Understanding Variable Compensation Awards

Using the Administer Variable Compensation business process in PeopleSoft HR, you can create and manage multiple incentive plans. The resultant compensation (award), whether monetary or non monetary, can be paid to payees through Global Payroll.

This topic discusses:

  • Setting up Global Payroll to work with variable compensation.

  • Approving variable compensation awards.

  • Retrieving and validating awards.

  • Integration points for variable compensation data.

In the Variable Compensation application, each variable compensation plan must be mapped to the appropriate Global Payroll earning elements.

In Global Payroll, you identify the earning elements that are associated with the award records that you want to retrieve and process. You enter this information on the Run Types page (in the Variable Compensation Details group box) when you set up the run type for the calendars that you use for award processing.

During the award retrieval process, the system retrieves only the award records that are associated with the earning elements that are included in the run type.

When variable compensation awards are approved in HR, that application sends award data to a temporary file that can be accessed by Global Payroll. Global Payroll validates the data and tells the Variable Compensation application which awards have been accepted and which have not. Accepted awards are loaded into the Positive Input Generated Data table.

When you run the Payroll process, the system processes the award data just as it processes positive input that is received from any source. After you finalize the pay run, you notify Variable Compensation that the award data has been processed. You can reject or delete award data before it is processed.

After Variable Compensation sends award records to Global Payroll, you retrieve and validate the records. Records that pass the validation process are loaded into the Positive Input Generated Data table and can no longer be updated.

Global Payroll notifies Variable Compensation of award records with errors. You can view the error messages through PS Application Service Operations Monitor, though these messages are intended for the Variable Compensation administrator. Each message has a status of E (error) and includes one of the following reason codes:

  • 03: Invalid Currency Code.

  • 05: Transaction already exists.

  • 09: Error Updating GP.

  • 11: Error Updating ACK_PUB.

  • 13: Invalid Pin Num.

The Variable Compensation administrator makes necessary corrections and resubmits the revised records to Global Payroll.

Two integration points are used to transfer Variable Compensation data between HR and Global Payroll:

  • Variable Comp Request for Payment (GP).

    • This integration point uses the Variable Compensation Payment Request service operation (VAR_COMP_PAYMENT_REQUEST_GP).

      The data is delivered through the Variable Compensation Payroll Interface channel (VAR_COMP_PAYROLL_INTERFACE).

    • HR sends data to the Variable Compensation Request Staging table (PS_VCGP_RQT_PUB) for use by Global Payroll.

  • Acknowledgement/Verification of Variable Compensation Payment (GP).

    • This integration point uses the Variable Compensation Payment Acknowledge service operation (VAR_CMP_PAYMENT_ACKNOWLEDGE_GP).

      The data is delivered through the Variable Compensation Payroll Interface channel (VAR_COMP_PAYROLL_INTERFACE).

    • The integration point also uses the Variable Compensation Payment Acknowledge GP send rule (VAR_CMP_PAYMENT_ACKNOWLEDGE_GP).

    • Global Payroll sends data to the Payroll Acknowledge Staging table (PS_GPVC_ACK_PUB).

      HR then receives the table to retrieve Global Payroll data. This send and receive activity is nearly in real time.

Note: To research the technical details of an integration point used by PeopleSoft applications, refer to the Interactive Services Repository in the Implementation Guide topic of My Oracle Support.