Understanding Earnings

This topic discusses:

Delivered earnings.
Delivered supporting elements.
User fields.
Earnings assignments.
Required supporting elements.
Process lists and sections.
How to viewing delivered elements.

PeopleSoft Global Payroll for United States delivers a number of earnings for the U.S. that demonstrate the flexibility of Global Payroll rules to meet common processing requirements such as the calculation of wages and overtime.

In this table, the first column combines the name and description of the delivered earnings. The other columns indicate the calculation rule components, such as Unit, Rate, Percent, and Amount, and the pre-process and post-process formulas for each earning.

Name/Descr.	Unit	Rate	%	Amount	Pre- and Post- Process Formula
REGULAR Regular Hourly	Payee-level	K1GCRH (rate code)	NA	NA	NA
WAGES Exception Hourly Wages	ERN FM SALARY HOURS (formula)	K1GCRH (rate code)	NA	NA	Post-ERN FM RED HRS/AMT
SALARY	NA	NA	NA	K1GCRS (rate code)	Post-ERN FM RED SALARY
OVT 1.5 Overtime Pay	Payee-level	ERN FM OVT RATE (formula – monetary and decimal)	150%	NA	NA
OVT 2.0 (D Double - Time Pay	Payee-level	ERN FM OVT RATE (formula – monetary and decimal)	200%	NA	NA
PREMIUM Premium Over Time	Payee-level	ERN FM OVT RATE (formula – monetary and decimal)	50%	NA	NA
BONUS	NA	NA	NA	Payee-level	NA
COMPANY CAR Personal Use of Company Car	NA	NA	NA	Payee-level	NA
SHIFT - R Shift Differential - Hourly	SHIFT DIFF UNIT (accumulator)	ERN BR SHIFT DIFF (bracket)	NA	NA	NA
SHIFT PCT Shift Differential - Percentage	SHIFT DIFF UNIT (accumulator)	HOURLY RT (system element - numeric)	ERN VR SHIFT D PCT (variable - numeric)	NA	Pre-ERN FM SHIFT D PCT

Note: These elements are defined as PS Delivered/Not Maintained. This means that you can use them as delivered, modify them, or replace them with new elements.

Note: PeopleSoft Global Payroll for United States also delivers absence-related earnings. These are discussed in a separate topic in this product documentation.

See Understanding Absence Elements.

Regular Hourly Pay and Wages

PeopleSoft Global Payroll for United States delivers two types of earnings for calculating regular pay:

REGULAR
Use this earning to calculate pay for hourly payees who require positive input.
WAGES
Use this earning to calculate pay for hourly payees who need to report only exceptions to their standard hours.

The calculation rule for both REGULAR and WAGES is Unit × Rate.

Both earnings use the rate code K1GCRH for the Rate component. This rate code is used to calculate pay for all hourly payees.

The Unit component differs for these two earnings:

The REGULAR earning assumes that the Unit (time paid) is recorded at the payee level through positive input.
The WAGES earning assumes that payees are paid a standard set of hours for each pay period, and that only exceptions need to be reported through positive input. The Unit component for this earning includes a formula—ERN FM SALARY HOURS—that calculates the standard hours.
This formula:
1. Multiplies the STD HRS system element by the STD HRS FREQ FACTOR system element to calculate the ANNUAL HOURS (stored as a variable).
2. Divides the ANNUAL HOURS variable by the PRD FREQ FACTOR (pay period frequency factor) system element to calculate the pay period standard hours.

The post-process formula for the WAGES earning, ERN FM RED HRS/AMT, reduces the pay period standard hours by any absence or holiday hours. This formula requires the use of the REDUCE SAL H accumulator to sum up the hours for all earnings, such as vacation, that should reduce the standard hours.

In addition, this formula ensures that the WAGES earning is not reduced by absences to a negative amount.

Salary

Use the SALARY earning to pay salaried employees.

The calculation rule for SALARY is Amount, with the amount defined as the rate code K1GCRH.

The post-process formula for the SALARY earning, ERN FM RED SALARY, performs two functions:

It calculates standard hours and reduces these hours by the number of absence hours.
It ensures that the salary amount is not reduced by absences to a negative amount.

Overtime

PeopleSoft Global Payroll for United States delivers two overtime earnings: OVT 1.5 for overtime calculated at 1.5 times the regular pay rate, and OVT 2.0 for overtime calculated at twice the regular pay rate.

