If you use Deputy Payroll (AU), you can pause team members to temporarily remove them from active use without ending their employment. This feature is useful for businesses with seasonal workforces, where employees may stop working for an extended period before returning at a later date. 

Before you read

• Target audience: This article is for users with System Administrator access.
• Plan restrictions: This feature is only available to Australian customers with a Deputy Payroll (AU) subscription.

This article covers:

• When to pause a team member
• How to pause a team member 
• How to unpause a team member 
• How to bulk pause and unpause team members
• How billing works for paused team members
• FAQs

When to pause a team member

You can pause a team member when they are temporarily not working but are still employed by your business. 

Pausing is designed for seasonal workforces and other situations where team members may return in the future, such as an extended break from work. 

A paused team member: 

• Cannot be scheduled 
• Is removed from active payroll processing 
• Is not counted for billing purposes, the same way an archived team member is 
• Can be quickly restored when they return 

Note: If a team member is permanently leaving your business, you should choose End employment instead. This records the required termination information, updates payroll records correctly, and reports the termination to Services Australia through STP
 

How to pause a team member

To pause a team member:

1. Open the team member's profile on the People tab.
2. In the Personal section, click Archive.

3. Here, you'll be presented with two options for the Reason for archiving:

• End of employment: If you use this option, the system checks that the required termination information, like cessation type, has been entered into Deputy. 
• Pause employment: Pausing the employee won't delete the team member, but it does prevent them from accessing your organisation in Deputy on any device. The team member's historical information such as past timesheets and schedules will be retained.

Select Pause employment if required.

4. Confirm the action by clicking Archive.

Deputy archives the team member and records their status as paused. The team member is no longer available for scheduling or payroll processing until they are unpaused.
 

How to unpause a team member

You can easily unpause a team member when they return to your business.

1. Open the paused team member's profile on the People tab.
2. In the Personal section, click Unarchive team member.

3. Click Unarchive to unpause the team member. 

Note: You can choose whether to send the team member an email invitation to rejoin your organisation in Deputy. This is optional. To prevent the invitation from being sent, clear the Invite team member back to Deputy checkbox before clicking Unarchive.

The team member becomes active again and can be scheduled and included in payroll processing.

How to bulk pause team members

To pause multiple team members at the same time:

1. Open your team member list on the People tab.

2. Select the checkboxes next to the team members you want to pause.

3. Click Bulk actions, then select Archive Team member.

4. Here, you'll be presented with two options for the Reason for archiving:

• End of employment: If you use this option, the system checks that the required termination information, like cessation type, has been entered into Deputy. 
• Pause employment: Pausing the employee won't delete the team member, but it does prevent them from accessing your organisation in Deputy on any device. The team member's historical information such as past timesheets and schedules will be retained.

Select Pause employment if required.

All selected team members are paused and removed from active scheduling and payroll processing.
 

How to bulk unpause team members

To unpause multiple team members, follow the steps above for bulk pausing team members, but select Unarchive Team member in the Bulk actions drop-down menu. 

The selected team members become active again and can be scheduled and included in payroll processing.

Can't find the archived team members you're looking for? Try using the Filters drop-down at the top of the team members list to filter team members with an Archived status.

How billing works for paused team members

Paused team members are treated the same way as archived team members for billing purposes, and are not counted as active team members.

If a team member has been unpaused, they will once again be counted as an active team member for billing purposes.

FAQs

What is the difference between pausing employment and ending employment?

Pausing employment is for team members who are temporarily leaving work and may return in the future. Ending employment is for team members who are permanently leaving your business, or in certain circumstances, changing roles.

When you end employment, Deputy Payroll requires termination information such as a cessation type. When you pause employment, no termination information is required.
 

Can I schedule a paused team member?

No. Paused team members cannot be scheduled until they are unpaused.
 

Can I include a paused team member in a pay run?

No. Paused team members are removed from active payroll processing until they are unpaused.
 

Can I unpause a team member at any time?

Yes. You can unpause a team member whenever they return to work. Their employment record remains intact and no rehire process is required.
 

Can I pause or unpause multiple team members at once?

Yes. You can use bulk actions drop-down to pause or unpause multiple team members at the same time.
 

Is pausing available for all Deputy customers?

No. Pausing employment is only available to Deputy Payroll (AU) customers.
 

Is a paused team member the same as an archived team member?

A paused team member behaves similarly to what was formerly an "archived" team member in Deputy. The difference is that Deputy Payroll records the employee as paused rather than terminated, allowing them to be easily restored without completing termination requirements.