PeopleSoft Enterprise Absence Management 9.1 PeopleBook

Managing Off Cycle Processing

This chapter provides an overview of off cycle processing and discusses how to:

Initiate off cycle transactions.
Correct or reverse absence results.
Process advances.
Process and view results for off cycle transactions.

Understanding Off-Cycle Processing

This section discusses:

Differences between on and off cycle runs.
Types of off cycle transactions.
Features of off cycle processing.
Steps for entering off cycle requests.
Processing and postprocessing steps.
Off cycle batch processing.
System elements for developing off cycle rules.

Common Elements Used in This Chapter

Off Cycle Group

Identifies a set of off cycle transactions to process. The name of an off cycle group is user defined. You can use any value.

Period Begin Date and Period End Date

Dates the system uses to determine:

The period for updating accumulators, for those accumulators that are defined to accumulate based on period begin date or period end date.
The element definitions to retrieve during processing, for those elements that use period begin date or period end date as the definition as of date.

Corrections inherit these dates from the target calendar; you can override the default dates. Advance payments inherit these dates from the source calendar, the calendar that is being advanced; you cannot override these dates for advances.

Target Period ID

Affects the period for which balance accumulators are updated. The target period provides the default values for the period begin date and period end date for all transaction types except advances. For advances, the target period determines the process begin date and process end date.

Differences Between On and Off Cycle Absence Runs

On cycle processing refers to executing regularly scheduled runs. In Absence Management these are recurring runs for which a period, calendar, and calendar group have been predefined. A pay group with a monthly frequency has twelve regularly scheduled on cycle absence runs each year.

Off-cycle absence processing refers to processing absences and making corrections to finalized results outside of the normal absence schedule. Off cycle transactions are typically made to correct prior absence results or to make termination payments that can't wait until the next scheduled on cycle absence run.

With the exceptions that are explained in this chapter, the concepts that apply to on cycle processing also apply to off cycle processing: retroactivity, segmentation, calendars, calendar groups and running calculations. The primary difference between on and off cycle processing is the way in which you enter instructions for what and whom to process.

Types of Off Cycle Transactions

Absence Management supports two types of off cycle transactions.

Corrections

These are transactions that correct the results of a finalized absence run. An example is reversing an absence entitlement that was made to a payee in error.
Advances

Advances are the processing of segments before they are normally scheduled, such as the early calculation of absence transactions in order to pay wages due to termination or to process a leave of absence in advance.

Features of Off Cycle Processing

With off cycle processing, you can override supporting elements.

For all off cycle transactions except advances, you can override the values of brackets, dates, duration, formulas, and variables for a given payee and calendar. Advances will take these overrides from the calendar definitions of the calendars being advanced.

Steps for Entering an Off Cycle Payment

You can enter multiple off cycle requests for the same pay group and target period.

To enter requests for off cycle transactions:

Create an off cycle group using the Off Cycle On Demand (GP_ONDEMAND) component.

An off cycle group is a group of payees that are processed together. It identifies which off cycle transactions to process and the processing instructions, including who and what to process (pay group) and when to process it (target calendar ID). Its purpose is similar to a calendar in an on cycle process, except that you enter specific instructions for each payee. Name the off cycle group on the Off Cycle On Demand page.
Enter individual requests for off cycle processing.

The Off Cycle On Demand component prevents you from performing off cycle steps out of order. You will enter a request by clicking either the Create Request or Edit Request button. If at least one request has been create the button is labeled Edit Request.

Once the button is clicked, you are transferred to the main request page which includes the valid off cycle types for your organization. On this main page, you indicate the payee ID by type of transaction. Next, select the detail link and you are transferred to the individual detail page for the transaction type.
Create a calendar group for the off cycle run.

A calendar group for an off cycle run identifies the off cycle groups to process together (whereas a calendar group for an on cycle process identifies the calendars to process together). Use the same page to create all calendar groups, completing the fields that pertain to off cycle processing.

You create a calendar group for an off cycle run directly on the Off Cycle On Demand page of the Off Cycle On Demand component by clicking the Create Calendar Group button. When you create the Calendar Group through the dashboard, the system uses the name of the off cycle group (one of the keys) as the name of the calendar group. Also, the system populates the Calendar Group page with the other information required to generate the off cycle calendar group.

Note. When processing a correction request, ensure the Process Retro field is selected on the Calendar Group page.

Processing and Postprocessing Steps

To process requests for off cycle transactions:

Initiate the off cycle run.

