Entering and Processing Absences

This chapter discusses how to:

• Enter, update, and void absence events.

• Forecast absence entitlement balance during absence entry.

• View current absence entitlement balances and run the absence entitlement balance inquiry process

• Adjust and override absence entitlement balances.

• Review daily absence records.

• Run the Absence Entitlement and Absence Take processes.

• Create an Absence Results register.

See Also

Understanding Absence Management

Defining Absence Elements

Entering Updating, and Voiding Absence Events

This section provides an overview of absence entry and discusses how to:

• Enter, update, and void absence events.

• Enter detailed information about an absence.

Understanding Absence Entry

When a payee is absent from work at a normally scheduled work time, you record the absence take, the begin and end dates, and other details that you want to track.

Absences can be entered:

• Through the Absence Event Entry page.

  Payroll administrators use this page to record absence events.

• Through self-service absence pages.

  Payees and managers can use self-service pages to enter requests for absences; managers can also approve requests through the self-service pages.

  If you are using PeopleSoft Enterprise Time and Labor with your Absence Management, you can access the Absence Management Self-Service pages through the Time and Labors' Timesheet page.

  See Entering and Approving Self Service Absence Requests.

  See Reporting Time.

This chapter discusses the absence entry tasks for payroll administrators.

Absence Event Entry Steps

Following are the steps for entering an absence event:

1. Access the Absence Event Entry page for the payee.

2. Select the absence take element and enter the begin and end dates of the absence.

3. If applicable, enter the partial hours that the payee was absent and the original begin date of the absence.

4. Click the Details link to access the Absence Event Input Detail page, where you can enter other details that are related to the absence, if applicable.

5. If the Forecasting process is required for the take that you entered, return to the Absence Event Entry page and follow the procedures for forecasting entitlement during absence entry. The system displays a warning message if you try to save absence entries for the take without first running the Forecasting process.

See Forecasting Absence Entitlement Balance During Absence Entry.

Pages Used to Enter, Update, and Void Absence Events

Entering, Updating, and Voiding Absences

Access the Absence Event Entry page (Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Payee Data, Maintain Absences, Absence Event, Absence Event Entry).

To enter a new absence, insert a row and complete the fields described below. To make changes to a row, delete the row and add a new one.

Note. If you enter absences with overlapping dates, and your absence rules do not allow you to enter more than one absence for the same day, an error message appears when you try to save the events. If you've elected to use the automatic priority processing feature and have assigned a priority number to your absence take elements, the system determines which take element has priority for the date in question and offers the option of executing priority processing. You define absence priority rules on the Absence Take - Priority page.

Absence Take

Entering the same original begin date for the first and third absence events tells the system that the absences are related. If you defined the take element to link absences, the system checks to see if the current absence occurred within the time frame allowed for linking. If it did, the two events are linked.

The default value for Original Begin Date is the begin date. Changing the begin date here does not update the original begin date.

Process Status

Select the Process Status tab

Status	Displays the status of the absence event as it relates to processing in payroll. Valid values are Not Proc. (Not Processed), Processed, and Finalized. Note. Absence events with a status of Finalized will be set to Processed if the absence event has been retroactively processed during an on cycle or off cycle calculation
Calendar Group ID	Displays the calendar group for which the absence take was processed.
Process Date	Displays the date on which the absence take was processed.

Forecast Value

Select the Forecast Value tab.

Begin Date and End Date	These fields display the dates that you entered for the absence event on the main page. Any changes that you make here update the main page.
Forecast Value	The alphanumeric value resolved by the forecasting element. You associate a forecasting formula with a take element on the Take − Forecasting page. (For example, your forecast element might return a value of Eligible or Not Eligible.
Forecast DateTime	The last date and time that the Forecasting process was run for the take element.
Forecast Details	Select to access the Absence Forecast Results page.

Deleting Absence Event Rows

The Delete row button will be available or grayed out based on the Payroll Status and the Delete Option selected on the Event Entry page. When the Delete Option selected is All Events Except Processed the Delete row button is disabled on all processed rows and finalized rows. When the Delete Option selected is All Event Except Finalized the Delete row button is disabled on all finalized rows.

