> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hr-easy.nlead.ch/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Employee lifecycle overview

> From accepted offer to work certificate — the arc the platform manages.

The lifecycle module is the spine of the platform. It owns the employee record, the
dated employment periods that everything else reads from, and the transitions in and
out of employment.

```mermaid theme={null}
flowchart LR
  A[Offer accepted] --> B[Pre-boarding journey]
  B --> C[Contract signed]
  C --> D[Employee record<br/>+ onboarding checklist]
  D --> E[Probation]
  E --> F[Employment]
  F --> G[Offboarding]
  G --> H[Work certificate]
```

## The employee record

One employee record per person, attached to the same `User` that applied. It holds:

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Identity and contact" icon="id-card">
    Name, addresses, phone, private and company e-mail, AHV number, date of birth, nationality and
    permit.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Employment periods" icon="calendar">
    Dated slices carrying function, Pensum, location, legal entity, and salary. The whole platform
    reads terms as of a date from here.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Family and dependants" icon="users">
    Marital status, children — needed for family allowances and Quellensteuer.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Payroll attributes" icon="franc-sign">
    Bank account, Quellensteuer profile, cross-border and telework records where they apply.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Documents" icon="folder">
    The dossier — contracts, certificates, diplomas, permits, medical certificates.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Absence and time" icon="clock">
    Leave balances, absences, sick-leave history, time entries.
  </Card>
</Columns>

## Why employment periods matter

An employee is not a flat row of current values. Their function, Pensum, location and
salary change over time, and payroll, certificates and reporting all need to know what
was true **on a given date**, not what is true today.

So terms live on dated **employment periods**. A promotion is a new period, not an
overwrite. A Pensum reduction from August is a period boundary. This is what lets a
Lohnabrechnung for March be recomputed correctly in November, and what lets a work
certificate list the actual sequence of roles.

<Warning>
  Salary lives on the employment period, not on the compensation module. Compensation models pay
  *policy* — roles and bands — and never writes an employee's actual salary.
</Warning>

## Transitions

| Transition          | What triggers it                            | What it does                                                                                |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Hire                | Application marked hired                    | Starts a [pre-boarding journey](/guides/lifecycle/preboarding-and-onboarding).              |
| Employment starts   | Contract signed                             | Creates the employee record and the first employment period; runs the onboarding checklist. |
| Terms change        | HR edits terms, or a new contract is signed | Opens a new employment period from the effective date.                                      |
| Probation ends      | Date reached                                | Closes the [probation companion](/guides/lifecycle/probation).                              |
| Employment ends     | Offboarding started                         | Closes periods, runs the offboarding checklist, revokes access.                             |
| Certificate request | Employee or HR                              | Generates an [Arbeitszeugnis](/guides/lifecycle/certificates).                              |

## Data quality checks

The module runs a standing **data check** over employee records and flags what is
missing or inconsistent before it becomes a payroll problem — an absent AHV number, a
missing bank account, a Quellensteuer profile that does not match the person's canton
or permit. HR sees the list rather than discovering it during a payroll run.

## A change log you can read

Every material change to an employee — terms, function, location, entity — is recorded
in a **staff change log** in addition to the general audit trail. This is the view HR
actually uses in a conversation: what changed, when, and who agreed to it.