Use the Off Cycle On Demand page of the Off Cycle On Demand component to initiate off cycle runs by clicking the Calculate button. The calculation will be performed as a remote call. The calculation is performed as a remote call. The remote call causes the browser to remain on the Off Cycle On Demand page for the duration of the calculation process. Any pertinent messages are displayed upon completion. Each time the calculation is run, the system cancels the payees, identifies the payees that are eligible for calculation, and calculates all elements for the payees.

Note. Off cycle processing can also be run using the Calculate Absence and Payroll page as it would for an on cycle process.

When the calculation finishes, it opens the Payee Status page. From this page you can access the Results by Calendar Group page as well as the Payee Messages page. The Payee Status page reflects that the results are calculated. From this page you can review:
- Payee Calculation Status.
- Payee Results.
- Payee Messages.
  
  Note. When the calendar group is created, you can access the Payee Status page at any time by clicking the View Status and Results link.
When you review the processing results, you can choose to:
- Cancel the calculation. Click the Cancel button on the Off Cycle On Demand page.
- Calculate again due to changes made to the off cycle transactions. Click the Calculate button on the Off Cycle On Demand page.
- Finalize the end the absence calculation. Click the Finalize button on the Off Cycle On Demand page. Once this is done, move on to Step 3.
Run all post-processes, such as Absence Conversion Programs to Payroll for North America and/or for Payroll Interface and reports.

Each postprocessing step needs to be run with the same sequence as on cycle.

Off Cycle Batch Processing

With off cycle processing, the system automatically suspends affected payees from other runs in which they are active so that they can be included in the off cycle process. (A payee can only be active in one run at a time.)

Here's what the system does when you submit an off cycle request:

Checks whether the payee is associated with an open calendar group.
If yes, suspends the payee in the calendar group so that the payee can be calculated immediately in the off cycle group.

Note. If the Calculation status is set to Frozen, the system suspends the payee in the off cycle calendar group.

Transaction processing varies depending on the type of off cycle request being processed.

Corrections

Off cycle corrections are based on retroactive processing similar to the retroactive corrections that take place during on cycle runs.

A trigger must exist on or before the period end date for the calendar being corrected or reversed.
The type of correction is replacement which replaces an existing absence run.
The type of retroactive method is Forced Corrective.
New calendars are created and will be processed. :

Advances

For advances, calendar groups are processed with the applicable calendars. Batch processing follows the same logic as on cycle processing.

System Elements for Developing Off Cycle Rules

The following table provides information about delivered system elements that are used during off cycle processing:

System Element	Description	Values
GP TX TYPE	Identifies the transaction type	R (Correction) A (Advances) Blank (on cycle runs)
OFF CYCLE	Identifies whether calendar is off cycle or on cycle.	Y (Yes) = off cycle calendar. N (No) = on cycle calendar. (Any run with a defined calendar is considered on cycle, including semi-regular runs.)
GP CORR TYPE	Identifies the correction type	R (Replacement — Normal Retro). W (Reversal — Replacement).

Initiating Off Cycle Transactions

This section provides an overview of preliminary entry for off cycle transactions and discusses how to:

Create an off cycle request.
Enter basic off cycle information.

Understanding the Preliminary Entry for Off Cycle Transactions

You can create an off cycle request by accessing the Off Cycle On Demand page or the Off Cycle Requests page. Use the Off Cycle On Demand component (GP_ONDEMAND) to create an off cycle request, process the request, and view the results. Use the Off Cycle Requests component (GP_OFFCYCLE_REQ) to enter the employee ID for the applicable off cycle transaction type. After entering the employee ID on the Off Cycle Request page, you complete a separate page of the component to complete details for each transaction type you intend to process.

If a payee has entries for more than one transaction type, the system processes the correction transactions first, then the advance transactions. To process the transactions in any other order, set up separate off-cycle groups and process the advances in separate runs.

Pages Used to Initiate Off Cycle Transactions

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Off Cycle On Demand	GP_ONDEMAND	Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Absence and Payroll Processing, Off Cycle, Off Cycle On Demand, Off Cycle On Demand	Access the pages to: Create or edit an off cycle request. Create or Edit an off cycle calendar group. Process the off cycle calendar group. You can calculate, cancel or finalize the run from this page.
Off Cycle Request	GP_OFFCYCLE_REQ	Click Create Request link on the Off Cycle On Demand page. Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Absence and Payroll Processing, Off Cycle, Off Cycle Request, Off Cycle Request	Access the detail pages of the off cycle transaction types for the employee ID's entered.

