Legal Entities
A legal entity is the legal company (e.g. a GmbH) that employees are employed under. Larger corporate groups often consist of several such companies — here you create them and maintain their master data such as tax ID, address and currency.
| Name | Tax ID | Employees | Locations | Primary Entity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sample Germany GmbH | DE123456789 | 86 | 3 | iPrimary Entity |
| Sample Austria GmbH | ATU12345678 | 24 | 1 | - |
/hr/legal-entitiesWhat can I do here?
- See all legal entities as a list, with the number of assigned employees and locations
- Search by name
- Create a new legal entity
- Edit an existing legal entity
- Deactivate a legal entity or reactivate it
- Permanently delete a legal entity that is not in use
- Mark a legal entity as the main/parent company
- Filter by status (all / active / deactivated)
Step by step
- Create a new legal entity: Click "Create", enter a name and legal company name, optionally fill in tax ID, registration number, address and currency, then save.
- Edit a legal entity: Click an entry in the list, adjust the fields, and save.
- Mark as the main company: When creating or editing, enable the "Is primary" option.
- Deactivate a legal entity: Click the prohibit icon in the row and confirm. The company is no longer selectable for new contracts; every existing contract, employee, location and cost center keeps its assignment and stays readable.
- Reactivate a legal entity: Click the arrow icon on a deactivated company. It becomes selectable again.
- Delete a legal entity: The bin icon only appears while nothing references the company. As soon as a contract, employee, location or cost center points at it, the row offers "Deactivate" instead.
Fields explained
| Field | Meaning | Notes/Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Short display name of the company | Required |
| Legal name | Full name as registered in the commercial register | Optional |
| Tax ID | Tax identification number | Optional |
| Registration number | Company registration number | Optional |
| Street / City / ZIP / State / Country | Company address | Country as a code, e.g. "DE" |
| Currency | Booking currency of the company | Default "EUR" |
| Is primary | Marks the company as the primary/parent entity | Only shown for information in the list (star icon) |
| Employees (column) | Number of employees assigned to this company | — |
| Locations (column) | Number of locations assigned to this company | - |
| Contracts (column) | Number of contracts referencing this company | From 1 onwards deletion is no longer possible |
| Status (column) | Active or Deactivated | Only active companies are selectable on a contract |
Values & statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Active | The company is selectable on a contract. |
| Deactivated | The company is no longer selectable. Every existing assignment stays untouched. The state is reversible. |
Frequently asked questions
Why would I need several legal entities?
If your company consists of several legally independent companies (e.g. several country subsidiaries), you can assign employees, locations and cost centers to the matching company.
What happens if I delete a legal entity?
Deletion is only possible while nothing references the company. In that case it is removed permanently. If even a single contract, employee, location or cost center points at it, deletion is refused and the reason is stated.
Why can I not delete a company that is in use?
Employment contracts and the documents derived from them hang off a company and are subject to statutory retention periods. If the company were deleted, the retained contract would still exist but would no longer say which company it was signed with. That is why the path for a company in use is deactivation.
What is the difference between deactivating and deleting?
Deactivating removes the company from the selection but leaves every existing record untouched, and it can be undone at any time. Deleting removes the company permanently and is therefore only allowed for companies that are not in use.
Where do I assign a company to an employee?
On the contract: HR > Employees > open an employee > Contract tab > "Legal entity" field. That way it stays traceable which company an earlier contract was signed with, even if the employee later moves to a different company.