Who it’s for: Administrators (see access roles note)
Platform: Sense HR
Available on: Professional, Elite, and Enterprise plans
Before you begin
Make sure you’ve:
☑️ Logged in to the Sense HR web app
☑️ Been assigned administrator permissions (or have the relevant permissions to manage access roles)
☑️ Decided which people or groups the Limited admin role should have access to
🖊️ Access roles note:
Access to Settings > Access roles is usually limited to Administrators, but it can also be given to other roles if needed. This should only be done where absolutely necessary, as access role settings affect visibility and permissions across the whole system.
Overview
A Limited admin role gives administrator-level access across all areas except Settings, but only for the specific people or groups defined in that role.
This is useful when someone needs admin access for only part of the organisation, such as:
local HR support
regional administration
department-based administration
specialist operational support
Unlike standard and manager-type (advanced) roles, Limited admin does not use the full permissions structure of Own profile, People, Features, and Custom actions. Instead, you define who the role can access, and the role then has admin level access for that selected people scope.
This article explains how to:
create a Limited admin role
define who it can access
exclude specific people or groups
review filtered results
edit the role later
delete the role if it is no longer needed
Navigation path
Create a Limited admin role
Go to Settings > Access roles.
Click Add.
Enter a Role name.
Enter a Description.
Click Next.
In the next step, search and select who the role should have access to.
Optionally use Exclude people to remove specific people or groups.
Click View filtered results to review the result.
Click Save.
✅ The new Limited admin role is added to the Access roles list.
Choose a clear role name
Use a role name that makes the scope and purpose easy to understand.
Good examples include:
North Region HR Admin
Head Office Limited Admin
Warehouse Operations Admin
Sales Support Admin
💡 Tip:
Use the role name and description together to make the purpose of the role clear for future admins.💡 Tip:
Choose who the role can access
In the second step, use Search people to define who the Limited admin role should have access to.
You can search using things such as:
named people
department
location
contract type
job title
hierarchy position
smart filters such as team-based options where available
You can combine multiple selections to define the role’s people scope.
Understand how filters work
The way filters combine depends on whether they come from the same category or different categories.
Filters from different categories
Filters from different categories work as an AND rule.
For example:
Head Office + Sales
This returns people who are in Head Office and in Sales.
Filters from the same category
Filters from the same category work as an OR rule.
For example:
Head Office + Sales + Marketing
This returns people who are in Head Office and in Sales or Marketing.
It would not include Sales or Marketing employees in other locations.
Use Exclude people
Use Exclude people when you want to include a broad group, but remove selected people or smaller groups from it.
For example, you might:
include a full location
include a whole department
include the full company
then exclude directors or specific named employees
This is useful when most of a group should be included, but a smaller group should not.
Use View filtered results
Before saving the role, click View filtered results to check who is currently included.
This is the safest way to confirm the scope before applying the role.
🖊️ Note:
For smart filters, the result depends on the person later assigned to the role. In those cases, the system shows the smart-filter name rather than a fixed list of people.
Edit a Limited admin role
To edit a Limited admin role:
Go to Settings > Access roles.
Click the Limited admin role.
Use the Details tab to update the role name or description.
Use the Permissions tab to update who the role can access.
Click Done to save your changes.
What the tabs mean in a Limited admin role
Details
Use Details to update:
the role name
the role description
Permissions
Use Permissions to update the people scope for the role.
This is where you can change:
who is included
who is excluded
🖊️ Note:
For Limited admin, the Permissions tab controls who the role has access to, not detailed screen-by-screen permissions.
Delete a Limited admin role
Limited admin roles can be deleted when they are no longer needed.
To delete a Limited admin role:
Go to Settings > Access roles.
Find the Limited admin role in the list.
Open the More actions (…) menu.
Select Delete.
Confirm the deletion.
⚠️ Important:
Before deleting a Limited admin role, make sure it is no longer needed and check whether anyone is still assigned to it.
You are prompted to reassign anyone who is still assigned to role before deleting the role.
How Limited admin differs from other roles
Limited admin is different from standard and manager-type roles in two important ways:
it is created from the Add button, not by copying another role
it does not use the full permission-tab structure used by other roles
Standard and manager-type roles let you configure permissions in areas such as:
Own profile
People
Features
Custom actions
Limited admin does not. Instead, it gives admin access for the specific people scope you define.
Best practice
Use Limited admin only where someone genuinely needs admin-level access for a restricted part of the organisation.
Keep the people scope as narrow as possible.
Use clear role names and descriptions.
Check View filtered results before saving.
Review Limited admin roles regularly to make sure they are still appropriate.
It may be helpful to keep a test profile available so you can safely check what the role can access before assigning it to real users.
FAQs
Click to view answers to frequently asked questions
Click to view answers to frequently asked questions
Q: Why would I create a Limited admin role instead of another custom role?
A: The reason you would create a Limited admin role instead of another custom role is that Limited admin gives administrator-level access (excluding the Settings module), but only for the selected people or groups.
Q: Why doesn’t Limited admin have the same permission tabs as other roles?
A: The reason Limited admin doesn’t have the same permission tabs as other roles is that it works by defining people scope rather than configuring detailed permission categories. Limited admin has full access permissions for those people.
Q: Why can a Limited admin role see the wrong people?
A: The reason a Limited admin role can see the wrong people is usually that the include or exclude filters in the access role permissions need updating.
Q: Can I copy a Limited admin role?
A: No. Limited admin roles cannot be copied. They must be created and configured individually each time so you can define the correct people scope for that role.