Human resources and payroll
The most discreet HR file
is the one that goes nowhere.
Payslips, employment reference letters, job application files, disciplinary proceedings: your HR team handles some of the company’s most personal data every day. VellumPDF processes these documents directly in your browser, without ever routing them through a third-party server.
The problem
What happens, without anyone noticing.
When an HR team needs to merge two files, remove a page, or compress a payslip before sending it, the most common reflex is to open whatever PDF suite comes up first online. The document is then uploaded to that provider’s servers for the duration of the processing — servers often hosted outside Switzerland, sometimes outside Europe, without anyone in HR really being aware of it.
This step, harmless as it looks, constitutes data processing by a third party: for the length of a calculation, the provider receives the content of a payslip, an absence certificate, or a disciplinary file. Such a transfer should, in principle, appear in the company’s record of processing activities, along with the data-processing agreement that goes with it — a formality few HR teams think about at the moment they click “convert.”
What VellumPDF changes
Processing happens on your machine, not elsewhere.
Every VellumPDF tool runs in your computer’s browser. When you drop in a payslip or a job application file, it’s your machine’s own processor that merges, redacts, or protects it: no file ever leaves your device, and no VellumPDF server is involved in the operation. The full technical detail is on our Privacy page.
The proof, in ten seconds
Don’t feel like taking our word for it? Check it yourself — no technical skill required.
- 1Open your browser’s developer tools (press F12).
- 2Click the Networktab.
- 3Process a payslip or an employment reference letter with any VellumPDF tool.
- 4Noticethat not a single request goes out with your file — the list stays silent throughout the process.
Everyday tasks
Six HR tasks you already handle — now staying local.
Redact a file before sending it on
Hide a social security number, an address, or a confidential note before circulating a file internally: the text is destroyed, not just covered with a black bar.
Fix a mistake on an employment reference letter
A date, a job title, a typo: correct the text already in the PDF directly, without asking anyone for the original document again.
Split a batch of payslips
A single monthly PDF becomes as many individual documents as there are employees, ready to be distributed or archived separately.
Protect a sensitive document before sending
Password-protect any document about to leave the department: a disciplinary proceeding, a job application file, HR correspondence.
Add a “copy” watermark
Visually mark a document sent for information only, so it’s never mistaken for the signed original that governs.
Assemble a job application file
Resume, cover letter, diplomas, references: combine several files into a single, ordered PDF before sending it on to recruiting.
What VellumPDF doesn’t do
In fairness to your team, here are the limits, stated plainly.
- VellumPDF gives no legal advice and replaces neither your legal department nor your accounting firm on employment law questions.
- VellumPDF is neither an official certification nor a compliance label: it’s a document processing tool.
- VellumPDF doesn’t replace your record of processing activities or your risk analysis; it simplifies one line of it, not all of them.
- VellumPDF doesn’t read the content of your documents: it’s up to you to spot what needs to be redacted, protected, or corrected.
For your HR team.
VellumPDF Cabinet — an annual license per firm — adds what professional use requires: a written attestation to attach to your record of processing activities, a version installable on your internal network with no reliance on the internet, and written support for any questions. The tools remain free; it’s this environment that’s billed.
Does your organization also handle medical files? See the Medical practices and insurers page.