Options for Creating Rate Definitions

To create rate definitions you should know how to use the fields in the Returned Rate Details, Override and Defaulting Rules, and Contributor Rules sections to get your desired rate.

For rates based on a single element entry value, you can also apply override and defaulting rules.

This table describes the fields that appear in the Basic Details section on the Create Rate Definition page for the Derived Rate, Element, and Value by Criteria category types.

Field	Category	Description
Storage Type	Element	If you select the Element category to define a rate, you must select a storage type of Amount or Percentage. For example, you can create a rate definition using the Salary element. If the salary is held as a monetary value, select Amount. If the salary is a factor of another value, such as a balance, select Percentage. Note: This field is hidden for all rate definition categories other than Element.
Element Name	Element Derived Rate	For the Element category, this field isn't enabled until you select the storage type. Selecting an element automatically fills in the Name and Short Name fields with the element name. If you select the Element category to define a rate, you must select an element name. This is required if you're creating a primary rate. This is a rate that retrieves a value from a single element such as salary. For the Derived Rate category, the Element Name is enabled when you access the page.
Employment Level	Derived Rate Value by Criteria	Select either Payroll Relationship, Term, or Assignment. This field is mandatory for all derived rates and value by criteria rate definitions. It controls which employment ID the rates process uses when calling a rate. If the employee has multiple assignments, the rates process uses the assignment ID to identify the correct assignment record for the employee. If the contributor value is held at a different level to the employment level defined on the rate, the rates process uses the employment ID to locate the correct record.
Status	Element Derived Rate Value by Criteria	You can set the status of a rate to active or inactive. An inactive rate can't be assigned to an employee. Employees that are allocated a rate while it was active aren't impacted by a change in status to inactive.
Base Rate	Element	Select this check box if the rate represents a base rate that another rate uses in its calculation. For example, you might have day shift employees and night shift employees, with different base pay rates. If each set of employees receives an allowance that's a percentage of the base rate, you only need to define one allowance rate that's calculated based on the two rates that have the Base Rate check box selected.
Overall Salary	Element Derived Rate	If you're defining rates for use on the Salary page, you must use the derived rate category and define an Overall Salary. To do this, you must associate a salary element to the rate. It's recommended that you define an Overall Salary Information element for this purpose.
Reporting Required	Element Derived Rate Value by Criteria	Select this check box to indicate if the calculated rate value should be stored on the rate table for reporting purposes. If you're defining rates for use on the Salary page, you must select this option. Rate definitions with this check box selected are included when the Generate HCM Rates batch process is run. Use this feature to report on primary rates, not derived rates. It's also used for HCM extracts to send data to third parties.
Value by Criteria Name	Value by Criteria	If you select the Value by Criteria category to define a rate, you must select a Value by Criteria name. A value by criteria definition specifies one or more evaluation conditions that determine a particular value or rate.

Returned Rate Details

Use this section of the page to specify the periodicity of the returned rate, factor rules, currency, decimal display, rounding rules, and minimum and maximum rules. If the process returns a rate that's outside the minimum and maximum range, you can set up an action that enforces the rule, displays a warning, or forces the user to fix the error. Additionally, you can select the Return FTE Rate check box to instruct the rate definition process to return a part-time value by applying an employee's FTE to the rate value.

Periodicities

You must specify a periodicity, such as hourly or weekly, for the returned rate and each rate contributor. When you use the rate in a formula, you can, however, override the default periodicity.

The rate calculation converts each contributor to the periodicity specified on the rate contributor. It then adds or subtracts the rate contributors, even if the periodicities are different. In most cases, they will be the same. Once the rate contributors are summed, the rate calculation then converts them into the return periodicity and currency.

For example, for a rate with a periodicity of weekly using the Standard Rate Annualized conversion formula, the rate calculation does the following:

Calculates an annual figure from the value and periodicity of each contributing earning and deduction.
Converts the annual figure into a weekly value.

By default, rates are converted using these predefined rate conversion formulas:

Standard Rate Annualized
Standard Rate Daily
Standard Working Hours Rate Annualized
Assignment Working Hours Rate Annualized
Periodic Work Schedule Rate Annualized

If the values in the predefined conversion rules don't meet your requirements, you can create your own.

Factor Rules

You can apply a factor or multiplier to a calculated rate, or to an individual rate contributor. To apply a factor rule:

Select Value as the factor rule
In the Factor field enter the number by which you want to multiply the rate
Add the contributor

You can apply a factor rule to the rate definition, rate contributors, or both. For example, you can define rate contributors to calculate hourly values based on salary and bonus. You can then apply a factor of 1.0 or 100 percent to the salary balance contributor and a factor of 0.5 or 50 percent to the bonus balance contributor. The factor rule is applied to the rate before the periodicity conversion is applied.

Minimum and Maximum Values

You can define minimum and maximum values for the returned rate, and for individual rate contributors. If the calculation returns a rate that's outside the minimum or maximum range, you can set up an action if the value is out of the minimum or maximum range.

Use the Limit Violation Action field to display an error, warning, or enforce the application to use minimum or maximum value that you enter. For example, you can enter 500 as the minimum value and then select Enforce Rules. If the returned value comes back as 400, the application uses 500 as the value.

This table explains the options for the minimum and maximum rate values

Value	Comments
Null	No minimum or maximum value
A specified value	Example: 2000
Based on another rate	Uses the calculated value of the rate definition that you select. Caution: Be careful that you don't create a loop. For example, Rate A has minimum value that's based on Rate B, which has a minimum value based on Rate A. This situation would result in a runtime error.
Value by Criteria	Minimum or maximum value based on a value by criteria definition.

Override and Defaulting Rules

This tab only displays if you select Element as the category when you create your rate definition. On this tab, you can set up override rules for the element associated with your rate definition. If you select the Override Allowed check box, you can enter rate values on the Salary page.

Note: You can't define override and defaulting rules if you select the Values by Criteria category to define a rate,

You can select a formula to validate any rate that's returned and also use formulas to create default values.

For example you could use the HCM Rates Default Value formula type to define the number of workdays in a year for your organization.

workday = 250
periodicity = YEAR
currency = CAD
return workday, periodicity, currency

In addition, you can use a value by criteria definition as the default type. In this example, the process uses the value for the first record created and then carries that value forward in subsequent records, unless it's manually overridden. The rate created using the value by criteria method is reevaluated by the rate engine for each subsequent record and could therefore change. For example you could use a value by criteria definition to enable a default value of 10 percent for bonuses that are targeted to all eligible employees.

Contributor Rules

This tab enables you to specify the periodicity for the contributor total. You can also decide to process contributor totals as full-time equivalency amounts by selecting Yes in the Process Contributor Total as FTE Amount field. The final rate value is converted from this status to the Return Rate FTE status.

Note: This tab isn't available for rate definitions using the Element and Value by Criteria categories. In addition, you can't define contributor rules if you select the Value by Criteria category to define a rate.

Information

This tab enables you to enter text that instructs or explains the purpose of the rate, how the rate is calculated, or provides further details for the rate. Entering information in this section is optional. This tab isn't available for rate definitions using the Value by Criteria categories.