Page Name

Definition Name

Navigation

Usage

Off Cycle On Demand

GP_ONDEMAND

Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Absence and Payroll Processing, Off Cycle, Off Cycle On Demand, Off Cycle On Demand

Access the pages to:

Create or edit an off cycle request.
Create or Edit an off cycle calendar group.
Process the off cycle calendar group. You can calculate, cancel or finalize the run from this page.

Off Cycle Request

GP_OFFCYCLE_REQ

Click Create Request link on the Off Cycle On Demand page.
Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Absence and Payroll Processing, Off Cycle, Off Cycle Request, Off Cycle Request

Access the detail pages of the off cycle transaction types for the employee ID's entered.

Creating an Off Cycle Request

Access the Off Cycle On Demand page by entering the pay group, target period ID, and name for the off cycle group (Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Absence and Payroll Processing, Off Cycle, Off Cycle On Demand, Off Cycle On Demand).

Create Request or Edit Request

Click to create a request on the Off Cycle Request page. When the request has been created, the button reads Edit Request, which you click to edit the off cycle request that is created.

Create Calendar Group or Edit Calendar Group

Click to access the Calendar Group page to create a calendar group for processing the off cycle transactions. When the calendar group has been created, the button reads Edit Calendar Group, which you click to edit the calendar group that is created.

See Defining Calendar Groups.

Calculate

Click to calculate the off cycle transactions. The calculation is performed as a remote call. The remote call causes the browser to remain on the Off Cycle On Demand page for the duration of the calculation process.

Note. The simplified approach of the Calculate push-button does not allow certain options like freezing calculations or running the process with element trace on. If this is desired, go to the Calculate Absence and Payroll page to process the off cycle calendar group.

See Entering Processing Instructions.

View Status and Results

Click to access the Payee Status page. Use this page to view payees by process indicator, calculation status, or other criteria and specify the action that the system is to take. Also, you can access Results by Calendar Group component (GP_RSLT_CAL_RUN) or Payee Messages component (GP_MESSAGE) by clicking the links on the Payee Status page.

See Viewing Payee Status and Updating a Payee’s Processing Instructions.

See Viewing Results by Calendar.

See Viewing Payee Messages.

Finalize

Click to finalize an off cycle run. This button is available only after the calendar group has been successfully calculated.

Cancel

Click to cancel an off cycle run. This option becomes available as soon as the off cycle group has been associated with a calendar group.

Request entered , Calendar Group Created , Results can be finalized , and Finalized

The check boxes to the right of the push buttons on the Off Cycle On Demand page are unavailable for entry. The system maintains these check boxes, which consists of milestones, that indicate how far along you are in the off cycle process. For example, if you have already created the request, completed your calendar group creation, and run a calculation once with no errors, the system selects several check boxes (Request entered, Calendar Group Created, and Results can be finalized) on the Off Cycle On Demand page, representing the steps you have already completed.

Entering Basic Off Cycle Information

Access the Off Cycle Request page by entering the pay group, target period ID, and name for the off cycle group (Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Absence and Payroll Processing, Off Cycle, Off Cycle Request, Off Cycle Request).

Employee ID

Enter the employee ID in the applicable off cycle transaction section. The section will limit itself to payees (and jobs) associated with the pay group that is associated with the off cycle group.

Empl Rcd Nbr(Employee Record Number)

Select the job for which you want to create the off cycle transaction.

Correction Details or Advance Details

Click to access the Correction Detail page or Advance Detail page where you enter the details for the applicable off cycle transaction type.

Correcting or Reversing Absence Results

With its built-in retroactive processing capabilities, Absence Management generally handles corrections as a basic part of regular on cycle absence runs. With off cycle processing, you can quickly address the more critical exceptions.

This section provides an overview of correcting absence results and discusses how to enter instructions to correct absence results.

Understanding Absence Result Corrections

For Absence Management the correction type of Replacement is processed. The type of retroactive method used with corrections is Forced Corrective.

Example of a Replacement Correction

For a replacement correction, the system handles the adjustment using the normal retroactive processing mode and processing set, as dictated by the existing triggers. Standard use and validation of retroactive rules apply (as if running on cycle). This includes:

The retroactive mode is corrective (the system ignores for processing the retroactive events of the trigger).
No elements are forwarded (the system ignores the retroactive processing set).
All elements are recalculated (the system ignores the retroactive recalculate setting).