The calculation rule for both overtime earnings is Unit × Rate × Percent, where Unit is the number of overtime hours that a payee works, Rate is the formula ERN FM OVT RATE, and Percent is either 150 or 200. The units are entered at the payee level.

Note: The delivered overtime earnings include a shift differential. This differential is included in the calculation of the earnings only if the employee is associated with a shift group and a shift ID.

Premium Pay

Premium pay refers to the excess over the regular rate of pay that is paid for extended working hours, overtime, or work during holidays. PeopleSoft Global Payroll for United States delivers the PREMIUM earning to calculate premium pay.

The calculation rule for premium pay is Unit × Rate × Percent, where Unit is the number of extended hours worked, Rate is the formula ERN FM OVT RATE, and Percent is 50. The units are entered at the payee level.

Note: Premium pay includes a shift differential. This differential is included in the calculation of the earnings only if the employee is associated with a shift group and a shift ID.

Bonus

PeopleSoft Global Payroll for United States delivers the BONUS earning to calculate bonus pay. The calculation rule for bonus pay is Amount, where a payee's bonus is entered as a numeric amount at the payee level.

The BONUS earning uses the Supplemental tax method.

Personal Use of a Company Car

PeopleSoft Global Payroll for United States delivers the COMPANY CAR earning to calculate the personal use of a company car. The calculation rule for COMPANY CAR is Amount; the amount is entered at the payee level. The COMPANY CAR earning does not add to gross pay, but to taxable gross.

Shift Differential

PeopleSoft Global Payroll for United States delivers two earnings to calculate shift differentials: SHIFT - R and SHIFT PCT.

The calculation rule for SHIFT R is Unit × Rate, where Unit is the accumulator SHIFT DIFF UNIT, and Rate is the bracket ERN BR SHIFT DIFF.

The calculation rule for SHIFT PCT is Unit × Rate × Percent, where Unit is the Accumulator SHIFT DIFF UNIT, Rate is the system element HOURLY RT, and Percent is the variable ERN VR SHIFT D PCT.

The system processes these earnings only if the accumulator SHIFT DIFF UNIT holds units (hours) processed for the eligible shift earnings. Only two of the delivered earnings—REGULAR and WAGES—are defined as eligible. That is, the units of these earnings are the only members of this accumulator. If no units come from these earnings, then SHIFT - R and SHIFT PCT are not processed. In addition, payees must be assigned to shift groups and shift IDs before the system can process SHIFT - R or SHIFT PCT.

Note: The earnings SHIFT - R and SHIFT PCT use the generation control element ERN GC SHIFT EXC to control processing. This formula looks at the accumulator SHIFT DIFF UNIT and the values of the shift group and shift ID. If the value of SHIFT DIFF UNIT is greater than zero and the payee is in a shift group and has a shift ID, the system processes the earnings.

See Understanding Earnings Assignments.

This table lists the key supporting elements that are used to define the delivered earnings:

