Removing someone from payroll sets their last day and creates their final payroll. After they leave, they'll retain access to their pay records. You can also remove their access to your Mercury business banking* account as part of the same process.
You can edit or cancel a removal until their final payroll is submitted.
This article covers how to remove someone from payroll, what happens to their pay and access, how to reverse a removal, and how to rehire someone.
Remove a teammate
To remove a teammate from payroll:
- From your Payroll home page, scroll to the "Team" section. You can filter by status to show active teammates only
- Find the teammate and select Options next to their name
- Select Remove team member to start offboarding
- Remove all business banking access is selected by default. Uncheck it if they should keep their Mercury banking* access, then select Continue
- Enter their last day and select whether they're leaving voluntarily or involuntarily
- Choose when they should receive their offboarding notification
- Confirm their personal email and, optionally, add an internal reason for the removal. The teammate won't see this reason
- Select Review removal
- Review the details, then select Remove team member
What happens to their access
The teammate's access changes on their last day, not when you schedule their removal.
After their last day, they'll retain read-only access to:
- Paystubs
- Tax documents
- Personal details
They'll lose access to everything else in Payroll.
Their profile and removal details will remain available to your company, including if you rehire them later.
Access to year-end tax documents
After leaving, teammates can still access their tax documents and paystubs. Their offboarding email explains how to access them.
Their W-2 or 1099 for their final year will be issued the following January using their selected delivery method. To request a paper copy, they must contact Mercury support by December 31 of that tax year.
Admins can also access the teammate’s tax documents through Documents and share a copy if needed.
What happens to their pay
Removing a teammate creates a final payroll, which runs separately from your regular payroll schedule.
Their final payroll may include:
- Wages they've earned but haven't been paid
- Bonuses, commissions, and other earned compensation
- Unused time off, if your PTO policy provides for a payout
- Pending reimbursements for you to review
- Applicable benefits deductions, garnishments, and taxes
If there's enough time to process their final pay
Their final paycheck will arrive on their last day, and the final payroll will submit automatically.
If their last day is approaching
Final-pay deadlines vary by state and may depend on whether the teammate is leaving voluntarily or involuntarily. If the teammate's last day doesn't leave enough time for Mercury to process their payment by the applicable deadline, you'll see a notification before completing the removal.
You'll be able to choose how to handle their final payment:
- Direct deposit: Mercury processes the payment through Payroll for the earliest available payday
- Pay them directly: You pay their net wages by cash, check, or electronic transfer while Payroll calculates, withholds, and remits applicable taxes and deductions
You'll also be able to review the final payroll before it's submitted.
Mercury doesn't provide legal advice. You're responsible for complying with applicable final-pay requirements. Consult your employment counsel if you're unsure which requirements apply.
Keep in mind
- You can resend the offboarding email after it's been sent
- If a previous pay run includes days after the teammate's last day, Mercury will notify you during removal. You may need to recover an overpayment outside of Mercury
Benefits and Mercury banking* access
Benefits
For team members actively enrolled in benefits, coverage ends at the end of the month in which their last day occurs.
Mercury banking* access
Removing someone from Payroll doesn't automatically remove their Mercury banking* access. During the removal flow, you can select Remove all banking access to schedule both for their last day.
Existing Mercury banking* access rules still apply:
- Only admins can remove other admins
- Beneficial owners can't be removed from Mercury banking*, but they can be removed from Payroll
- If your organization requires dual-admin approval, removing banking* access requires approval from another admin. Payroll removal doesn't require a second approver
- Their cards are canceled, removed or transferred
If you cancel the payroll removal before the final payroll is submitted, the pending banking removal is also canceled.
Rehire someone you've removed
Rehiring someone adds a new employment period to their existing profile rather than creating a new record. Their pay history, paystubs, and tax documents remain together, and their profile shows their original hire date and latest rehire date.
To rehire someone:
- Open their profile
- Select Manage
- Select Rehire
If they were never on Payroll, you'll see Reactivate instead. Both options open the teammate setup flow with information Mercury already has pre-filled.
When rehiring someone:
- Their earliest start date is the day after their previous last day
- Their previous pay and pay schedule are provided as a starting point and can be changed
- Their worker type can change between team member and contractor
- They'll complete onboarding again using their existing login and review their pre-filled information
- Any final pay from their previous employment period will continue processing
Some information doesn't carry over:
- One-time pay items, such as signing bonuses or backpay
- A fixed-term end date from their previous employment period
- Previous admin roles
- Their previous card(s)
If their Mercury banking* access was removed, rehiring them restores their access, but you'll need to issue a new card.
If you try to add a teammate whose legal name matches someone you've previously removed, Mercury will prompt you to rehire them instead to help prevent duplicate records.
Tip: If someone is rehired within the same calendar year, their pay will be included on the same W-2 or 1099. If they're rehired in a later calendar year, their new employment period will be reflected in that year's tax documents.
Mercury Payroll helps businesses manage payroll and related administrative tasks. Mercury does not provide legal, tax, accounting, or investment advice and does not act as your employer, professional employer organization (PEO), employer of record (EOR), or plan fiduciary. You remain responsible for your legal and regulatory obligations, including worker classification, wage-and-hour requirements, tax withholding and reporting, and benefits eligibility.
*Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC.