Uploading documents

Most of what a WorkZerk portal asks for is documents: an insurance certificate, a license, photo ID, a signed form. This covers sending one, what the limits are, and what to do when one comes back rejected.

Sending a file

Each document the company wants is its own row on your page, with a name and usually a short description of what they are after. Under it sits a file picker and an Upload button.

Tap the picker, choose the file, and tap Upload. Choosing a file does not send it: until you tap the button, the row says the file "is not uploaded yet" and the button reads Upload this file. On a row that takes more than one file you can choose several at once, and the button reads Upload these files. The button counts up ("Uploading 40%") and then shows "Processing" while the file is stored. When it finishes, the file appears on the row with a green tick, its name, its size, and a small cross to delete it.

Some rows also carry a document or a link from the company that you should read first: the policy you are agreeing to, a photo of the protective gear they expect, the form to fill in and send back. Open it before you upload, not after.

What files are accepted

PDF, PNG, JPEG or WebP, up to 10 MB each. The line under the picker says the same. Nothing else goes through, and two cases come up often enough to call out:

• A Word document or a spreadsheet won't upload. Export it to PDF first. Word, Pages and Google Docs can all do this, and on a phone the print dialog usually offers "Save as PDF".
• HEIC, the iPhone's own photo format, isn't on the list. If an iPhone photo is refused, that is the likely reason. Setting Settings > Camera > Formats to "Most Compatible" before you shoot avoids it, and a screenshot of the photo is a JPEG or PNG.

A large photo is made smaller on your device before it is sent, so a photo straight from a phone camera normally goes through and still reads clearly. PDFs are sent as they are. If a file is still over 10 MB, the page tells you before it tries to send it.

Expiry dates

Some documents ask for an expiry date beside the file (Expiry date on the document), and the upload won't go until you fill it in. That is how the company knows to come back to you before the document lapses, rather than finding out on the day that your insurance ran out. The date has to be within the last year or the next twenty, which catches a mistyped year.

Once uploaded, the date shows as a small Exp badge next to the file. It turns dark within 30 days of the date and red on the day itself and after, so you can see at a glance which document is about to need replacing.

To replace an expiring document, upload the new one on the same row. If the company has approved the old file, the row shows the upload box again from 30 days before the expiry date, or as soon as the company has emailed you about the document, with a line naming the file and its date. You do not need to delete the old file, and it stays on the row until the company has checked the new one. If the old file has not been approved yet, delete it with the cross beside it and upload the new one. An approved file that is not yet due can only be removed by the company.

How many files

Most rows take one file. Some take several, in which case the row shows a count such as "1 of 3", and a few require more than one, shown as At least 2 required or similar.

On a row that takes several, you can choose them all in one go, up to the number the row still has room for. The line under the picker says how many. Files chosen together can total 10 MB between them, which is plenty for photos because they are made smaller first. A row that asks for an expiry date takes one file at a time, because each document has its own date.

Once you have hit the row's limit the picker disappears. In its place the row says "Need a newer version? Delete the file above, then upload the new one." You can delete any file you uploaded yourself with the cross beside it, until it is approved. An approved file shows a padlock instead of the cross and can't be deleted from your page, so when every file on the row is approved the line reads "Need a newer version? Ask your organiser to remove the approved file first." Deleting asks you to confirm, then it is immediate and there is no undo, so have the replacement ready.

If a document is rejected

Someone at the company reviews what you send. If it isn't right, they reject it with a reason, and you will usually get an email about it as well.

The top of your list names each document that was sent back and still needs replacing, and clicking a name takes you to its row. On your page the rejected file stays visible with its name struck through, a red Rejected badge, and a box underneath headed Why this file was sent back with what they wrote. Read that first: it is nearly always something specific and fixable, like the certificate being out of date, the photo being unreadable, or the wrong page of a multi-page document.

A rejected file no longer counts, so the row goes back to asking and the upload box reappears. Fix whatever they flagged and send the corrected version. You don't need to delete the rejected one, and it is worth leaving it there so the reason stays on screen while you work.

How to tell whether something was approved

Look for the green Approved badge beside the file. A green tick with a grey Not checked yet badge means "received", not "approved": the file is waiting for someone to review it.

Your page doesn't update by itself while it is open, so reload it to see a review that has happened since you opened it.

Some companies delete reviewed documents after a set period. If that has happened, the row says "File deleted" with the date and "Your submission is still recorded": nothing is needed from you.

If an upload won't go through

Work down this list:

• Read the message on the row. A refused upload says why, for example that the file is too large or the expiry date needs checking.
• Check the file type and size. PDF, PNG, JPEG or WebP, 10 MB or less. This is the reason most of the time.
• Check you are online. The indicator near the top of the page says Offline when you are. Uploads need a live connection and don't wait to send later, so one attempted with no signal fails outright.
• Try the file on a different device. A file that a phone won't send often uploads fine from a laptop, and the other way round.
• Check whether the row still accepts files. If the upload box has gone and the row says "Need a newer version?", it is full. Delete a file first, or ask the company to remove an approved one. An approved document that is within 30 days of its expiry date, or that the company has emailed you about, always has the upload box.

If none of that is it, tell the company that sent you the link. They can see exactly what has arrived against your name and can tell you whether the problem is at your end or theirs.