Element Type	Element Name	Used By	Where Used
Variable	TAX VR METHOD	This variable is a user field for all taxable earnings. It stores the tax method to use when an earning is calculated.	Supporting Element Override page. Values include: A - Annualized S - Supplemental C - Cumulative All delivered earnings except BONUS use the Annualized tax method (A). BONUS uses the Supplemental tax method (S).
Variable	TAX VR RPT TYPE	This variable is a user field for all taxable earnings.	Determines the year-end form—W2, W2PR, W2AS, and so on—on which an earning element is reported.
Variable	TAX VR STATE	This variable is a user field for all taxable earnings.	Determines the state or territory in which each earning is taxed.
Variable	ERN VR SHIFT GRP	ERN BR SHIFT DIFF ERN FM OVT RATE This variable is a user field for all earnings except SALARY, BONUS, COMPANY CAR, and HOLIDAY.	ERN VR SHIFT GRP is a search key in the bracket ERN BR SHIFT DIFF. Based on this key, the bracket returns the correct shift differential and percentage to the calculation rule of the earnings SHIFT - R and SHIFT PCT. ERN VR SHIFT GRP is used in the formula ERN FM OVT RATE to define the rate component for the earnings OVT 1.5, OVT 2.0, and PREMIUM.
Variable	ERN VR SHIFT ID	ERN BR SHIFT DIFF This variable is a user field for all earnings except SALARY, BONUS, COMPANY CAR, and HOLIDAY.	ERN VR SHIFT ID is a search key in the bracket ERN BR SHIFT DIFF. Based on this key, the bracket returns the correct shift differential and percentage to the calculation rule of the earnings SHIFT - R and SHIFT PCT.
Variable	ERN VR SHIFT D PCT	ERN BR SHIFT DIFF ERN FM OVT RATE	Bracket ERN BR SHIFT DIFF provides the value of the variable ERN VR SHIFT D PCT (this variable is the percent component in the calculation rule of the earning SHIFT PCT). Formula ERN FM OVT RATE uses the value of variable ERN VR SHIFT D PCT to calculate the Rate component for earnings OVT 1.5, OVT 2.0, and PREMIUM.
Formula	ERN FM RED SALARY	SALARY	Post process formula. Reduces SALARY earning by Absence and Holiday amounts.
Formula	ERN FM RED HRS/AMT	WAGES	Post-process formula. Reduces WAGE hours by Absence and Holiday hours.
Formula	ERN FM SALARY HOUR	WAGES	Unit component. Calculates standard hours.
Formula	ERN FM OVT RATE	OVT 1.5 OVT 2.0 PREMIUM	Formula calculates Rate components for the earnings OVT 1.5, OVT 2.0, and PREMIUM.
Formula	GEN FM SEG COUNT	WAGES	Counts the number of Units (hours) per segment
Formula	ERN FM SHIFT EXEC	ERN GC SHIFT EXC (generation Control) SHIFT - R SHIFT PCT	Controls whether to calculate shift pay.
Formula	ERN FM SHIFT D PCT	SHIFT PCT	Used to retrieve the shift differential percentage from the bracket table.
Formula	GP CHECK 1ST SEG	COMPANY CAR GP APPLY 1ST SEG (generation control)	Used by COMPANY CAR to restrict payment to the first segment of a period.
Bracket	ERN BR SHIFT DIFF	SHIFT - R SHIFT PCT ERN FM OVT RATE	Bracket provides Rate component to earning SHIFT - R. Bracket provides Percent component to earning SHIFT PCT by populating the value of the variable ERN VR SHIFT D PCT (this variable holds percent values returned by the bracket). Bracket provides shift differential to formula ERN FM OVT RATE, which calculates the Rate component for earnings OVT 1.5, OVT 2.0, and PREMIUM.

All of the delivered earnings are associated with the following user fields:

TAX VR RPT TYPE
This user field determines the year-end form—W2, W2PR, W2AS, and so on—to use to report an earning element.

Note: You define a default report type for a payee on the Payee Tax Profile page. You can change the default by entering a supporting element override for the variable TAX VR RPT TYPE.

See Maintaining Payee Tax Information.
TAX VR STATE
This user field determines the state or territory in which each earning is taxed.

Note: The default state or territory for a payee is the one for which the UI Jurisdiction check box is selected on the State Tax Data page. You can change the default by entering a supporting element override for the variable TAX VR STATE.

See Maintaining Payee Tax Information.
TAX VR METHOD
This user field stores the tax method to use when an earning is calculated.

Note: The default tax method is defined at the element level on the Supporting Element Overrides page of the Earnings component (GP_EARNING). You can override the default at the payee level by entering a supporting element override for the variable TAX VR METHOD.

See Earnings - Supporting Element Overrides Page.

Two additional user fields are associated with all earnings that process shift differentials:

ERN VR SHIFT GRP
This user field is used to associate an earning with a shift group.
ERN VR SHIFT ID
This user field is used to associate an earning with a shift ID.

Note: To assign a default shift group and shift ID to a payee, select Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt > Payee Data > Create Overrides > Supporting Elements and specify the values of the variables ERN VR SHIFT GRP and ERN VR SHIFT ID (these variables store the shift group and shift ID respectively). You can override the defaults on the One Time (Positive Input) page.

Earnings with a component of their calculation rule set to Payee Level must be assigned to individual payees before they can be processed, and require positive input for either the Unit, Rate, Base, or Percent component.

The following delivered earnings for the U.S. fall into this category:

Earning	Description
BONUS and COMPANY CAR	The earnings BONUS and COMPANY CAR are defined with a calculation rule of Amount, with the Amount Type field set to Payee Level. This means that the earnings are resolved only when: An amount is assigned to a payee on the Element Assignment by Payee (GP_ED_PYE) or Payee Assignment by Element (GP_ED_ELEM) component. An amount is defined at the payee level using positive input.
REGULAR, OVT 1.5, OVT 2.0, and PREMIUM	The earnings REGULAR, OVT 1.5, OVT 2.0, and PREMIUM are defined with a calculation rule of Unit × Rate or Unit × Rate × Amount, with the Unit Type field set to Payee Level. This means that the earnings are resolved only when you define the unit at the payee level through positive input, or specify a flat amount (overriding the calculation rule).

