Post-Employment Access for Former Employees

Post-Employment Access allows terminated employees to securely access their personal and payroll information for a limited time. This feature reduces document requests while protecting employee data. It is designed for administrators to manage access, which lasts up to 24 months post-termination. Eligible employees must have a standard terminated status and a home email listed. Admins can grant access individually or in bulk from the settings. Once granted, employees can view pay stubs and W-2 forms and update limited personal information. Access is read-only for most data, and admins can revoke it at any time. Notifications are sent to employees upon access expiration. This feature enhances efficiency by minimizing requests for pay-related documents.

  • Jul 8, 2026
  • Knowledge

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Post-Employment Access for Former Employees
Article Text
This feature is included in the Core, Pro, and Elite packages

Post-Employment Access lets you give terminated employees secure, self-service access to their personal and payroll information for a limited time after they leave your company. It helps reduce document requests while keeping employee data protected. This guide is for admins who want to manage post-employment access and understand what employees can see and do after access is granted.

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Post-Employment Access is an access level that allows former employees to log in to BambooHR after termination and view limited information, such as their pay stubs and tax forms. 

Access is time-limited (up to 24 months from termination), secure and permission based, and managed by admins (with the option to revoke at any time).

What former employees can access

Once post-employment access is granted, the former employee will receive an email notification with a link to log in.

If your company uses single sign-on (SSO) only, former employees select the Former Employee? link on the BambooHR login page. If your company uses email and password login, former employees log in using their existing credentials. If they need to reset their password, they can click Forgot Password? on the login page and enter their personal/home email address.

With this access, former employees can do the following:

  • View and update their limited personal contact information
  • Access their pay history and download pay stubs
  • Retrieve their W-2 and W-2C forms (if using BambooHR Payroll)
  • See a banner showing when their access will expire

When access expires, login is automatically blocked and the former employee is notified.

Access duration and expiration

Post-employment access lasts two years (24 months) from the employee's termination date. If needed, you can remove access at any time before the expiration date. The employee will receive an email notification once their access ends.

Eligibility requirements

Post-employment access is available only for employees who meet the following criteria:

  • Have the standard Terminated employment status in the Employment Status table on their Job tab
  • Have a home email listed on their Personal tab

If an employee does not meet these requirements, post-employment access cannot be granted.

How to set up the post-employment access level

Before granting post-employment access, you decide which former employees are eligible by setting up the Post-Employment Access level in Settings > Access Levels > Post-Employment Access. On this page, select Set Up Access Level.

Determine which employees can automatically retain limited access to their BambooHR account for two years after their termination. You can remove access from them at any time.

  1. All Employees
  2. Only Some Employees: Includes standard filters that can be edited at any time, and access is updated upon review based on new filters
  3. No Employees

Click Save to finalize your selection.

How to grant post-employment access

From the employee profile (individual access)

  1. Open the former employee's profile.
  2. Select the three-dot icon.
  3. Choose Grant Post-Employee Access.
  4. Click Grant Access to confirm.

If the employee does not have a home email, you will be prompted to add one so they can be notified and log in to their account.

From Settings (bulk or individual access)

  1. Go to Settings > Access Levels > Post-Employment Access.
  2. Select +Add Former Employee.
  3. The dropdown list under "Select a former employee" shows all employees who left your company in the last two years. You can either select one employee from the list or click Add Many Employees to add more than one.

After setup, you will see a list showing who currently has access, when access expires, and last login activity. If an employee is missing a home email, an alert icon will appear in the Last Login column. To resolve this error, hover over the icon and click Add Home Email.

How to remove post-employment access

You can remove post-employment access at any time from the employee profile or Settings > Access Levels > Post-Employment Access.

Once removed, the former employee will be blocked from logging in on their next attempt. They will also receive an email notification explaining that their access has expired.

Important notes

  • Access is read-only for most data, with limited updates allowed for contact details.
  • Former employees use their existing BambooHR login.
  • This feature helps reduce seasonal requests for pay stubs and tax documents.

Common questions

  • Do former employees need a new account?
    • No. They can log in using their existing credentials through the Former Employee? link on the login screen.
  • Can I see who currently has access?
    • Yes. Admins can go to Post-Employment Access in Settings > Access Levels > Post-Employment Access to view all former employees with active access, expiration access dates, and last login activity.
  • What happens when access expires?
    • Access ends automatically after 24 months, login is blocked, and the former employee is notified.
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