Pages Used to Correct Absence Results

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Correction Request Detail page	GP_OFFCYCLE_C_SEC	Click Correction Details button on the Corrections - List Payees and Calendars to correct section on the Off Cycle Request page.	Enter instructions for processing absence corrections.
Absence Event Entry	GP_ABS_EVENT	Click the Absence Event Entry link on the Correction Request Detail page.	Enter absence events that need correcting.
Retro	GP_TRIGGER_RTO	Click the Review Triggers link on the Correction Request Detail page.	Enter or review retroactive trigger information.
Adjust Absence Balances	GP_PI_MNL_AE	Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt, Payee Data, Adjust Balances, Absences Click the Adjust Absence Balances link on the Correction Request Detail page.	Adjust frequency-based entitlement for a payee by calendar period.

Making Corrections

Access the Correction Request Details page (Click Correction Details button on the Corrections - List Payees and Calendars to correct section on the Off Cycle Request page).

Calendar ID

Select the calendar that needs a correction made to it.

Adjust Absence Balances

Use this link to enter any adjustments to absence balances.

Absence Event Entry

Click to access the Absence Event Entry page.

Review Triggers

Click link to view, edit, and add retroactive triggers.

Retro Triggers Exist (retroactive triggers exist)

This system will select this check box if a trigger exists that falls on or before the period end date of the calendar to be corrected, and if the trigger represents the same country as the country associated with the pay group of the off cycle group. If the check box is cleared, you must manually create the trigger or make the correction to data that will cause the trigger to be generated.

Retro Triggers

Displays a list of retro triggers associated with the same country as the correction.

Processing Advances

This section provides an overview of advances and discusses how to enter instructions for advances.

Understanding Advances

Advance processing is the processing of on cycle calendars ahead of their regular schedule. Examples include payments for early termination or a full or partial period advance.

Note. The advance on cycle calendars are processed individually exactly like they would have been within their scheduled run. The only difference is the timing.

In another chapter of this book, there is additional information about processing advances using on cycle processing.

See Entering Calendar Override Instructions for a Payee.

Pages Used to Process Advances

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Advance Request Detail	GP_OFFCYCLE_A_SEC	Click the Advance Details button on the Advances section on the Off Cycle Request page.	Enter instructions for processing absences in advance.
Adjust Absence Balances	GP_PI_MNL_AE	Click the Adjust Absence Balancesbutton on the Advance Request Detail page.	Adjust entitlement balances.
Retro	GP_TRIGGER_RTO	Click the Review Triggers link on the Advance Request Detail page.	Enter or review retroactive trigger information.
Absence Event Entry	GP_ABS_EVENT	Click the Absence Event Entry link on the Advance Request Detail page.	Enter absence events related to the advance absence.
Payee Calendar Groups	GP_PYE_RUN	Click the Review Payee Calendar Override link on the Advance Request Detail page.	Enter payee calendar override details for the period being advanced.

Entering Instructions for Advances

Access the Advance Request Detail page (Click the Advance Details button on the Advances section on the Off Cycle Request page).

Note. The system will not process more than one advance for the same calendar group and person within the same off cycle run. If you need to advance smaller fractions of the same absence period (such as, the 1^st through the 5^th and the 10^th through 11^th) at the same time, you must set up two different requests and process each in a separate run.

In addition, if two advances are set up for the same payee and calendar group in two different off cycle requests, and you attempt to process these together in the same run, the system issues a warning that informs you that the duplicate was discovered and that all but one request will be ignored. You can ignore the warning and proceed, or go back and modify the request before processing.

Calendar Group	Select the unfinalized calendar group that is associated with the pay group. In the Calendars grid, the system lists, in the defined processing order, all calendars that are associated with the selected calendar group.
Calculate From Date and Calculate Thru Date	To calculate absence transactions for a partial period, enter the begin and end dates for the period of time. Entering dates here causes period segmentation to occur during the off cycle run, without the presence of a segmentation trigger. (Segmentation triggers would affect both on and off cycle transactions, which is not a desirable outcome.) To avoid unintentional duplicate absences, whenever from and through dates are defined for a calendar, subsequent processes will review the segments to ensure that new segments do not cover the same period of time for the same calendar. This rules applies whether or not the run type allows duplicates for the calendar period.
Adjust Absence Balances	Click to access the Adjust Absence Balances page where you can adjust entitlement balances.
Review Triggers	Click the link to access the Retro page to review, add, or delete triggers.
Absence Event Entry	Click to access the Absence Event Entry page.
Review Payee Calendar Overrides	Click to access the Payee Calendar Override (GP_PYE_RUN) component. You can view or modify overrides here. The system respects all payee calendar overrides when processing the advance payment, including overrides to prevent the processing of calendars.
Overrides Exist	This indicator will be turned on if payee calendar overrides exist for the calendar group.
Retro Triggers	Displays a list of retro triggers associated with the same country as the advance.