A warning is issued when you select to delete an absence event and you have selected the Delete Option of All Events Except Finalized. The warning message states, "Are you sure you want to delete the Event %1 Begin Date %2 End Date %3?" The explanation attached to this message states, "This absence event has already been processed. If you delete this event you might have to reprocess the absence to correct the results."

See Defining Self Service Absence Rules by Country.

Entering Detailed Information About an Absence

Access the Absence Event Input Detail page (click the Details link on the Absence Event Entry page).

Absence Take	Displays the take element that you selected on the Absence Event Entry page.
Event Priority	Displays the priority number of the take element if one was assigned on the Absence Take - Priority page. If you enter more than one absence for the same date, you can use the automatic priority processing feature when you save your entries. The system compares the priority numbers of the overlapping absences to determine which take rule to apply for the date in conflict. The lower the number, the higher the priority.
Absence Reason	You can select an absence reason from those that were in effect as of the absence begin date. You define absence reasons on the Absence Types page and link an absence type to a take element on the Take - Calculation page.
Absence Type	The absence type for the Take element is displayed.
Entry Source	Identifies the source of the absence data. Values are: Admin:The absence event entry was created using the Absence Event Entry page. This is the default for new entries using the Absence Event Entry page. Third Party Time & Labor: The absence event entry was created using a third party interface. Employee Self Service: The absence event entry was created using Absence Self Service Employee request page. Manager Self Service: The absence event entry was created using Absence Self Service Manager request page. Employee Timesheet: The absence event entry was created using Employee Timesheet page Manager Timesheet: The absence event entry was created using Manager Timesheet page.
Manager Approved	Select to have the absence processed when you run the take process. This check box is selected, by default, if you defined the absence take element (on the Absence Take - Calculation page) as not requiring manager approval.
Last Updated	This date appears after you save your entry.
Workflow Status	Displays the current workflow status of the absence take.
Process Status	Displays the status of the absence event as it relates to processing in payroll. Valid values are Not Processed, Processed, and Finalized.
Calendar Group ID	Displays the calendar group for which the absence take was processed.
Process Date	This field displays the most recent processing date for this absence event.
First Processed Date	The value in this field represents the original processing date for the absence event. The Process Date and First Processed Date fields show different processing dates, in the case of retroactive processing.

User Defined Fields

You can enter data in up to 16 user-defined fields. When you run the Take process, the system writes the data to the daily records, so that it's available to the count formulas.

A system element in the GP_ABS_EVENT record corresponds to each user-defined field. The naming conventions are:

• EVT CONFIG1(2, 3, 4) DT for date values.

• EVT CONFIG1(2, 3, 4) DC for decimal values.

• EVT CONFIG1(2, 3, 4) CH for character values.

• EVT CONFIG1(2, 3, 4) MN for monetary values.

Definition of abbreviations: Event configurable 1(2,3,4) date/decimal/character/monetary

For example, employees take 100 percent or 80 percent pay for sick time. If they take 100 percent, they lose a day of vacation for each set of five sick days that they take. You enter 100 or 80 in one of the decimal fields to specify the employee's choice and use a formula that counts the number of vacation days that the employee loses in each case.

Note. Values entered in the user defined fields can be overwritten during the Take process, depending on your take rules.

Note. The user-defined fields on this page are not related to the user-defined fields that appear on the Absence Take - Calculation page.

Override

If the absence take element is associated with a per-absence entitlement element, use this group box to override the standard entitlement amount or adjust the payee's entitlement balance. To override the entitlement amount or adjust the entitlement balance for a frequency-based entitlement, use the Absence Adjustment page.

Important! Use the same type of units as those that are used to define the entitlement element.

Absence Begin/End Data

Data that you enter in the following fields is used in absence calculations only if the data is referenced by your absence formulas.

See Also

Defining Absence Take Priorities

Defining User Defined Result Fields

Forecasting Absence Entitlement Balance During Absence Entry

This section provides an overview of forecasting and discusses how to:

• Review absence entitlement balance forecasting results.

• Review forecasting messages.

