Skip to main content

Manage Your Staff Profiles

Update an employee’s first, middle, last or preferred name, remove the name shown in brackets, and see where legal and preferred names are used.

What's covered in this guide?:

Preferred name and legal name

Each employee has two names on their profile:

  • Legal name (First Name, Middle Name/s and Last Name): their official name, used for payroll and contracts.

  • Preferred Name: the name they like to be called. It’s used on the rota, timesheets, the app and everywhere outside payroll.

For example, an employee could have the legal name Joanne Smith and the preferred name Jo Smith.

Change an employee’s name

  1. Go to Workforce → Staff and open the employee’s profile.

  2. Select Personal, then the Personal Details tab.

  3. Update the name fields:

    • First Name and Last Name (required)

    • Middle Name/s (optional)

    • Preferred Name (required)

  4. Click Update Employee Details.

Tip: When you add a new employee, Preferred Name fills in automatically from their first and last name. You can change it if they prefer a different name.

Where each name is used

Name

Used for

Preferred Name

Rota, timesheets, the Workforce.com app, time clocks, reports and most other screens

Legal name

Payslips, contracts, and payroll submissions to HMRC

If you run payroll in Workforce.com, make sure the legal name matches the employee’s official records. That’s the name sent to HMRC.

FAQs

Why is there a name in brackets next to an employee’s name?

The name in brackets is their legal name. It shows when their Preferred Name is different from their legal first and last name, e.g. “Jo Smith (Joanne Smith)”.

To remove it, make the Preferred Name match their legal first and last name, or correct the legal name if that’s what’s wrong.

How do I remove a middle name?

Delete it from Middle Name/s and click Update Employee Details. If the middle name also appears in Preferred Name, remove it there too.

Can I leave Preferred Name blank?

No. Every employee needs a Preferred Name. If they don’t use a different name, enter their legal first and last name.

Why does a profile say “[name] doesn’t have legal names entered”?

First Name and Last Name are required, so that their legal name can be used for contracts and payroll. Enter the employee’s legal first and last name and click Update Employee Details.

Why can’t I edit an employee’s name?

If the name fields are greyed out, you don’t have permission to edit this employee. Ask an admin to make the change.

How do I change an employee’s email address?

On the employee’s Personal Details tab, click Unlink & Change Email, enter the new email address, and invite them to log in again.

  • Until they accept the new invitation, they won’t be able to log in.

  • If the employee is still completing onboarding, changing their email cancels their onboarding. You’ll need to send it again.

  • If they’ve already completed onboarding, some onboarding details are hidden after the email is unlinked, for security reasons.

Did this answer your question?