--- title: "Deceased Employees | HR Terminations" slug: "deceased-employees-1" description: "Learn about Deceased Employee Terminations in Marlin HR payroll software for tyre and mechanical workshops." updated: 2026-01-27T03:10:09Z published: 2026-01-27T03:10:09Z canonical: "help.megabus.com.au/deceased-employees-1" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.megabus.com.au/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Deceased Employees **Marlin HR** enables careful management of pay runs for deceased employees. All outstanding amounts and death benefits for deceased employees must be paid to the TFN and bank account of **a trustee or beneficiary**, [as required by the ATO](https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/hiring-and-paying-your-workers/payg-withholding/when-a-worker-leaves#Deathofanemployee). If they are being paid on the **same date**, all payments can be processed on a [single termination pay run](/hr/docs/termination-pay-runs), including: - **Standard hours** - **Overtime** - **Bonuses** - **Commissions** - **Allowances** - **Unused leave** - **ETP payments** - **Lump sums** - **Death benefits**, etc. Most payments made to a trustee or beneficiary are **not taxable**, and not all are reportable to the ATO. However, the year-to-date amounts reported to the ATO in the last pay run processed before the employee’s death must also be marked as **Final**. **No payments** should be made to the deceased employee’s TFN or bank account. For more information, please refer to [the ATO website](https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/hiring-and-paying-your-workers/payg-withholding/when-a-worker-leaves#Deathofanemployee). Note In case you forget a payment, or need to split payments over different dates, Marlin HR allows you to perform **multiple termination pay runs** for an employee. Each will have the same termination date and termination reason (as required by the ATO) but can have different dates paid. > add link? ## Quick Reference [Embedded object](https://cdn.document360.io/d7282b31-60c4-41e6-bf87-3f684d4da049/Images/Documentation/HR%20%E2%80%93%20Terminations%20Quick%20Ref.pdf) ## Reviewing Leave Balances Deceased employees' leave balances must be reviewed **before** changing the their status to Deceased, as it will be locked afterwards. Open the **Leave Entry** module (Main > Leave Entry): - Select the employee. - Review the accrued leave in the **Balance** column at the bottom of screen. If any of the balances are **incorrect**: - enter a [leave balance adjustment](/hr/docs/leave-balances-and-adjustments) to correct them. ### Long Service Leave If the employee is entitled to a **Long Service Leave** payout but this leave type is not available (i.e. does not appear at the bottom of screen): - Go into their **Entitlements** tab in Employee Maintenance and add a [Long Service Leave](/hr/docs/long-service-leave-1) entitlement - Return to the Leave Entry screen and enter a [leave balance adjustment](/hr/docs/leave-balances-and-adjustments) for the payable hours as of the employee's death **Do not clear out** any Annual Leave or LSL balances: - The termination pay run will display and ask whether these balances are to be paid out - It will then automatically clear the balances, whether you pay them out or not ### Personal Leave Personal leave is **not typically paid out** upon termination. If personal leave **is to be paid out:** - It must be **entered on the termination pay** as a $amount on an allowance type with a special ETP code. - Take note of the **current hours** balance now so that you can calculate the $amount to enter **Whether or not personal leave will be paid out:** - Perform a Leave Balance Adjustment to **clear the balance now**. If the employee took leave (A/L, LSL or Personal Leave) **between their last pay and their death:** - Enter a **Leave Entry** for those dates/hours now, as usual - The leave entry will be **automatically recorded** on the termination pay run ## Changing Employee Statuses After [reviewing the employee's leave balances](/hr/docs/deceased-employees-1#reviewing-leave-balances), you should immediately set their Status to **Deceased**. This ensures that they can **only be included on termination pay runs**, and that no further payments can be made to their TFN or bank account. To change an employee's status, open their file in **Employee Maintenance**: - Click on the **General** tab at the top - Change the **Status** drop-down at the top-left to **Deceased** - Click on the **Save** icon at the top - Respond **Yes** to the Deceased Warning pops up A new **Deceased Date** field will appear in the Important Dates section on the right: - Enter the **date of death** - Click on the **Save** icon at the top Warning **Do not change the employee's pay rate**, as it will be used on the termination pay run to calculate any unpaid hours, unused annual leave and long service leave, as well as to reduce the provision for leave in the General Ledger (if applicable). ## Beneficiaries and Trustees Once you have been **informed in writing** of an authorised trustee or beneficiary's details, you will need to add them to Marlin HR so that they can be selected on the termination pay run. These can be added (as beneficiaries) by selecting Select **Main > Beneficiary Maintenance** from the menu bar. To add a **beneficiary**: - Click on the **Add** button at the top - Enter the required **details** - Click **Save** Note The beneficiary must have a **valid unique TFN**. The special TFNs provided by the ATO for employees in certain circumstances (e.g. 000000000, 111111111 etc) are not allowed for trustees or beneficiaries. > ### Beneficiary Passwords > > > If you are emailing the pay advice to the beneficiary, you will also need to tell them