1. Click the  People menu.
2. Click the Import Employees submenu.
3. Choose the template you need:
   • Advanced Import Employees (including pay details)
   • Quick Import Employees
   • Update Employee Employment Details
   • Update Employee Custom Fields
4. Choose whether to:
   • Include existing user information
   • Include terminated users
5. Click the Download button.
   
6. Enter the required details in the template you downloaded. The CSV file fields to enter are the following:
   • Type [Employee | Contractor | Volunteer]
   • First name [*]
   • Last name [*]
   • Account email [*]
   • Employing entity
   • Employee code
   • Location [*]
   • Primary worksite position
   • Additional worksites positions
   • Primary cost centre
   • Additional cost centres [separate additional cost centres with '|']
   • Employment type [Full-time | Part-time | Casual]
   • Contract type [Permanent | Fixed term]
   • Job title
   • Group [separate multiple groups with '|']
   • Primary group
   • Primary manager email
   • Secondary manager email
   • Start date [dd/mm/yyyy]
   • System access date [dd/mm/yyyy]
   • End date (current) [dd/mm/yyyy]
   • Termination date [dd/mm/yyyy]
   • Termination type
   • Termination Comment
   • Length of probation
   • Company email
   • Company mobile
   • Company landline
   • Home Country [if Income Type = working_holiday_makers. e.g. GB, IE, FR]
   • Income Type [salary_and_wages | closely_held_payees | working_holiday_makers | foreign_employment_income | inbound_assignees_to_australia | seasonal_worker_programme | labour_hire | other_specified_payments]

7. Save the changes you made to the file.

   Important

   The platform supports special characters, including macron accents used in te reo Māori names (e.g. ā, ē, ī, ō, ū) and other accented characters. To ensure these import correctly, your CSV must be saved with UTF-8 encoding. If the file is not saved as UTF-8, special characters may appear corrupted or cause import errors.

   How to save as UTF-8:

   • Excel: Go to File → Save As, then select CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) (*.csv) from the file type dropdown. This option is easy to miss — make sure you select it rather than the standard CSV option.
   • Google Sheets: Go to File → Download → Comma Separated Values (.csv). Google Sheets saves as UTF-8 by default, so no extra steps are needed.
   • Notepad++ (fallback): Open your CSV file, go to Encoding → Convert to UTF-8, then save.

8. Upload the file by entering it in the tile named Click or Drag file(s) here to upload.

   

9. Click the Yes button.
   
10. Map the columns in the CSV file to the correct fields in the HR platform.
    
    Note: If the Contract Type column is included in the CSV then it must have one of the available options (Permanent or Fixed Term) filled in. It cannot be left blank.
     

11. Click the Continue button.
    
    
    If there are no errors detected by the platform, you will now see the Imported Successfully page, which will list the number of employee records that have been both created and updated.
    
    Otherwise, the platform will now present a list of errors in the data that you will first need to correct.
    
    Note: Once you have successfully finished the import process, automatic email invitations will be sent to the new employees that you have just imported. Those emails will invite the new employees to create their HR/Employment Hero Work account password in their Employment Hero Work app, which is needed to begin the onboarding process.

    

We recommend using the pre-prepared sample CSV templates available.

We have also listed some tips below on how to best use these templates as well as important things to keep in mind so you can ensure a successful CSV upload:

• Add a personal email in the Account Email column. Employees will then still be able to log in to access their read-only information after they leave your organisation.
• Do not use a generic email for your employees (such as info@company.com).
• If you receive any error messages during your upload, the error message always corresponds to the following row. For example, an error in row one means the error is in row two, and so on.
• Always ensure mandatory fields (those with asterisks) are filled out properly.
• Follow all naming conventions referenced in the column headers of your CSV. For example, if an employee is in multiple teams (such as HR, Admin, and Payroll), you must separate those team names with the following symbol: | (in other words, it should look like this: John Smith HR | Admin | Payroll).
• Start dates and job titles are interdependent in the CSV that's named 'Update Employee Employment Details'. You can not complete one field without the other.
• Salary and Pay Details effective date are interdependent in the CSV named 'Advanced Import Employees (including Pay Details)'. You can not complete one field without the other.
• Downloading the CSV named 'Advanced Import Employees (including Pay Details)' removes the leading zeroes from sort codes and account numbers. You must reformat these columns by making the column custom. This is so you can add six zeros for sort codes and eight zeros for account numbers where required.