Processing and Viewing Results for Off Cycle Transactions

The Off Cycle On Demand component is used to create a request, create a calendar, as well as, to process and view off cycle requests. On the Off Cycle On Demand page you can calculate a run, view results, and finalize or cancel the process. Every time you calculate a run, the system first cancels all results then identifies and calculates the off cycle request. Therefore iterative trigger set up is not needed, as long as you run the calculation process from the On Demand page. If you use the Calculate Absence and Payroll Run Control page to calculate your off cycle requests, iterative triggers are necessary to cause a re-identification and recalculation if you select the Calculate option without selecting the Recalculate All option.

When you are processing from this page, a remote call is made to calculate, finalize, or cancel the run, depending on the button that you click. This causes the process to run while remaining on the Off Cycle On Demand page. It will not redirect you to the Calculate Absence and Payroll page. If you want to run the process with a resolution chain, streams, or process lists, you will have to run it using the Calculate Absence and Payroll page, the same page from which you run the on cycle absence processes. When you have run the calculation process successfully from the Off Cycle On Demand page, the system will automatically transfer you to the Payee Status page, upon completion of calculation or finalize. When the you run cancel, instead of redirecting you to the Payee Status page, a message appears that confirms the cancel process ran successfully.

Note. There is more detail on processing and viewing absences in the absence processing chapter and the chapter on viewing and finalizing absence results.

Create Request or Edit Request	Click to create a request on the Off Cycle Request page. When the request has been created, the button reads Edit Request, which you click to edit the off cycle request that is created.
Create Calendar Group or Edit Calendar Group	Click to access the Calendar Group page to create a calendar group for processing the off cycle transactions. When the calendar group has been created, the button reads Edit Calendar Group, which you click to edit the calendar group that is created. See Defining Calendar Groups.
Calculate	Click to calculate the off cycle transactions. The calculation is performed as a remote call. The remote call causes the browser to remain on the Off Cycle On Demand page for the duration of the calculation process. Note. The simplified approach of the Calculate push-button does not allow certain options like freezing calculations or running the process with element trace on. If this is desired, go to the Calculate Absence and Payroll page to process the off cycle calendar group. See Entering Processing Instructions.
View Status and Results	Click to access the Payee Status page. Use this page to view payees by process indicator, calculation status, or other criteria and specify the action that the system is to take. Also, you can access Results by Calendar Group component (GP_RSLT_CAL_RUN) or Payee Messages component (GP_MESSAGE) by clicking the links on the Payee Status page. See Viewing Payee Status and Updating a Payee’s Processing Instructions. See Viewing Results by Calendar. See Viewing Payee Messages.
Finalize	Click to finalize an off cycle run. This button is available only after the calendar group has been successfully calculated.
Cancel	Click to cancel an off cycle run. This option becomes available as soon as the off cycle group has been associated with a calendar group.
Request entered , Calendar Group Created , Results can be finalized , and Finalized	The check boxes to the right of the push buttons on the Off Cycle On Demand page are unavailable for entry. The system maintains these check boxes, which consists of milestones, that indicate how far along you are in the off cycle process. For example, if you have already created the request, completed your calendar group creation, and run a calculation once with no errors, the system selects several check boxes (Request entered, Calendar Group Created, and Results can be finalized) on the Off Cycle On Demand page, representing the steps you have already completed.

Employee ID	Enter the employee ID in the applicable off cycle transaction section. The section will limit itself to payees (and jobs) associated with the pay group that is associated with the off cycle group.
Empl Rcd Nbr(Employee Record Number)	Select the job for which you want to create the off cycle transaction.
Correction Details or Advance Details	Click to access the Correction Detail page or Advance Detail page where you enter the details for the applicable off cycle transaction type.

Calendar ID	Select the calendar that needs a correction made to it.
Adjust Absence Balances	Use this link to enter any adjustments to absence balances.
Absence Event Entry	Click to access the Absence Event Entry page.
Review Triggers	Click link to view, edit, and add retroactive triggers.
Retro Triggers Exist (retroactive triggers exist)	This system will select this check box if a trigger exists that falls on or before the period end date of the calendar to be corrected, and if the trigger represents the same country as the country associated with the pay group of the off cycle group. If the check box is cleared, you must manually create the trigger or make the correction to data that will cause the trigger to be generated.
Retro Triggers	Displays a list of retro triggers associated with the same country as the correction.