How do I end an assignment?

Applies to: staffing Partners, and client users whose role allows it, managing assignments in the Ascen platform. Workers cannot end their own assignment — if you are the worker, tell your staffing Partner that the assignment is finishing.

Summary: Open the assignment, click Actions in the top right, and choose End. Before you do, make sure the final hours are in, and pick the end reason carefully — it becomes part of the worker's employment record.

Where the button is

The End option is not on the assignment list. You have to open the full assignment first, which is why it is easy to miss.

1. Open Assignments from the left-hand menu and click the assignment.

2. In the side panel, click View more to open the full assignment.

3. Click Actions in the top right of the assignment page. The dropdown includes End.

4. Choose the end reason and sub-reason, and confirm.

The assignment moves to complete. It is not deleted — the record, its timesheets and its history all stay, and the assignment can be restarted later.

Before you end it: get the final hours in

Ending the assignment closes the door on ordinary time entry against it. If hours are still outstanding, the tidiest order is: final timesheet entered and approved first, then end the assignment.

If you have already ended it and hours turn up afterwards, do not leave them — email support@ascen.com with the worker's full name, the assignment or client, and the dates and hours. We can reopen the assignment on our side to get the time added and then close it again. It is a routine fix, but it is slower than sending the hours first.

Timesheets you send us by email follow the usual route — see Emailing timesheets to us — where to send them and what happens next. For when the worker actually gets paid, see Your worker's hours are approved — when do they get paid, and can a payment be expedited?.

Choose the end reason carefully

The end reason is not just a label for your own reporting. It flows onto the worker's employment record and is what informs how the separation is reported if that worker later files for unemployment. A reason chosen quickly — or a default left in place — is one of the more common causes of a dispute weeks later, when the worker sees how their departure was recorded and tells us it is wrong.

Two things make this easier:

• Pick the reason that actually describes what happened, including the sub-reason. If the assignment simply finished, say so; do not reach for a reason that implies the worker chose to leave.

• Tell us whether the worker is still available for further assignments. An assignment ending and a person's employment ending are not the same event, and the difference changes both how the separation is recorded and when final wages are due. Flag it when you notify us — see Who should I contact in the case of employee issues?.

If you cannot see the End option

Ending an assignment is permission-based, so not every user on your account has it. If Actions does not offer End, ask an owner or admin on your account to do it, or email support@ascen.com and we will end it for you — include the worker's name and the client, and the last day worked.

Related situations

• It ended by itself. Assignments with no time submitted against them for long enough are ended automatically — see Why did my worker's assignment end on its own?.

• You need it back. Use Actions → Restart — see How do I reactivate assignments?. Restarting keeps the worker's existing record — they are not put back through onboarding from scratch, though they may be asked to re-confirm a detail or two before time can flow.

• The worker is moving to a different engagement type. Do not simply end and recreate — see Moving a worker between W-2 and independent contractor — what we need from you.

• You are ending several at once because a client is cutting headcount. Tell us before you start, not after. Group reductions can raise notice questions that depend on where each worker is located, so we need the list and the dates up front rather than after the fact. Email support@ascen.com.

• You are ending it to change a rate. Check Creating clients, jobs, and assignments — what's required and what can delay going live first and ask us — there is a correct way to handle a rate change that does not strand the already-entered time.

Who to contact

Assignment and platform questions: support@ascen.com. Anything about the worker's pay, taxes, HR or employment record also goes to support@ascen.com — those sit with us as the employer of record, not with you. Day-to-day scheduling and placement stay with you as the staffing Partner. For the full split, see What is the responsibility of Ascen versus the staffing agency partner?.