishes no price
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How this is scored
Whether a buyer can compute the real annual cost from public pages alone: price per employee or per user, which features (eAU, payroll export, time tracking) sit in which tier, minimum users and the minimum term.
0 — No public prices at all; every tier is a sales conversation.
3 — A public "from" price, a free tier, or one priced tier, with the rest on request.
5 — Prices for each tier public with the billing period (per month or per year) and the pricing basis (per employee or per user).
8 — Every tier priced publicly with its basis, which tier includes eAU, payroll export and time tracking stated, add-on prices listed, minimum users, minimum term and VAT treatment given.
10 — Complete price computability: the annual invoice derivable for a given headcount and feature set, with every add-on, setup fee and overage published.
The Team Lead
The only pricing on the captured pages is an invitation to get a price online and book a free demo, plus term mechanics: fees fixed for the initial term, automatic renewal unless 90 days' written notice is given, and renewal increases of up to 7%. We found no public information on a per-employee or per-user price, tier prices with a billing period, or which features sit in which tier, so an annual cost cannot be computed from public pages. 1 2 5 10
The Managing Director
No price figure appears on any captured page — only a "Get a price online" route and a free demo — while the terms state fees are agreed in writing and fixed for the initial term, renewal increases are capped at 7%, and 90 days' notice is needed before automatic renewal. We found no public information on per-employee or per-user prices, tier contents, minimum users, or the term length. 1 2 5
The Payroll Accountant
No price figures, tiers, billing basis, minimum user counts or minimum term amounts appear on the captured pages — only a 'Get a price online' prompt and a free demo. The terms fix fees for the initial term, permit increases of up to 7% on renewal with 90 days' notice, and reserve charges for additional services and excessive usage, but no annual cost can be computed from public pages. 1 2 5 10
The Data Protection Officer
The public pages show a "Get a price online" quote route and a free demo, and the terms state fees are fixed for the initial term with renewal increases of up to 7% and 90 days' notice for non-renewal. We found no published per-employee or per-user price, tier structure or billing basis from which a buyer could compute an annual cost. 1 2
The HR IT Integrator
The captured pages publish no price figures at all — only a "Get a price online" quote route and a free demo. The terms state fees are fixed for the initial term with renewal increases capped at 7% and 90 days' notice for non-renewal, but per-employee pricing, tier contents and minimum terms are not published. 1 2 5
The Skeptic
No per-employee or per-user price appears anywhere I read — the only public route is "Get a price online", and the terms say fees are "agreed in writing" and fixed for the initial term. The terms do reveal mechanics a buyer needs: automatic renewal unless 90 days' notice is given, renewal increases of up to 7%, additional services at extra cost, and proportionate charges for "manifestly excessive" usage — but none of it lets you compute an annual invoice. 1 2
European sovereignty — proven facts
1 of 4 dimensions provenBuilt only from facts shown on the vendor's own pages. A dimension we could not prove is left open, not scored as zero.
| Legal entity | Not determined ⚠ unverified | — | uncited Report an error |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Not determined | — | uncited Report an error |
| Data residency | Not determined ⚠ unverified | — | uncited Report an error |
| Subprocessors | US CLOUD Act reach ⚠ unverified | 0/2 pts | 3 Report an error |
Questions about BrightHR
Is BrightHR European?
Not determined: the vendor’s pages as captured do not say where BrightHR is based.
Where does BrightHR store data?
The default storage location for customer data is not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 28 Oct 2026. The vendor’s pages mention United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand as hosting locations, per the vendor’s page captured 28 Oct 2026.
Does BrightHR have a free plan?
Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 28 Oct 2026.
What are the best alternatives to BrightHR?
As of 28 Oct 2026, the panel rates Kenjo (3/5), flair (3/5) and HRlab (2.5/5) highest among the other 18 Absence Management products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is Kenjo (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: how scores are made. The full list, with European products first: BrightHR alternatives.
Where this could be wrong
- Evidence ages. The oldest capture behind this page is from 27 Oct 2026. Vendors change pricing and policies without notice; every fact reflects its source as of the capture date shown in the registry.
- Weak sourcing — Legal entity, Data residency. Not confirmed on the vendor’s own pages as captured.
- Weak sourcing — Subprocessors. Microsoft is a US-headquartered parent; the page does not state the Azure region or which Microsoft contracting entity is used, so an EU Microsoft subsidiary cannot be confirmed.
- AI can misread a source. Extraction and judgement are automated; a citation guarantees traceability, not infallibility. If something here is wrong, say so — no account needed, every report is decided within 5 business days, and accepted corrections are published.
What we left out
A claim that does not survive our checks costs us the claim, not the page. This is what was taken off this one.
- 21 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 2 compliance facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 2 hosting facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 2 pricing facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 1 legal fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material. Know more? Tell us
- 2 sovereignty dimensions could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and are shown as unknown. Know more? Tell us
Sources (10)
The pages every claim on this page was read from — each one checked, dated, and kept verifiable.
- 1 Vendor page www.brighthr.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 2 Terms of service — found from the homepage www.brighthr.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 3 Security / trust page — found from the homepage www.brighthr.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 4 Entitlements & German leave rules — found from sitemap www.brighthr.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 5 Entitlements & German leave rules — found from sitemap www.brighthr.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 +1 earlier capture: 27 Oct 2026 Details →
- 6 Requests, approvals & team calendar — found from sitemap www.brighthr.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 +1 earlier capture: 27 Oct 2026 Details →
- 7 Sick leave, eAU & continued pay — found from sitemap www.brighthr.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 8 Sick leave, eAU & continued pay — found from sitemap www.brighthr.com Checked 28 Oct 2026 Details →
- 9 Payroll handover, time tracking & API — found from sitemap www.brighthr.com Checked 27 Oct 2026 Details →
- 10 Payroll handover, time tracking & API — found from sitemap www.brighthr.com Checked 27 Oct 2026 Details →