This article explains how to create new employees in Personio Payroll and what you need to consider when filling out the attributes in the employee profile. 

How do you add new employees?

In Personio Payroll, you can create new employees in the following two ways: 

• Individually via the People list or
• collected via the import feature

If you create employees individually, store all relevant payroll data in the employee profile. If you create employees via an import, you can add all payroll attributes directly to the import template.

In the event of reinstatement or transfer of employees, for example when changing subcompany, read the following article on the theme. 

Add individual employees via the People list

If you want to add new employees individually, you can do so via the People list. If you have initially added employees there, you can add the payroll attributes for Personio Payroll to the employee profile.

To do this, fill out the attributes of the Personio Payroll category under the Personal info tab in the profile of the newly created employee.

To create an individual employee profile, proceed as follows:

1. Go to Organisation > People list.
2. Click Add people > Add new person.
3. Store employee data in the fields marked with an asterisk.
4. Click Add person.
5. Now open the corresponding employee profile and click Edit.
6. Search the Inclusion attribute in payroll and enter the value Yes.
7. Click Set effective date. 
8. Enter the effective date with the first day of the month of entry and confirm the notice.
9. Click submit.
10. Now store the missing information for all attributes marked in red in the employee profile.

For more information about the attributes in the employee profile, see our article on the topic. 

Add multiple employees with the import function

To add multiple employees to Personio Payroll using an import, proceed as follows: 

1. Request the import template from our Payroll Specialists team. You'll usually receive them during your implementation phase.
2. Complete the import template.
3. Import the completed template to your Personio account. You can find the exact procedure for this in our article on importing data.
4. Then check that the attributes of the Personio Payroll category under the Information tab have been filled out for all newly created employees.

What needs to be considered for Personio Payroll?

Payroll attributes and validation

• Personio payroll attributes: In the employee profile, add the specific payroll attributes, such as the social insurance number and type of health insurance. These can be found in the Payroll Data section under the Personal info tab of the employee profile. Personio Payroll requires this to carry out the monthly payslip. 
• Observe the validation rules: The payroll attributes must comply with the stored validation rules. If there is a format error or incorrect data entry, you will receive an error message so that you can correct the appropriate values. 
• Activate the Inclusion attribute in payroll: So that Personio Payroll can bill an employee, set the value Yes for the Inclusion attribute in payroll. 
• Coordinate the hiring date and the start of billing: The attribute Inclusion in Payroll must be in the same calendar month as the employee's employment hire date. If the billing starts in a later month, for example, hire date 25.03.2026 and consideration from 01.04.2026, Personio displays a blocker in the employee profile and in the Tasks tab in payroll. In this case, adjust one of the two dates so that they're both in the same month. Otherwise, Personio does not include the employee in the initial payroll run, which requires subsequent correction.

Tax attributes and ELStAM for new entries

Tax attributes should also be entered when a new employee joins, even if Personio Payroll automatically retrieves the final values afterwards using the ELSTAM process. We recommend this approach for the following reasons: 

1. It may happen that an employee is not part of the ELSTAM process. This can apply, for example, to employees who have paid lump sum taxes or to employees who have objected to the ELSTAM procedure. 
2. The ELSTAM registration can be declined if the employee's tax identification number has not been entered correctly. With the manually entered values, you have a basis for billing the month anyway. If ELStaM subsequently provides different values, Personio updates the profile accordingly.

Please note:
If the employee's tax characteristics change during an ongoing employment relationship, such as the tax bracket following a marriage, and the employee is already registered for the ELSTAM procedure, it is recommended that these tax characteristics not be adjusted manually. Instead, wait for an electronic response from the tax office. Personio Payroll then automatically updates these values. 

In case of uncertainty, please contact your tax advisor or the responsible tax office. 

Special social security and tax law requirements for new investments

In addition to the attributes specific to Personio Payroll, there are other technical points that you should check when creating a new employee subject to social security contributions. 

All further information theme employee attributes in Personio Payroll can be found in our article on the topic. 

• Person group code: For employees subject to social security contributions without special characteristics, use group 101 as a rule. For more information, see our article on the topic.
• Contribution group code: When creating a new one, check whether the contribution group code matches the respective employment. For more information, see our article on the topic.
• Age relief amount: Employees who have reached 64th birthday before the start of the calendar year If you have reached the age of 18, receive a so-called old-age relief amount, which has an effect on the payroll tax calculation. 
• Membership in the professional pension fund: Certain professional groups, such as doctors, lawyers, architects or notaries, may be members of a professional pension fund. The employee must apply for the exemption from the statutory pension insurance obligation himself and present it to you. For more information, see our article on the topic.
• Long-term nursing care insurance supplement or discount: Does an employee have no children and is already the 23rd At the age of 18, he pays a contribution supplement to the statutory nursing care insurance. Employees with several children receive a contribution discount for the second to fifth eligible child up to the age of 25 25.
• Transition area (Midijob): If the regular monthly pay is above the minimum limit in a specific area, the so-called transition area applies. There are certain special social security rules for pay in this area, which result in a reduced contribution burden on the employee. For more information, read our article on the topic.
• Multiple employment: If an employee has more than one job, it depends on the particular case constellation. You may have to add up the fees from the various occupations, which in turn may have an impact on the assessment of contributions law. 
• Status assessment: If the employee is a spouse, partner or descendant of the employer, or the managing partner of a GmbH, a status assessment procedure is necessary.
• Instant message: In certain industries, such as construction or catering, instant notifications are mandatory. Personio Payroll cannot automatically create them at this time. Accordingly, the contribution statement must be sent manually via the SV reporting portal. 
• Company car: If you provide an employee with a company car free of charge or at a reduced price for private use, it must be stored in the widget for the company car agreement under the salary tab. For more information, see the article on the topic. 
• Evidence from children: Make sure that all children have been registered with an employee's last name, first name and date of birth. This information is necessary, among other things, for the correct calculation of the long-term care insurance contribution. 
• Severe disability: For the Severely Disability Tax, as an employer, you must report the number of severely disabled employees employed every year by March 31. For more information, see our article on the topic. 

Please note:
For employees with the employee group code 900, such as managing directors or board members, the employer subsidy for private health and nursing care insurance is not calculated as standard. With the attribute employer subsidy private KV/PV for person group 900, you can enable the subsidy specifically for these employees. When creating, you must also check the attribute history.

FAQ

Do I have to manually enter tax attributes if I know that ELStAM will deliver the data later?

Yes, we recommend that you enter the known tax attributes as soon as you join. In this way, you avoid a lack of basis for the initial payroll run and save yourself the need to contact employees who do not participate in the ELSTAM process later.

What happens if the hiring date and payroll reporting date are not in the same month?

Personio shows a blocker in the employee profile and in the payroll task tab. Adjust one of the two dates so that they're both in the same calendar month.

Where can I find information about a former employee's return to work?

Information about returning to work, for example when taking on trainees or changing companies, legal entity be found in our article on the topic.