the **password** to open it. > > > The password is their Beneficiary Code followed by the first 4 digits in the Date Of Birth, eg. BRAELE1305. ## Deceased Pay Runs Once the deceased employee's leave balances have been checked, status has been changed and beneficiary has been added, their [termination pay run](/hr/docs/termination-pay-runs) can be processed as usual. Enter **Payrun Details**: - **Pay Type:** Termination Pay - **Date Paid:** When the payment will be made - **Super Paid By:** Same as date paid (included in net pay) > cycle? To **display and enable the deceased employee**: - Tick the **Show Inactive, Terminated and Deceased Employees** checkbox that appears below the employee list (after selecting Termination Pay) **Note:** A red **Deceased** indicator will appear in their Status column ### Termination Options To edit **individual payment options**: - Click on the **Options** button in the deceased employee's Termination column The Termination Options pop-up will open, with the **Termination Reason** automatically set to Deceased and the **Termination Date** and **Deceased Date** automatically filled in, according to the information entered in Employee Maintenance. In the **Termination Options** pop-up: - Select the **Beneficiary** ([added above](/hr/docs/deceased-employees-1#beneficiaries-and-trustees)) - Edit the **Individual Message** to be be printed on the pay advice, if desired - Tick the **Pay Unused Leave/Loading** checkboxes below, as appropriate - Click **Ok** Once the termination options have been selected, the pay run can be initialised as usual, by clicking on the **Initialise** button at the bottom-right fo the module window. Note If the deceased employee worked any **standard hours since their last pay**: - Enter those hours into the Termination Pay (after initialising) - The system will automatically calculate and update pro rata leave accruals, adjust leave balances in the Termination Options window, and include any employer superannuation contributions. Warning **Do not add Standard Hours to a termination pay to pay out unused leave**, as those Standard Hours will attract additional leave accrual and employer superannuation. ## Termination Payment Details Since all payments must be made to an authorised beneficiary, rather than the deceased employee, both the **employee** and the **beneficiary** will appear on the on the initialised pay run. This is so that Marlin HR can: - **Transfer the employee’s unused leave balances** to the beneficiary. - **Submit an STP report to the ATO for the deceased employee**, flagging amounts as Final **Note:** These will match the year-to-date figures from the last pay run but will also mark the employee as Terminated with a Termination Reason of "Deceased." - **Submit an STP report to the ATO for the beneficiary**, reporting all unused leave payments, outstanding amounts, death benefits, and superannuation against the beneficiary’s TFN, which will be flagged as Final All of the deceased employee's amounts will be zero and greyed out, since **no payments can be made to them after death**. **All payments must therefore be entered for the beneficiary**, and most will not be taxable. To view and enter the required payments, **Double-click on the beneficiary** Warning **Do not enter any amounts against the deceased employee.** Note - **No defaults from Employee Maintenance** (e.g., earnings, allowances, deductions) are brought into a Termination Pay, as these apply only to normal pay runs. - **Deductions cannot be made** on a Termination Pay for a deceased employee. - **Any superannuation will be included in the Net Pay amount** and paid to the beneficiary via EFT or cheque. ### Viewing Unused Leave Payouts To view the **unused leave** payout (as per your selections on the Termination Options window): - Click on the **This** amount of the **Unused Leave Payout** ### Standard Hours and Leave Taken Any **hours worked** or **leave taken** since a deceased employee's last normal pay must be entered on their Termination Pay. These can be added as usual, by clicking on the **Earnings** field. > SS Note **Beneficiary Super** is the amount of employer superannuation payable on any OTE earnings types entered in the Termination Pay Run. Instead of being paid into a superannuation fund as usual, it is added as a payment and included in the beneficiary's **Net Pay**. Deceased employees are also **entitled to accrue leave** for any hours specified as Ordinary Time Earnings (OTE) by the ATO, including: - **Standard Hours** - **Annual Leave** - **Personal Leave** - **Long Service Leave** If the **Payout Unused Annual Leave** or **Payout Unused Long Service Leave** checkbox was selected in the Termination Options window: - Leave accruals for these hours will be **automatically calculated** and added to the **Unused Leave Payout** figure - These accruals will also be visible on the **Leave Accrued** line Tip Hovering over the **Annual Leave No Loading (Payout)** line will display a pop-up, showing how the leave figure and additional accrual were calculated. This information is also visible by clicking in the This cell of the Leave Accrued column. ### Death Benefits and Unpaid Allowances Any death benefits and unpaid allowances can be entered as usual, using the **Before Tax Allowance** field. Only the **payment types relevant to deceased terminations** will be available for selection. See the [Termination Payments](/hr/docs/termination-payments) help guide for further information. **Save** button ![](https://cdn.document360.io/d7282b31-60c4-41e6-bf87-3f684d4da049/Images/Glossary/image-1705904835202.png) Shortcut: **F10** **Add** button ![](https://cdn.document360.io/d7282b31-60c4-41e6-bf87-3f684d4da049/Images/Glossary/image-1704776179584.png) Shortcut: **Insert**