Understanding Frequency in Global Payroll

An element is the smallest component of PeopleSoft Global Payroll, and it is used in defining calculation rules to process your payroll. Elements can hold the values of pay (earnings), an amount to be deducted from pay (deduction), or time away from work (absence).

Elements (such as earnings, deduction, and absence) can be standalone. Supporting elements (such as rate codes or rounding rules) can be used with other elements to define a calculation rule. Each element is defined only once, but it can be used repeatedly.

For any earnings, deduction, or absence element, you must specify the frequency of the stated amount on the Earning/Deduction definition. For each item that you associate with a frequency, you must consider how the frequency fits into the overall processing picture. Selecting the correct frequency for earnings, deductions, and absence elements is essential for correct processing. For example:

In PeopleSoft Global Payroll, you use frequency to define earnings, deduction, or absence elements.

To illustrate, we refer to defining an earnings element. However, the process is the same for earnings, deduction, and absence elements.

You define the calculation rule, frequency, and generation control for an earnings element on the Earnings - Calculation page (GP_ERN_DED_CALC).

See Earnings - Calculation Page.

Select a calculation rule and once you select a calculation rule, you must further define details for each component of the rule. For example, if you select Amount, specify the amount of the earnings element.

The following table lists the calculation rules and the components of the calculation rule for which frequency conversion is performed:

Define the frequency that the stated amount represents. If you select Use Calendar Frequency, the system uses the frequency that's defined for the calendar period on the Define Calendars - Period page (GP_CALENDAR_PERIOD). If you select Use Specified Frequency, you can define your frequency directly on the Earnings - Calculation page by selecting from a list of frequencies.

See Creating Periods.

The Frequency field enables you to tell the system the frequency with which you are stating a value. For example, let's say that you select Use Specified Frequency, that you have a weekly payroll, and you create an earnings element with an amount of 100 and a frequency of Monthly. If you don't have any generation control conditions defined, the system annualizes and de-annualizes the amount into a processing frequency amount. Let's assume that you define your organization's monthly frequency as 12 and the weekly frequency as 52. The system takes the 100 (monthly amount) and annualizes it to 1200. Next, it takes this annualized amount and de-annualizes it into the payroll processing frequency (weekly, in this example). The amount paid each pay period is:

1200 / 52 = 23.08

The benefit of defining a frequency is that if your organization has multiple pay frequencies (such as weekly, semimonthly, and monthly), you don't have to create separate earnings for each frequency. The system automatically converts the amount into the corresponding pay period amount. Let's say that your organization decides to give an annual bonus of 1000 to all payees and this bonus is distributed throughout the year. Your hourly payees get paid weekly and your salaried payees get paid monthly. If you define an earnings bonus as BON = 1000, with a frequency of Annual, you can apply this earnings definition to payees who are paid weekly and payees who are paid monthly by using annualization and de-annualization. The frequency assigned on the Earnings Calculation page calculates the bonus amount correctly, regardless of the pay frequency.

Pay period frequency isn't hard-coded into the system. Instead, PeopleSoft Global Payroll uses the HR Frequency Table component to determine how a frequency is calculated. For example, a monthly frequency has a factor of 12 and a weekly frequency has a factor of 52. Frequencies that are defined on the Frequency Table page are easily used wherever you use frequency in the system.

PeopleSoft Global Payroll provides an additional generation control concept called "Generation Control Frequency" to help control the pay periods in which a specific earning or deduction is to be resolved (such as only the first pay period of a month, and so on). Generation control frequencies enable you to define meaningful names and associate the correct frequency ID with a pay period.

An example of a frequency that isn't on the HR Frequency Table is First of the Month. Let's say that you have a weekly pay frequency, but you want an earnings element to be paid only on the first pay period of the month. In PeopleSoft Human Resources, the frequency would be monthly. This might not work for your payroll purposes. So, in PeopleSoft Global Payroll, the earnings element would be defined (tagged) as First of the Month and paid only on the first pay period of the month.

The Generation Control Frequency component is part of generation control frequency processing.

Generation control enables you to tell the system, through various control methods, when to process an element. For example, if an earnings element is to be paid only on the first pay period of the month (for weekly payrolls), you can control the payroll so that this earning is only paid in Week 1, and not paid in the subsequent week's payrolls during the month:

• First you define generation control ID parameters on the Generation Control - Conditions page (GP_GCTL_CONDITION).

  See Generation Control Name Page.

• Next, when you define an earnings element, you prompt against this table by selecting a generation control name on the Earnings - Calculation page.

• Then you don't have to redefine the parameters for each earnings element.

If you leave the Generation Control field blank on the Earnings - Calculation page, the system assumes to be paid every time based on normal eligibility rules for the payee.

PeopleSoft Global Payroll delivers four predefined generation control frequencies: 1st Month, Annual, January, and Quarter. All generation control frequencies can be used in corresponding generation control elements.

Use frequency with calendar periods when defining the frequency that's being processed.

When processing a payroll or absence run in PeopleSoft Global Payroll, you must tell the system the time period to calculate. This is often referred to as the pay period. You define period selection criteria by defining a period ID on the Define Calendars - Period page.

See Creating Periods.

The period ID defines the start date, end date, and frequency of a particular pay period. This definition is kept separate from the pay calendar to make it easy to reuse and to provide optimum flexibility during processing.

Here are some examples of the time and frequency data that can be defined by a period ID:

On the Define Calendars - Period page, the frequency is defined for de-annualization when an earnings, deduction, or absence element is defined without generation control frequency. However, if generation control frequency is included (in the earnings, deduction, or absence element definition), and the element generation control and the calendar ID generation control match, the system uses this generation control frequency for the de-annualization factor.

Examples of Frequencies

This table provides some examples of frequencies:

Frequency	Element 1	Element 2a	Element 2b	Element 3
Amount	1,200	1,200	1,200	1,200
Frequency (Element Definition)	Monthly (12)	Monthly (12)	Monthly (12)	Monthly (12)
Generation Control Frequency	None	Monthly (12)	Monthly (12)	Semimonthly (24)
Pay Period Frequency	Semimonthly (24)	Semimonthly (24)	Semimonthly (24)	Semimonthly (24) *
Calendar Generation Control Frequency	None	Monthly (12)	None	Semimonthly (24) *
Calculated Amount	600	1200	Not resolved	600

You don't need to specify the associated frequency if it coincides with the pay period frequency.

See Job Data Pay Rate Frequencies.

When you define an earnings or deduction element that uses either a rate code or a frequency-controlled system element, the earnings or deduction element should always have the frequency Use Calendar Period Frequency. System elements are delivered and maintained by PeopleSoft.

A system element that is frequency-controlled resolves in the calendar frequency portion of payroll processing, according to the frequency that is specified for the element when it is set up. The system then de-annualizes by the calendar frequency.