Understanding Absence Entitlement Balance Forecasting

Use the Absence Forecasting process to evaluate the impact of an absence event. To use this feature, you must have defined the forecasting rules that are applicable to your organization and enabled the absence forecasting feature.

Absence Forecasting Steps

Following are the steps for using absence forecasting:

1. Enter a payee's actual or anticipated absence events on the Absence Event Entry page.

2. Click the Forecast button to start the process.

   Note. The system does not automatically save your absence request before initiating the Forecasting process. Although the system prompts you to save before leaving the page, it is not necessary to save your forecast information before or after the Forecasting process.

3. If applicable, check the Forecast Messages page to see if errors or warnings were generated during the process.

4. Correct errors and rerun the process.

   Each time you run the Forecasting process, the system overwrites the previous forecast data.

5. View the results by clicking the Forecast Details link on the Absence Event Entry page.

Forecasting and Retroactivity

In absence forecasting the forecasting period will include those calendars that should be reprocessed due to the presence of an unprocessed retro trigger. The absence event change must create a retro trigger in order for the forecasting period to include a finalized calendar whose period includes the effective date of the trigger.

Example of Absence Forecasting with Retro

An employee has an absence entitlement balance of 16 hours once the September run is finalized. During October's run the employee is absent for 24 hours, October 17 – October 19. Because there is not enough entitlement to cover this absence, a portion of the absence will go unpaid. The rules as defined for this absence will mark this event as Ineligible.

If the end date is changed to October 18, there will be enough entitlement and the event will be marked as Eligible. The change to the event will create a retro trigger and therefore the October calendar will be processed again during forecasting.

Note. The absence event change must create a retro trigger in order for the forecasting period to include a finalized calendar whose period includes the effective date of the trigger. In addition, the earliest retro trigger (not limited to retro triggers from the absence event) that satisfies the retro limit is selected to determine which template calendar is the starting point for retro processing. The calendar period end date must be greater than or equal to the minimum effective date of the retro triggers that are greater than or equal to the retro limit date.

See Also

Absences and Retroactive Processing

Online Forecasting and Balance Inquiry Processes

Pages Used to Forecast Absence Entitlement Balances

Reviewing Absence Entitlement Balance Forecast Results

Access the Absence Forecast Results page (click the Forecast Details link on the Forecast Value tab on the Absence Event Entry page).

Forecast Results

This tab displays the forecasted value for each element that appears on the Absence Take - Forecasting page, along with related take elements.

Accumulator Results

Select the Accumulator Results tab.

The begin and end dates of the accumulation period are displayed for any accumulators that are included in the Forecasting Results Element List on the Absence Take - Forecasting page.

User Keys

Select the User Keys tab.

The values of the accumulator's user keys are displayed for any accumulators that are included in the Forecasting Results Element List on the Absence Take - Forecasting page.

Reviewing Forecast Messages

Access the Forecast Messages page (Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Payee Data, Maintain Absences, Absence Event, Forecast Messages).

Calculation Status	Identifies the phase of processing during which the error or warning occurred.
Message Text	Displays the abbreviated text of the message and other information about the message.

See Also

Status Codes and Process Indicators

Viewing Current Absence Entitlement Balances and Running the Absence Entitlement Balance Inquiry Process

Use the Balance Inquiry feature to view a payee's current entitlement balance for a take. You can also run the Balance Inquiry process to return the values of the elements that are specified on the Absence Take - Balance Inquiry page. Typically, one of these elements returns the absence balance for the take. Values are displayed as of the date that you specify.

In this section, we discuss how to:

• View current balances for payees.

• Start the Balance Inquiry process.

See Also

Status Codes and Process Indicators

Pages Used to Start the Balance Inquiry Process and View Balances

Viewing a Payee's Entitlement Balances

Access the Current Balance page (Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Payee Data, Maintain Absences, Review Absence Balances, Current Balance).

Accumulator Balance Tab

For the period of time defined by the From and Through dates this tab displays the payee's entitlement balances as of the most recent run of the Entitlement process for the payee.

User Keys Tab

This tab displays the value that was entered for each user key defined on the Entitlement Accumulators page.