Earning

Description

BONUS and COMPANY CAR

The earnings BONUS and COMPANY CAR are defined with a calculation rule of Amount, with the Amount Type field set to Payee Level. This means that the earnings are resolved only when:

An amount is assigned to a payee on the Element Assignment by Payee (GP_ED_PYE) or Payee Assignment by Element (GP_ED_ELEM) component.
An amount is defined at the payee level using positive input.

REGULAR, OVT 1.5, OVT 2.0, and PREMIUM

The earnings REGULAR, OVT 1.5, OVT 2.0, and PREMIUM are defined with a calculation rule of Unit × Rate or Unit × Rate × Amount, with the Unit Type field set to Payee Level. This means that the earnings are resolved only when you define the unit at the payee level through positive input, or specify a flat amount (overriding the calculation rule).

Many earnings require that you define the value of supporting elements to be processed correctly. This table lists the required supporting elements for the earnings delivered by PeopleSoft Global Payroll for United States, and explains how to define the values of each element.

Earning	Description
REGULAR, OVT 1.5, OVT 2.0, and PREMIUM	The earnings OVT 1.5, OVT 2.0, and PREMIUM calculate shift differentials by using the formula ERN FM VT RATE to retrieve the shift rate or percentage from the bracket ERN BR SHIFT DIFF. Note: This bracket is keyed by shift group and shift ID and returns a rate or a percentage based on the value of the supporting elements ERN VR SHIFT GRP and ERN VR SHIFT ID. To process shift pay, you must assign payees to shift groups and shift IDs. To do this: Select Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt > Payee Data > Assign Earnings and Deductions > One Time (Positive Input) select the Supporting Element Overrides button, and enter the shift group and ID for the payee and earnings element you are assigning. Alternately, select Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt > Absence and Payroll Processing > Prepare Payroll > Manage Positive Input by Cal select the Supporting Element Overrides button, and enter the shift group and ID for the payee and earnings element you are assigning. Note: You can also define default shift groups and shift IDs for payees by specifying the values of the variables ERN VR SHIFT GRP (shift group) and ERN VR SHIFT ID (shift ID) on the Supporting Elements page. You can then override these values as needed for specific pay periods using positive input.
REGULAR and WAGES	The system stores the hours of REGULAR and WAGES (by shift group and shift ID) in the accumulator SHIFT DIFF UNIT. This accumulator serves as the Units component in the calculation rule of the earnings SHIFT R and SHIFT PCT. For payees to receive shift pay based on the hours (units) of REGULAR and WAGES, you must define the values of the supporting elements ERN VR SHIFT GRP (shift group) and ERN VR SHIFT ID (shift ID). Note: The system processes SHIFT R and SHIFT PCT automatically if the value of SHIFT DIFF UNIT is greater than zero and payees are assigned to shift groups and shift IDs. To do this, Select Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt > Payee Data > Create Overrides > Supporting Elements and specify the default values of ERN VR SHIFT GRP and ERN VR SHIFT ID for each payee on the Values tab. To override the default shift group and shift ID for a payee in a specific pay period, access the Positive Input - Details page and specify the shift group and shift ID for the payee and the earnings for which you are calculating the shift differential (WAGES or REGULAR). You can access the Positive Input - Details page in two ways: Select Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt > Payee Data > Assign Earnings and Deductions > One Time (Positive Input) and select the Supporting Element Overrides button. Select Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt > Absence and Payroll Processing > Prepare Payroll > Manage Positive Input by Cal and select the Supporting Element Overrides button. Note: You can enter overrides for a full period or a partial period. To enter partial period overrides, create multiple rows of data for WAGES or REGULAR with the number of hours associated with each shift, and then specify the shift group and shift ID for each row.
All Delivered Taxable Earnings	All of the delivered taxable earnings required the definition of the supporting elements TAX VR RPT TYPE (report type), TAX VR STATE (U.S. state/territory), and TAX VR METHOD (tax method) to ensure correct tax processing. You define default values for these supporting elements at the payee or element level, and then override these values as needed: Specify the default report type for payees on the Payee Tax Profile page. Specify the default state or territory for a payee by selecting the UI Jurisdiction check box for the payee's state on the State Tax Data page. Define the default tax method at the element level on the Supporting Element Overrides page of the Earnings component. To override the default tax report type, U.S. state and territory, and tax method on a one-time basis, access the Positive Input - Details page of the One Time (Positive Input) component, or the Element Detail page of the Element Assignment by Payee and Payee Assignment by Element components, and enter the override values. See Maintaining Payee Tax Information. See Overriding Tax and Payment Methods.

