Employee import template guide (unedited)

Employee import template — column guide 

A full reference for every column in the employee import template, with format rules, examples, and common mistakes to avoid. 

Overview 

The employee import template contains 45 columns covering everything from basic contact details to compensation, bank accounts, and organisational structure. This article explains what each column expects, how to format it correctly, and what happens if you get it wrong. 

Note: Your PS consultant runs the actual import. This guide is for filling in the template correctly so the import succeeds first time. 

Mandatory columns 

These four columns must be filled in for every employee row. The import will fail for any row where these are missing or incorrectly formatted. 

Employee number 

A unique identifier for each employee in Simployer One. 

Format: Any alphanumeric value (e.g. EMP001, 1, 42) 

Example: EMP001 

Common mistakes: 

Using the same number for two employees — every value must be unique 

Including spaces or special characters 

First name 

The employee’s legal first name, exactly as it appears on official documents. 

Format: Plain text 

Example: Emily 

Common mistakes: 

Using a preferred name or nickname instead of the legal name 

Including a middle name in this column — leave middle names out or add them to the last name column 

Last name 

The employee’s legal last name. 

Format: Plain text 

Example: Thompson 

Common mistakes: 

Hyphenated surnames being split across two rows 

Using all caps 

Work email 

The employee’s work email address. This is the primary identifier used to log in to Simployer One. 

Format: Valid email address, must be unique per employee 

Example: emily.thompson@company.com 

Common mistakes: 

Using a personal email address instead of a work email 

Duplicate email addresses — even one duplicate will cause the entire import to fail 

Extra spaces before or after the email address 

Employment columns 

Title 

The employee’s job title. 

Format: Plain text 

Example: Software Engineer 

Employment start date 

The date the employment begins in Simployer One. 

Format: YYYY-MM-DD 

Example: 2024-01-15 

Common mistakes: 

Using DD-MM-YYYY or MM/DD/YYYY — only YYYY-MM-DD is accepted 

Leaving blank — recommended to fill in for all employees 

Employment end date 

The date the employment ends. Leave blank for permanent employees with no defined end date. 

Format: YYYY-MM-DD 

Example: 2024-12-31 

Important: If employment type is probation_employment, this field is mandatory and cannot be more than 6 months after the start date. 

Employment type 

The category of employment contract. 

Format: Must be one of these exact values — no variations accepted: 

permanent_employment — standard open-ended contract 

probation_employment — trial period, max 6 months, end date mandatory 

fixed_employment — fixed-term contract with a defined end date 

temporary_employment — temporary contract 

special_fixed_term_employment — special fixed-term arrangement 

intern — internship 

consultant — consultant engagement 

hourly_employment — hourly paid employment 

Common mistakes: 

Writing permanent instead of permanent_employment 

Using free text descriptions like “Full time” or “Contract” 

Employment rate 

The percentage of full-time hours the employee works. 

Format: Number between 0 and 100 

Example: 100 for full-time, 50 for half-time, 80 for 4 days a week 

Common mistakes: 

Writing 100% instead of 100 

Using decimals like 37.5 when a whole number is expected 

Employment country 

The country where the employment is based. 

Format: Two-letter ISO country code 

Example: NO, SE, GB, DK 

Common mistakes: 

Writing the full country name instead of the code 

Using three-letter codes like NOR or SWE 

Employment note 

Optional free text notes about the employment position. 

Format: Plain text 

Important: For Norwegian customers integrating with payroll, this field is used for the occupational code (Yrkeskode) in the format: 1234567 - Job Title 

Compensation columns 

Note: If you fill in any compensation column, the compensation.effectiveDate field becomes mandatory for all rows where compensation is entered. 

Compensation amount 

The salary or compensation amount for the defined payout period. 

Format: Number (no currency symbol, no thousand separators) 

Example: 850000 for an annual salary of 850,000 NOK 

Common mistakes: 

Including the currency symbol (e.g. NOK 850000) 

Using commas as thousand separators (e.g. 850,000) 

Compensation currency 

The currency the salary is paid in. 

Format: Three-letter ISO currency code 

Example: NOK, SEK, EUR, GBP 

Common mistakes: 

Using symbols like kr or £ instead of the code 

Compensation payout period 

The period the compensation amount refers to. 

Format: Must be one of these exact values: Annual, Quarterly, Monthly, Weekly, Daily, Hourly, Bi_weekly 

Example: If the compensation amount is a yearly salary, use Annual 

Compensation payout frequency 

How often the salary is paid out. 

Format: Must be one of: Month, Week, Bi_weekly 

Compensation payout day 

The day of the month salary is paid. 

Format: Number between 1 and 31 

Example: 25 for the 25th of each month 

Has occupational pension 

Whether the employee is enrolled in an occupational pension scheme. 

Format: TRUE or FALSE 

If left blank: Defaults to FALSE 

Compensation paid overtime 

Whether overtime is paid for this employee. 

Format: TRUE or FALSE 

Compensation effective date 

The date from which the compensation amount applies. Mandatory if any compensation data is filled in. 

