---
title: Employees
summary: 'One person on the payroll - the HR-side mirror of a Cockpit user. The Tempus employee record carries legal name, birthdate, matricule, contracts, work-shift assignments, and time-tracking history.'
section: features
tags:
  - crud
  - tempus
  - hr
updated: '2026-06-17'
---

> An **employee** in Tempus is one person on the payroll: their HR record, holding legal name, birthdate, matricule (registration number), documents, and links to contracts, work shifts, and time tracking.

## Overview

Employees are the foundation of Tempus. Every contract, work shift, time-point, and holiday request traces back to one employee. A Tempus employee is the HR mirror of the same person Cockpit (telephony) calls a *User*. The two are separate identities and can be linked.

| Aspect | User (telephony) | Employee (Tempus) |
|---|---|---|
| **Purpose** | Identity, phone routing, login | HR, payroll, time tracking |
| **Identifier** | Email | Matricule |

Linking is optional but recommended: a linked employee gets a Voxbi account for the time-tracking app, an unlinked one is a pure HR record with no system access.

## What it does

Use the **Onboard new employee** button for new hires. The wizard creates the employee, their first contract, work-shift assignment, and document records in one transaction. The standard edit form gives access to every field for corrections and mid-employment changes.

Key behavior:

- **Active = off** stops the employee clocking in or seeing their data, but retains history for payroll and legal needs.
- **Birthdate** drives age-based rules such as youth-work hour limits.

The editor has four tabs: **General** (personal details and user link), **Contracts**, **Work shifts**, and **Employee documents**.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> The standard create form omits the contract and work-shift steps, so an employee created that way has no time tracking until those are added. Prefer **Onboard new employee** for new hires.

> [!CAUTION]
> Deleting an employee removes them entirely and orphans their contracts, assignments, time-point history, and requests. For departed staff, deactivate instead and delete only after the retention period.

## See also

- [Tempus contracts](tempus_contracts.md) - employment contracts assigned to employees.
- [Tempus work shifts](tempus_work_shifts.md) - shift patterns that define expected working hours.
- [Tempus time points](tempus_time_points.md) - actual clock-in and clock-out entries.
- [Employee onboarding](tempus_employee_onboardings.md) - the recommended wizard for new hires.
- [Users](../telephony/users.md) - the optional Cockpit user linked to an employee.

```yaml fields
user_id:
  label: 'System user'
  tab: General
  hint: 'Links this employee to a Cockpit user account so they can log in to Tempus and view their own data.'
first_name:
  label: 'First name'
  tab: General
  hint: "Employee's legal first name as it appears on official documents."
last_name:
  label: 'Last name'
  tab: General
  hint: "Employee's legal family name as it appears on official documents."
birthdate:
  label: Birthdate
  tab: General
  hint: "Employee's date of birth. Used for age-related rules and reports. Must fall between 16 and 80 years from today."
matricule:
  label: Matricule
  tab: General
  hint: 'Unique employee registration number used in payroll, HR systems, and reports (for example, EMP-001). Must be unique on the tenant.'
is_active:
  label: 'Is active'
  tab: General
  hint: 'When off, the employee is excluded from time tracking and active reports but their history is retained.'
attachments:
  label: Attachments
  tab: 'Employee documents'
  hint: 'HR documents for this employee such as ID cards, passports, residence permits, and certificates.'
```