Earning

Description

REGULAR, OVT 1.5, OVT 2.0, and PREMIUM

The earnings OVT 1.5, OVT 2.0, and PREMIUM calculate shift differentials by using the formula ERN FM VT RATE to retrieve the shift rate or percentage from the bracket ERN BR SHIFT DIFF.

Note: This bracket is keyed by shift group and shift ID and returns a rate or a percentage based on the value of the supporting elements ERN VR SHIFT GRP and ERN VR SHIFT ID.

To process shift pay, you must assign payees to shift groups and shift IDs.

To do this:

Select Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt > Payee Data > Assign Earnings and Deductions > One Time (Positive Input) select the Supporting Element Overrides button, and enter the shift group and ID for the payee and earnings element you are assigning.
Alternately, select Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt > Absence and Payroll Processing > Prepare Payroll > Manage Positive Input by Cal select the Supporting Element Overrides button, and enter the shift group and ID for the payee and earnings element you are assigning.

Note: You can also define default shift groups and shift IDs for payees by specifying the values of the variables ERN VR SHIFT GRP (shift group) and ERN VR SHIFT ID (shift ID) on the Supporting Elements page. You can then override these values as needed for specific pay periods using positive input.

REGULAR and WAGES

The system stores the hours of REGULAR and WAGES (by shift group and shift ID) in the accumulator SHIFT DIFF UNIT. This accumulator serves as the Units component in the calculation rule of the earnings SHIFT R and SHIFT PCT.

For payees to receive shift pay based on the hours (units) of REGULAR and WAGES, you must define the values of the supporting elements ERN VR SHIFT GRP (shift group) and ERN VR SHIFT ID (shift ID).

Note: The system processes SHIFT R and SHIFT PCT automatically if the value of SHIFT DIFF UNIT is greater than zero and payees are assigned to shift groups and shift IDs.

To do this, Select Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt > Payee Data > Create Overrides > Supporting Elements and specify the default values of ERN VR SHIFT GRP and ERN VR SHIFT ID for each payee on the Values tab.

To override the default shift group and shift ID for a payee in a specific pay period, access the Positive Input - Details page and specify the shift group and shift ID for the payee and the earnings for which you are calculating the shift differential (WAGES or REGULAR).

You can access the Positive Input - Details page in two ways:

Select Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt > Payee Data > Assign Earnings and Deductions > One Time (Positive Input) and select the Supporting Element Overrides button.
Select Global Payroll & Absence Mgmt > Absence and Payroll Processing > Prepare Payroll > Manage Positive Input by Cal and select the Supporting Element Overrides button.

Note: You can enter overrides for a full period or a partial period. To enter partial period overrides, create multiple rows of data for WAGES or REGULAR with the number of hours associated with each shift, and then specify the shift group and shift ID for each row.

All Delivered Taxable Earnings

All of the delivered taxable earnings required the definition of the supporting elements TAX VR RPT TYPE (report type), TAX VR STATE (U.S. state/territory), and TAX VR METHOD (tax method) to ensure correct tax processing.

You define default values for these supporting elements at the payee or element level, and then override these values as needed:

Specify the default report type for payees on the Payee Tax Profile page.
Specify the default state or territory for a payee by selecting the UI Jurisdiction check box for the payee's state on the State Tax Data page.
Define the default tax method at the element level on the Supporting Element Overrides page of the Earnings component.
To override the default tax report type, U.S. state and territory, and tax method on a one-time basis, access the Positive Input - Details page of the One Time (Positive Input) component, or the Element Detail page of the Element Assignment by Payee and Payee Assignment by Element components, and enter the override values.

See Maintaining Payee Tax Information.

See Overriding Tax and Payment Methods.

All delivered earnings are members of the GENERAL EARNINGS section.

The GENERAL EARNINGS section is included in the USA STD PAYROLL process list.

The PeopleSoft system delivers a query that you can run to view the names of all delivered elements designed for the U.S. Instructions for running the query are provided in the PeopleSoft Global Payroll product documentation.

Understanding Earnings

Delivered Earnings

Regular Hourly Pay and Wages

Salary

Overtime

Premium Pay

Bonus

Personal Use of a Company Car

Shift Differential

Delivered Supporting Elements

User Fields

Earnings Assignments

Required Supporting Elements

Process Lists and Sections

Viewing Delivered Elements