What Happens to a SharePoint Calendar When Its Creator Leaves?
Question details
Determine whether a shared SharePoint calendar is deleted when the creator's user account is removed from the organization.
- Product
- SharePoint
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- An organization is preparing to delete the Microsoft 365 account of a departing employee who created a vital shared calendar.
- Observed behavior
- The shared calendar needs to remain active and accessible for the team, requiring verification of data retention and necessary administrative handoffs before the creator's account is permanently deleted.
Ensure you have SharePoint Site Administrator privileges so you can verify and reassign list permissions, alerts, and associated workflows before the departing user's account is fully deactivated.
Transferring Calendar Ownership and Reassigning Workflows
Although the SharePoint calendar list will not be deleted, you must proactively transfer permissions, alerts, and automated flows tied to the departing employee.
A SharePoint calendar is stored directly on the SharePoint site database, not in the individual creator's personal mailbox or OneDrive. Because of this, deleting the creator's Microsoft 365 user account will not delete the calendar list itself.
However, secondary dependencies such as custom list permissions, user-specific alerts, Power Automate flows, and SharePoint workflows often run using the credentials of the person who created them. If these are not reassigned before the account is deleted, automated tasks and email notifications tied to the calendar will start failing.
Navigate to your SharePoint site settings and review the 'Site Owners' group. Ensure that at least one active administrator has Full Control permissions to manage the site and its lists.
Open the SharePoint calendar, click the Settings gear icon, and select 'List settings'. Under 'Permissions and Management', click 'Permissions for this list' to verify that active team members or groups have the appropriate Edit or Contribute access.
If the departing employee created any Power Automate flows for the calendar (e.g., automated birthday reminders), a SharePoint administrator must take ownership of these flows and update the connection credentials to use an active account or a dedicated service account.
Check for any custom alerts set up by the user. Have the new calendar manager subscribe to the necessary alerts manually by clicking the 'Alert Me' button in the calendar ribbon.
Temporarily disable the departing employee's account rather than deleting it immediately. Ask team members to add or edit a test event on the calendar to ensure all permissions and automated workflows are functioning properly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Will deleting a Microsoft 365 account delete their SharePoint files?
No, files and lists stored in shared SharePoint sites or Microsoft Teams channels are retained because they belong to the site itself, not the individual user. However, files stored in the departed user's personal OneDrive will be marked for deletion.
How do I change the owner of a SharePoint calendar?
Navigate to the SharePoint calendar, click the Settings gear icon, and select 'List settings'. Click 'Permissions for this list' to view current access levels. If the list is inheriting permissions, you can manage the Site Owners group; if it has unique permissions, you can directly grant 'Full Control' to another active user.
Why did our SharePoint calendar automated emails stop working after an employee left?
If the departed employee created a Power Automate flow or a custom alert tied to their specific login credentials, deactivating their account breaks the connection. A site admin needs to take ownership of the flow in Power Automate and re-authenticate the connections using an active account.
Can I recover a SharePoint calendar if it was accidentally deleted?
Yes, deleted SharePoint lists and calendars are moved to the site's Recycle Bin. A Site Administrator can navigate to the Recycle Bin and restore the deleted calendar, along with its events, within 93 days of the deletion.
