Delete an employee (when allowed)

Delete an employee (when allowed)

Deleting an employee is permanent and can’t be undone. The system only allows it when the employee has no history and no links anywhere else in your account.

In most real offboarding cases, you should archive the employee instead (and deactivate their user login if they can sign in). See [Archive or restore an employee](archive-or-restore-an-employee.md).

Task index

• Delete an employee record (permanently remove it)
• Understand what “linked to other records” means
• Decide when to delete vs archive

Delete an employee record (permanently)

When to use this

• You created the employee by mistake (wrong person, duplicate, typo entry).
• The employee has never been used for anything in the system (no teams, no schedules, no work, no forms, no quotes, no certifications).
• The employee does not have a user login attached.

If the employee has any work history, payroll-related records, or activity in the system, do not delete them. Archive them instead.

What you need first

• Office/admin permission to manage employees.

Steps

1. Open Employees. 2. Find the employee. 3. Choose Delete. 4. Confirm the warning.

What happens next

• The employee record is removed immediately.
• This cannot be undone.

If it goes wrong

• If you see a message that the employee is “linked to other records”, use the guide below.
• If you don’t see the Delete option, you don’t have the required permission. Ask an admin to delete the record.

Understand what “linked to other records” means

When to use this

• You tried to delete an employee and got an error like “linked to other records”.

What it means (in plain language)

The employee has been used somewhere else in your account. Those other records depend on the employee being there so the system can keep an accurate history and audit trail.

Common examples of links

Any one of these can block deletion:

• User login exists: the person can sign in (or was invited to sign in).
• Teams/crews: the employee is (or was) on a team, crew, or roster.
• Schedules: the employee appears on a schedule (even a past one).
• Supervisor role: the employee is set as a team supervisor/lead.
• Job/work assignments: the employee is assigned to any work (past or future).
• Forms: the employee submitted any form (these are kept as evidence/audit).
• Quotes: the employee sent any quote.
• Certifications: the employee has certifications or certification history.
• Pay/bonus settings: the employee has bonus/retainer records or custom rate settings.
• Module history: the employee appears in module-specific logs (for example, street tree logs).

What to do next

• If the employee has real history (work, forms, quotes, certifications, payroll, logs): archive them instead of deleting.
• If this employee truly should not exist and you’re sure there’s no history: remove the links you can (teams, supervisor role, schedules), then try delete again.

Delete vs archive (quick rule)

Use Delete only when:

• The employee was created by mistake, and
• They have no linked records of any kind, and
• They never had a user login.

Use Archive when:

• The employee has been used for anything (even once), or
• You want to keep history for reporting, payroll, compliance, or “who did what”, or
• You’re offboarding a real person.

Failure and recovery matrix

| Problem you see | What it means | Immediate fix steps | When to escalate | |---|---|---|---| | “Cannot delete: employee is linked to other records.” | The employee has history or dependencies elsewhere, so the system blocks deletion. | If they have real history, archive them instead. If it’s a mistaken employee with no real usage, remove the specific links you can (teams/supervisor/schedules), then retry. | Escalate to an admin if you can’t remove the links. Escalate to support only if deletion is legally/contractually required. | | Error mentions a user account | There is a user login tied to this employee. | Do not delete. Archive the employee and deactivate the user login in Settings → User Roles. | Escalate if you need the user removed for billing/compliance reasons. | | Error mentions team memberships or team supervision | The employee is on a team or is set as supervisor. | In Settings → Teams, remove them as a member and/or pick a different supervisor, then retry. | Escalate if you can’t access Teams or can’t change the supervisor. | | Error mentions schedules or job/work assignments | The employee is scheduled or assigned to work. | Reassign work to a different employee. If any past work exists, archive instead of deleting. | Escalate if you can’t reassign the work or you don’t know where the schedule/assignment is coming from. | | Error mentions forms, quotes, certifications, or logs | The employee has activity history that the system keeps for evidence and traceability. | Archive the employee (do not delete). | Escalate if you believe the wrong person was used on records and you need a correction process. | | Delete option is missing | You don’t have permission to delete employees. | Ask an admin to delete (if allowed) or to archive (if not). | Escalate to an admin to update your access. |

Change alignment notes

• Confirmed in system behavior: employee deletion is blocked unless no linked records exist; the delete error message lists what is blocking and recommends deactivating (archiving) instead.
• Confirmed in system behavior: examples of blocking links include user logins, teams/crew memberships, schedules, supervisor roles, job/work assignments, form submissions, quotes, certifications and certification history, pay/bonus settings, and module logs.