See Also

Defining Rules for Auto Generated Accumulators

Running the Balance Inquiry Process

Access the Forecast Balance page (Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Payee Data, Maintain Absences, Review Absence Balances, Forecast Balance).

Following are the steps for running the Balance Inquiry process:

1. Select the take element and the As of Date for which you want to display forecasted results.

2. Click the Forecast button.

3. View the results in the Forecast Balance Results Detail group box.

   The tabs in this group box are identical to the tabs on the Absence Forecast Results page.

See Also

Reviewing Absence Entitlement Balance Forecast Results

Adjusting and Overriding Entitlement Balances

You can adjust or override a payee's entitlement balance in several ways.

In this section, we discuss how to:

• Adjust entitlement.

• Redefine a frequency-based entitlement rule.

Pages Used to Adjust Entitlements

Adjusting a Payee's Entitlement for a Single Calendar Period

Access the Adjust Absence Balances page (Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Payee Data, Adjust Balances, Absences, Adjust Absence Balances).

The Absence Entitlement process follows the instructions you enter on this page.

Note. You can also enter one time adjustments to a per-absence entitlement when entering an absence event.

Note. You cannot adjust or delete entitlement elements inserted through the Leave Donations process on this page. Use the Adjust Leave Program Balances page to adjust leave donation balances.

Balance Adjustments

Enter each adjustment that applies to this payee for the selected absence calendar. You cannot enter more than one adjustment for the same element.

See Also

Entering Updating, and Voiding Absence Events

Adjusting Leave Program Balances

Redefining a Frequency-Based Entitlement Rule

Access the Entitlement/Take Assignment page (Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Payee Data, Maintain Absences, Assign Entitlements and Takes, Entitlement/Take Assignment).

To override a per-absence entitlement rule, use the Absence Event Entry page.

Note. To override an entitlement or take element, the Payee override option must be selected on the Element Name (GP_PIN) page.

Elements

Unit Element

Generation Control

Reviewing Daily Absence Records

The following table lists the pages that display the results of a batch absence process:

See Also

Viewing Positive Input Results

Viewing Daily Results of the Absence Take Process

Running the Absence Entitlement and Take Processes

In this section, we discuss:

• The Absence Entitlement and Absence Take processes.

• Absences and Segmentation.

• Absences and Retroactive Processing.

Absence Entitlement and Absence Take Processes

Absence processing is done by the following processes:

• Entitlement process

  This process updates frequency-based entitlements for payees and makes entitlement available. For example, if entitlement is granted monthly, you run the entitlement process once a month, even if you run weekly payrolls. You do not run this process for per-absence entitlements because they are updated by the Take process. You can run the Entitlement process before or after the Take process.

• Take process

  During this process, the system looks at each daily record and determines the amount of time that should be paid or unpaid, according to your absence rules. It converts paid and unpaid units to positive input and adjusts entitlement balances.

After running the Entitlement and Take processes, you run the payroll process to compensate payees for paid absences. This diagram illustrates the absence processing cycle.

The absence processing cycle

Following are the steps to prepare for running the Entitlement and Take processes:

1. Create one or more absence process lists to define the absence take elements or frequency-based entitlement elements that are to be resolved during processing.

2. Associate the process list with a run type.

3. Create a calendar for the absence processing period.

4. Attach the calendar to a calendar group ID.

   You can attach an absence calendar and a pay calendar to the same calendar group ID.

Typically, you create process lists and attach them to run types when you implement Global Payroll. Then perform the remaining tasks on a regular basis. This diagram illustrates the preparation steps for absence processing.

Preparing for absence processes

Useful Features of Process Lists

Useful features of process lists include:

• The absence period can be the same as or different from the pay period. For example, January absences can be paid in January or February. You specify the target calendar pay for each absence process.

• You can run the entitlement and take processes together or separately.

• More than one Take process can target the same pay calendar. For example, vacations taken in January and sick time taken in February can be paid in February. To accomplish this, create two absence process lists, one for vacations and another for sick time, and attach each process list to a separate absence calendar. On each absence calendar, select the pay calendar as the target calendar.

• The system can process absence takes according to their sequence on the process list or in chronological order. To process absences in chronological order, you include take elements in an absence take section of a process list.