Format: YYYY-MM-DD 

Example: 2024-01-01 

Common mistakes: 

Leaving this blank when other compensation columns are filled in — this will cause the import to fail for that row 

Compensation note 

Optional free text notes about the compensation. 

Format: Plain text 

Personal details columns 

Date of birth 

The employee’s date of birth. 

Format: YYYY-MM-DD 

Example: 1990-06-15 

Important: If filled in, the date of birth (not the year) will be visible to all employees in Simployer One. Leave blank if you do not want this to be visible. 

SSN country 

The country that issued the social security number. 

Format: Two-letter ISO country code 

Example: NO, SE, PL 

SSN (social security number) 

The employee’s social security or national identification number. 

Format: Depends on country: 

Norway: DDMMYYXXXXX (11 digits, e.g. 01019012345) 

Sweden: YYYYMMDD-XXXX (e.g. 19901201-1234) 

Other countries: use the standard format for that country 

Common mistakes: 

Using the wrong format for the country 

Including spaces or dashes where the format doesn’t expect them 

Home address 

The employee’s home address, split across four columns: street, postal code, city, and country. 

Format: 

Street: plain text including house number (e.g. Example Street 123) 

Postal code: plain text (e.g. M14 7AB) 

City: plain text (e.g. Manchester) 

Country: two-letter ISO code (e.g. GB) 

Nationality 

The employee’s nationality. 

Format: Two-letter ISO country code 

Example: NO, SE, GB 

Gender 

The employee’s gender. 

Format: Must be one of these exact values: MALE, FEMALE, NON_BINARY, UNSPECIFIED 

Common mistakes: 

Using lowercase or mixed case — only uppercase is accepted 

Contact details 

Work phone, private phone, and private email. 

Format: 

Phone numbers must include the country prefix and + sign (e.g. +4712345678) 

Private email: leave blank — Simployer will copy from work email for the invitation 

Important: Do not fill in the private email column. The invitation to Simployer One goes to the work email. Simployer copies this automatically. 

Bank account columns 

Bank name 

The name of the employee’s bank. 

Format: Plain text 

Example: DNB, Nordea 

Bank account country 

The country where the bank account is held. Mandatory if any bank account column is filled in. 

Format: Two-letter ISO country code 

Example: NO, SE 

Clearing number and account number 

Used for Nordic bank accounts. Fill in either clearing + account number OR IBAN + BIC — not both. 

Format: 

Clearing number: numeric 

Account number: numeric 

IBAN and BIC 

Used for international bank accounts. Fill in either IBAN + BIC OR clearing + account number — not both. 

Format: 

IBAN: standard IBAN format (e.g. GB29NWBK60161331926819) 

BIC: SWIFT/BIC code (e.g. EXAMPLEXXX) 

Common mistakes: 

Filling in both clearing/account and IBAN/BIC for the same employee — choose one method only 

Organisational columns 

Department 

The department the employee belongs to. 

Format: Plain text — must match the department name exactly as it appears in the organisation import template, including capitalisation. 

Example: Finance, Engineering, People & Culture 

Common mistakes: 

Spelling the department differently in the two files (e.g. HR in one and Human Resources in the other) 

Using different capitalisation (e.g. finance vs Finance) 

Office 

The office location the employee is assigned to, if applicable. 

Format: Plain text — must match the office name exactly in the organisation import template. 

Example: Oslo HQ, Stockholm Office 

Team 

Cross-functional teams the employee belongs to, if applicable. 

Format: Plain text. Multiple teams separated by a semicolon. 

Example: Team1;Team2 

Manager 

The employee’s direct manager. 

Format: Full name, must match exactly the first name + last name of another employee in the same import file. 

Example: Anna Andersson 

Common mistakes: 

The manager’s name not matching columns B and C exactly for that person’s row 

Assigning a manager who is not included in the same import file 

Division 

The division the employee belongs to, if your company uses divisions. 

Format: Plain text 

Tip: Leave blank if your company does not use divisions. 

Sweden-only columns 

Tax table 

The Swedish tax table number used to calculate tax deductions. Only applicable for Swedish employees. 

Format: Integer 

Example: 30, 29 

Tax column 

The Swedish tax column used alongside the tax table. Only applicable for Swedish employees. 

Format: Integer 

Example: 1, 2 

FAQs 

Can I leave optional columns blank? 

Yes — but do not delete the columns themselves. Leave them empty. Deleting a column will cause the import to fail. 

What happens if a column value doesn’t match the allowed values exactly? 

The import will fail for that row. Employment type, gender, payout period, and payout frequency all have strict allowed values. Copy them exactly as shown in this article. 

Do department and team names need to match the organisation template? 

Yes, exactly — including capitalisation and spacing. A mismatch means the employee will not be assigned to the correct department or team after import. 

Can I fill in both clearing/account number and IBAN/BIC for the same employee? 

No. Choose one method per employee and leave the other columns blank. 

Where do I find the allowed values for employment type again? 

In the employment.type column instructions in row 2 of the template, or in the employment type section of this article.