How to unlock a closed payroll period for deactivated employees

When an employee is deactivated and removed from the Payroll Group, their closed periods are managed separately under Payroll > Deactivated employees.

For this reason, the employee will not appear in the same list used to unlock periods for active employees. To correct punches, absences, or other information for a deactivated employee, access the specific page and unlock the corresponding period.

1. Access deactivated employees

To locate the closed period:

1. From the sidebar, go to Payroll;
2. Select Deactivated employees;
3. Locate the employee whose information needs to be corrected;
4. Identify the desired month or payroll period;
5. Review the Payroll Status.

To make changes, the period must have the Locked status before it can be unlocked.

Important: the employee will appear on this page when Remove from Payroll Group was selected during deactivation. Otherwise, check the Payroll Group to which the employee was assigned.

2. Check the order of the periods

Closed periods follow a chronological order. You cannot unlock an older period while later periods remain locked for the same employee.

Example:

• The employee has locked periods for August, September, October, and November;
• August needs to be corrected;
• First, unlock November;
• Then unlock October;
• Next, unlock September;
• Finally, unlock August.

Even when changes are required only in the oldest period, all later periods must be unlocked first.

3. Unlock the period

To unlock a period:

1. Locate the employee and the most recent period that needs to be opened;
2. Click the actions menu (⋯) by hovering the cursor over the corresponding row;
3. Select Unlock;
4. Wait for the status to update;
5. Repeat the process for the other periods, following the chronological order until you reach the month that needs to be corrected.

Once the period is unlocked, you can change the employee’s information for that period.

4. Make the necessary corrections

After unlocking the period, review the information that needs to be changed, such as:

• Punch records;
• Missing or incorrect punches;
• Absence requests;
• Worked Hours;
• Extra Hours;
• Hours Bank;
• Missing Hours.

Go to Super Punch or the appropriate page for the type of information that needs to be corrected.

Also review periods that were unlocked only to allow access to an older month, ensuring that no information was changed unintentionally.

5. Lock the periods again

After completing the corrections:

1. Return to Payroll > Deactivated employees;
2. Locate the employee;
3. Identify the periods that were unlocked;
4. Use Lock to close each period again;
5. Confirm that the Payroll Status is displayed as Locked again.

Do not leave periods unlocked after completing the corrections.

6. Generate the required documents again

When the Payroll report was exported before the correction, generate a new file after locking the period again. Changes made after an export will not appear in the previous document.

When the period has an electronic signature request, review the Signature Status and confirm whether a new request must be sent after the period is locked again.

Tips and troubleshooting

• The employee does not appear in the regular payroll closing list: go to Payroll > Deactivated employees.
• The employee does not appear under Deactivated employees: check whether they were removed from the Payroll Group during deactivation.
• The Unlock option is not displayed: confirm that the period is locked and that your profile has Payroll permissions.
• I cannot unlock an older month: first unlock all later periods, starting with the most recent one.
• I only need to correct August: if September, October, and November are locked, they must still be unlocked first.
• The correction is complete: lock all opened periods again.
• The report had already been exported: generate a new export after completing the corrections.
• The period has an electronic signature: review the request status after unlocking and locking the period again.

Best practices

• Before deactivating an employee, confirm whether Remove from Payroll Group should be selected.
• Review all records before completing the employee’s final payroll closing.
• Unlock only the periods required to reach the month that needs to be corrected.
• Make the corrections immediately after unlocking the periods.
• Lock the periods again as soon as the review is complete.
• Generate payroll reports or files again after any changes.
• Review electronic signature statuses before completing the process.

Frequently asked questions

1. Why does the deactivated employee not appear in the regular payroll closing list?

When the employee is removed from the Payroll Group during deactivation, their closed periods are displayed separately under Payroll > Deactivated employees.

2. How do I unlock the closed period of a deactivated employee?

Go to Payroll > Deactivated employees, locate the employee and period, open the actions menu (⋯), and select Unlock.

3. Can I unlock an older period directly?

Not when later periods are still locked. First, unlock the most recent months in order until you reach the required period.

4. Why do I need to unlock other months when the correction is required in only one period?

Because closed periods follow a chronological sequence. Later periods must be opened before an older period can be unlocked.

5. What should I do after correcting the records?

Return to Deactivated employees, lock the periods again, and generate a new export when necessary.

6. Do I need to export the Payroll report again after the correction?

Yes. A previously exported file will not include changes made after the period was unlocked.

7. The employee does not appear under Deactivated employees. What should I check?

Confirm whether Remove from Payroll Group was selected during deactivation and check which Payroll Group the employee remained assigned to.