Coming soon to the IRIS HR API

Maternity

Maternity will soon be available in the IRIS HR API.

The initial release will include GET methods only. Functionality to update Maternity records is planned for a future release.

This read-only endpoint will provide secure access to the detailed records held on the HR Maternity screen in IRIS Cascade, making it easy to pull up-to-date records into reporting tools, dashboards, or third-party systems. It reduces manual exports and ensures consistent, accurate HR data across your integrations.

Paternity and Adaption endpoints will be released in future updates.

XML Support

XML Support will soon be available in the IRIS HR API.

We will soon add first-class XML support to the API. You will be able to send requests in XML and receive responses in XML as an alternative to the existing JSON format. This gives you greater flexibility when integrating with systems or workflows that prefer or require XML.

How it will work

  • Both formats will be supported side‑by‑side; existing JSON behaviour will remain unchanged and continue to be the default.

  • Clients will select the format using standard HTTP headers (Content-Type for requests and Accept for responses). If no preference is given, the API will continue to return JSON.

  • Error responses, validation messages and the same data fields will be available in XML to match those currently provided in JSON.

What to expect

  • We will publish sample requests and responses on our swagger documentation along side our current JSON examples.

  • Existing integrations will not be disrupted; this is an additive change designed to make integration easier for teams that rely on XML.

FEATURES RELEASED

Positions: known as Posts in IRIS Cascade

Positions will soon be available in IRIS HR API.

The initial release will include GET methods only. Functionality to update Positions is planned for a future release.

We plan to release Positions, known as Posts in IRIS Cascade in the IRIS HR API soon.

The initial release will include GET methods only. We plan to update Positions functionality in a future release.

This endpoint provides access to your company’s current and historical positions as displayed on the Cascade Posts screen. It returns the full set of fields visible in IRIS Cascade, allowing you to capture any default post data which simplifies and speeds up the automated creation of job records for employees.

Employee Calendar

This is scheduled for Release in January 2026. We will provide a definite date closer to the time.

We plan to release the Employee Calendar in the IRIS HR API soon.

This endpoint will only accept GET requests. There are no plans to make this endpoint editable.

This endpoint provides a consolidated, in-depth view of an employee’s working calendar by aggregating data from the Working Pattern, Working Pattern Overrides, Public Holidays and Absence endpoints. It presents the combined events for a specified employee and period, giving a complete picture of their scheduled working time and exceptions.

You can control the output by setting query parameters such as restricting the date range or choosing which event types to include or exclude. This ensures you receive only the relevant events and can interpret the calendar data more easily.

Employee Working Pattern Overrides

This is scheduled for release on 16th December 2025.

Employee Working Pattern Overrides, known as Works Days in IRIS Cascade are coming soon to the IRIS HR API.

The initial release will include GET methods only. We plan to update Employee Working Pattern Overrides functionality in a future release.

These endpoints provide access to an employee’s Working Pattern Overrides. One endpoint will return the raw override records exactly as stored in IRIS Cascade, and a second endpoint provides a calculated pattern for a specified date range from the raw data. This data is intended to be used to override an employee’s working Pattern.

Emergency Contacts [feature released]

Updated 4 April 2025

The Emergency Contacts endpoint, better known as Next of Kin in IRIS Cascade, is planned for release on 15 April 2025.

The initial release will include a GET method only, with updates to Emergency Contacts planned for a later release.

This endpoint provides all default fields from the Next of Kin screen in IRIS Cascade. To access User Defined Fields on this screen, use the User Defined Fields endpoint.

We are planning to introduce the Emergency Contacts endpoint, also known in IRIS Cascade as Next of Kin.

The initial release will support GET methods only, with update functionality for Emergency Contacts planned for a later release.

This endpoint will provide all the default fields from the Next of Kin screen in IRIS Cascade.

If you have any User Defined Fields on this screen, you will need to get these from the User Defined Fields endpoint, which we plan to release soon.

We aim to launch Emergency Contacts in version 2.7, scheduled for the March 2025 release. Once the date is confirmed, we will share this.

Find out how to become an early adopter of this feature.

User Defined Fields

Update: 16 July 2025

User Defined Fields will soon be available in the IRIS HR API.

The initial release will include GET methods only. Functionality to update User Defined Fields is planned for a future release.

As well as obtaining data from basic user defined fields, you will be able to:

  • Query a schema endpoint that provides the details of a user-defined field such as Data type, Length etc.

  • Query user-defined fields on built-in screens as well as user-defined screens.

    Linked fields (fields obtaining data from another screen) and calculated fields will not be populated with values in the initial release.

Deployment plan

We are launching the user defined fields endpoints as a beta service. To start, the endpoint will sit behind a feature flag, and you will need to request access to it. We plan to release the beta on 29 July 2025.

We are planning to dark-launch the user-defined fields endpoint initially for UAT. Once fully tested, we will open it up to our early adopters and eventually roll out the service to all users, with access controlled via a feature flag.

We will update this topic when we have released User Defined Fields.

Find out how to become an early adopter of this feature.

Become an early adopter

Interested in becoming an early adopter of the features mentioned? Send us an email. If we have capacity, we will get in touch with you.