Overview of Time Definitions

A time definition is either a date or a span of time. Time definitions can be static periods of unusual length based on a given static date, or they can generate dates based on dynamic variables.

You can define static definitions using multiple periods, additional adjustments, or both.

This image shows the different types of time definitions and how and where you can use them.

You can use time definitions in many areas, including payroll periods, payroll employment management, balances, retroactive and proration events, earnings start date, and overtime periods.

These sections describe the type of time definitions you can create.

Static Time Definition

Static time definitions create recurring patterns of dates, such as overtime periods. For example, a company's overtime period is a standard five day work week. You can create a static time definition with a weekly frequency that generates time periods for 3 years. Formulas can use these date patterns to allocate earnings within a payroll period.

User-Defined Date Time Definition

Use user-defined date time definitions to define the last standard process and final close dates of the element entries for an employee. The last standard process date is the last date on which the element is considered for normal processing in the payroll run. The final close date is the date from which the element is no longer considered for processing and thus is no longer date-effective.

For example, Vision Corp provides housing allowance to its employees and wants the allowance to end 30 days after the employee is terminated. You define a user-defined date time definition based on the last standard earnings date, which is the termination date plus 30 days.

Time Span Time Definitions

Use time span time definitions to create segments of time that define intervals for scheduled operations, such as payroll frequency. You can use these time definitions within other time definitions.

A company wants to make employee payments on the last day of the month and third-party payments five days later. The company creates a time definition of type time span and uses it when defining the payment method for the payee.

Retrieval Date Time Definitions

Retrieval date time definitions are based on balance fetch operations. Anything that exists in the database of Date format and owned by the payroll application can be used as a trigger.

Let's assume that the rate contributor for the severance rate definition uses a balance as of termination date. You can define a retrieval date time definition based on a database item that retrieves the termination date. You can then use this time definition as the reference date for the balance value in the rate contributor.