When a staff member leaves your program, it’s important to update their access correctly. In most cases, you’ll want to deactivate the account so you can keep payroll history and records intact. Deleting an account is permanent and should only be used in specific situations. This guide walks through what to use and when.
General Guidelines for Staff Deactivation
Deactivating a staff account is almost always the right choice. Deletion permanently removes the account and its data. Deactivation simply removes access while keeping the record on file in case you ever need it again.
Before you deactivate someone, make sure their payroll has been submitted. You don’t have to wait for the paycheck to process or be received. You just need to confirm that the payroll run has already been completed.
Once a staff account is deactivated, they will no longer have access to school information, classrooms, or internal tools. If they have payroll history, they can still log into the web platform to view past paystubs and W-2s, but nothing else.
🚨 Deactivated staff members do not have access to the Playground mobile app. They will only have access to the Playground Web platform in order to have access to past paystub's and W-2s.
Steps to Deactivate a Staff Member in Playground
From your Admin Dashboard, go to My School and select the Staff tab.
Click the staff member’s name to open their profile.
Open the Settings tab.
If the staff member is enrolled in payroll, scroll to Staff management and click Deactivate payroll. Make sure their final payroll has already been run before completing this step.
Once payroll is deactivated (if applicable), click Disable staff to remove their access to Playground.
Deleting a Staff Account
Deleting a staff account is permanent and should only be used when absolutely necessary. In most cases, deactivation is the better option.
To delete a staff member:
Open the staff member’s profile.
Go to the Settings tab.
Scroll to Staff management section and select Delete staff.
If the Delete button is greyed out, it usually means there’s still attendance data tied to that staff member. Any clock-in and clock-out history, or pay rates will need to be removed before the account can be deleted.
However, deleting a staff account is permanent. In most cases, deactivating the staff member is the better option. Deactivation removes their access but keeps your payroll records and history intact, just in case you ever need them later.
Scenario-Specific Considerations
Removing Staff Members from Schedules
When a staff member is deactivated, they will no longer appear on the schedules tab. This action is automatic upon deactivation.
Managing Access Post-Deactivation
Deactivated accounts retain limited access to their historical records, such as paystubs and W-2s, if they were linked to payroll. However, account reactivation may be performed if the staff member returns.