---
title: "Payroll number allocation in HR"
slug: "payroll-number-allocation-in-hr"
updated: 2026-06-10T11:26:25Z
published: 2026-06-10T11:26:25Z
canonical: "help.cintra.co.uk/payroll-number-allocation-in-hr"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.cintra.co.uk/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Payroll number allocation in HR

<html><head></head><body><h2 data-block-id="mpwlw9yf-fo8tas-135" id="how-is-a-payroll-number-allocated-to-a-new-starter-from-hr">How is a payroll number allocated to a new starter from HR?</h2><ul data-block-id="mpwlw9yf-8cxbcu-136"><li data-block-id="mpwlw9yf-u3inm3-137"><p><span type="spanMark">When a new job is created in HR, this will prompt the creation of a new employment record in payroll if the person is not already in current employment.</span></p></li><li data-block-id="mpwlw9yg-vmaeie-138"><p><span type="spanMark">An <strong>Employment ID</strong> (payroll number) will be assigned in the CintraIQ payroll system using the next available number. This Employment ID will be automatically updated in the <strong>Payroll Number</strong> field on the person's profile in the HR system.</span></p></li><li data-block-id="mpwlw9yg-na9t05-139"><p><span type="spanMark">The length of the Employment ID can be configured to be up to 10 digits, with numbers being zero padded. The default length is 6 digits. If you would like to adjust this configuration, please contact the support desk.</span></p></li><li data-block-id="mpwlw9yg-1tx233-140"><p data-block-id="mpwlw9yg-lp3cvo-141">The next Employment ID generated will be based on the existing IDs in the payroll system</p></li></ul><p data-block-id="mpwlw9yg-qlm3zf-142"><span type="spanMark"><strong>Examples of the next Employment ID generated:</strong></span></p><div data-type="table-content"><table width="972" class="editor360-table fit-width" borderstyle="solid" style="max-width:972px;width:972px;"><colgroup><col style="width:243px;"><col style="width:243px;"><col style="width:243px;"><col style="width:243px;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><th colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p data-block-id="mpwlwf6l-supw4h-145" style="text-align:center;"><strong>Employment ID Length setting</strong></p></th><th colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p data-block-id="mpwlwlr2-rtche1-146" style="text-align:center;"><strong>Existing Employment ID(s)</strong></p></th><th colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p data-block-id="mpwlwm86-pdwfa7-147" style="text-align:center;"><strong>Next Employment ID Generated</strong></p></th><th colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p data-block-id="mpwlwmno-opvrcy-148" style="text-align:center;"><strong>Note</strong></p></th></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>0</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>(none)</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>1</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>No padding required</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>0</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>50,51,52</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>53</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>No padding, the next ID follows sequentially after 52</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>5</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>(none)</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>00001</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>Padded to 5 digits</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>5</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>ABC, DEF, XYZ</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>00001</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>Padded to 5 digits as existing IDs contain no numeric values</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>5</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>A-250, A-2, 123</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>00124</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>The next ID is based on the numeric ID 123, padded to 5 digits</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>5</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>123456, 012, 24680</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>123457</p></td><td colspan="1" rowspan="1" colwidth="243"><p>The highest existing numeric ID (123456) exceeds the 5-digit limit; the next ID will follow on from this</p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><h3 data-block-id="mpwlw9yl-3oaa66-143" id="can-the-employment-id-be-alphanumeric">Can the Employment ID be alphanumeric?</h3><p data-block-id="mpwlw9yl-0zqoph-144">All auto-allocated numbers are numeric only. Once an ID has been assigned, then it can be changed manually in the payroll system and the HR system if desired.</p></body></html>