Guidelines for Creating Process Lists

Here are guidelines for creating process lists:

• When setting up process lists, select Absence as the Calculation Type on the Process Lists - Definition page.

• You can place entitlement and take elements on the same or different process lists.

• Do not include per-absence entitlement elements in a process list.

  An entitlement of this type is resolved by the Take process each time that an absence occurs.

• Consider the order in which you add elements to the process list.

  Place the entitlement elements before the take elements.

• If any take elements are mapped so that the system generates the same take for both elements simultaneously, place the source element before the "mapped to" element. Otherwise, the mapped element is not resolved. (You can map elements using the Mapped To field on the Absence Take - Day Formula page.)

• To have absence events processed in chronological order, add the take elements to an absence take section of the process list.

Guidelines for Creating Absence Calendars

Here are guidelines for creating absence calendars:

• Take and Entitlement processes must be associated with a pay calendar.

  Select the pay calendar as the target calendar when you create the calendar for the Take and Entitlement processes.

• The absence period can be the same as or different from the pay period.

• You can run some or all processes during the same run by attaching the appropriate calendars to the same calendar run ID.

• You can run the Entitlement and Take processes in any order; typically you run Entitlement first.

  Timing can affect entitlement balances, as shown in this example:

  Payees are entitled to 20 hours of vacation per month. In January, a payee takes 15 hours of vacation. The payee has no carryover from the prior year, so as of 1 January, the entitlement balance is 0.

  • If you run the absence Entitlement process first, the employee receives the monthly entitlement of 20 hours. When you run the Take process, the system subtracts 15 hours, leaving an entitlement balance of 5 hours.

  • If you run the Take process first, the employee has a negative entitlement balance of 15 hours. When you run the Entitlement process, the balance becomes 5 hours. If your organization doesn't allow a negative balance, the payee might have to take the 15 hours as unpaid time or have the 15 hours deducted from the entitlement that is associated with another absence take. Only when the entitlement process is run does the payee receive the full 20 hours.

Running the Entitlement or Take Process

After defining the Calendar Run ID, you're ready to start the process. Complete the Calculate Absence and Payroll page and use PeopleSoft Process Scheduler to start the process.

See Also

Defining Processing Elements

Processing Payroll

Absences and Segmentation

When you run the Take process, the system assigns an instance number to each event, based on the following rules:

• If Multiple Instances is selected on the Absence Take - Calculation page, the system assigns a separate instance number to each like event that falls within the same absence period.

• If Multiple Instances is not selected, the system assigns the same instance number to all like events that fall within the same absence period.

When the earning or deduction element that is associated with the take element is segmented, the Take process creates multiple instances, regardless of whether you selected Multiple Instances. Multiple instances are also created if the percent defined for the take element changes. (Percent is defined on the Generate Positive Input Member List on the Absence Take - Day Formula page.)

Example

Payee A is absent from January 10 to 17. The earning element is segmented as shown below. The event is divided into the two instances.

Events divided into multiple instances because of segmentation

Absences and Retroactive Processing

This section describes how absences work with retroactive processing.

Setting Up Triggers for Absence Events

Triggers are the mechanism that Global Payroll uses to detect changes to data that result in some type of system action. We recommend that you create retroactive and iterative triggers so that the system recognizes the online changes that users make to absence events through the Absence Event Entry page (the GP_ABS_EVENT record). Then iterative or retroactive processing is triggered whenever you add, delete, or update events.

Retro Processing Method

Retroactive processing of absence calendars is carried out using the Corrective retroactive method. Deltas are not generated.

Retroactive processing creates a new version of the generated positive input results and new versions of the daily absence data (GP_RSLT_ABS). For example, if an absence event occurs from 1 to 5 January (when it was originally processed), the event is represented by five rows of data in the daily record, each named Version1. If you change the end date to 7 January, 7 rows appear in Version 2 of the results.

See Also

Setting Up Triggers

Reporting Absence Data

This section explains how to create an absence results report.

Page Used to Create an Absence Results Report

Creating an Absence Result Report

Access the Absence Results Register page (Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Absence and Payroll Processing, Reports, Absence Results Register, Absence Results Register).