We recommend you have your employees' data in Employment Hero before you assign their teams and managers. You can then use the Update Employment Details template to assign teams and primary/secondary managers to employees in bulk.

If you receive general errors when bulk-updating employees via a CSV file, try splitting them into separate files based on key differences (such as employment type). Then, upload each file separately.

For example, if your CSV includes both hourly and salaried employees and you encounter an error, move the hourly employees into a separate file. Upload the salaried employees first, followed by the hourly employees. This helps prevent formatting issues and ensures a smoother update process.

To resolve import errors, follow the below steps:
 

1. Download the file from the platform.
2. Open the downloaded file and fix the errors. (The errors will appear in red text in the Resolve Errors section and will display the row in which the error needs to be resolved.)
3. Re-upload the corrected CSV file.

When updating bank account details in bulk, you must include the full set of banking columns to avoid the risk of data being wiped. To do this, always ensure all of the following fields are included together:

• BankAccount1_AccountName.
• BankAccount1_AccountBSB.
• BankAccount1_AccountNumber.
• BankAccount1_AllocatedPercentage (Not applicable for Xero payroll).
• BankAccount1_FixedAmount (Will always hold the remaining balance. Please enter 'Remaining').

You can only have one of the below columns in a row:

• BankAccount1_AllocatedPercentage (Not applicable for Xero payroll).
• BankAccount1_FixedAmount (Will always hold the remaining balance. Please enter 'Remaining').

If you need to update the Employment History details stored on your HR platform in bulk, you will need to update all the following fields together:

• Employment type (Full-time | Part-time | Casual).
• Job title.
• Start date (dd/mm/yyyy).
• Contract type.

If you include the Contract Type column in your CSV file, it must have either the Permanent or Fixed Term option filled in. It cannot be left blank.

If any employees have no contract type listed, an error will display and the upload will fail due to the blank field(s).

To avoid this, you can remove the Contract Type column entirely. As this field is optional, it does not need to be included in the CSV.

If you need to update the Superannuation details stored on your HR platform in bulk, you will need to update all the following fields together:

• The mandatory columns will depend on the Super Choice
  • Super Choice [Regulated | SMSF | Company nominated].
• If you chose the Regulated or Company-nominated option, the below columns are mandatory:
  • Super Fund Name.
  • Super Fund ABN.
  • SPIN/USI.
  • Super Member Number.
  • Super Account Name.
• If you chose the SMSF option, the below columns are mandatory:
  • Super Fund Name.
  • Super Fund ABN.
  • ESA.
  • Super Member Number.
  • Super Account Name.
  • SMSF Contact Email.
  • SMSF Account Name.
  • SMSF BSB.
  • SMSF Account Number.

If you need to update the Pay details stored on your HR platform in bulk, you will need to update all the following fields together:

 

• Industrial instrument (If an employee is on an Industrial Instrument, you must also complete the Anniversary Date column.)
• Classification
• Pay rate template
• Salary
• Salary option (Annum | Month | Fortnight | Hour | Day)
• Actual weekly hours/days
• Full-time equivalent weekly hours/days.

You will need to enter data into the 'Pay Details - Effective From' column if you are to update any of the following columns:

 

• Industrial instrument (If an employee is on an industrial instrument, you must also complete the Anniversary Date column.)
• Classification
• Pay rate template
• Anniversary date (dd/mm/yyyy)
• Salary
• Salary option (Annum | Month | Fortnight | Hour | Day)
• Override template rate
• Pay schedule
• Pay category
• Leave allowance template
• Superannuation (%)
• Actual weekly hours/days
• Full-time equivalent weekly hours/days.