Improved Support for RDO Leave

Description

Enhancements have been made to the Leave module to provide improved support the accrual and payment of rostered days off (RDOs).

To support the creation and management of RDO leave, a new apply to type of Hours with rate can now be selected on a leave type, as configured under Leave > Maintenance > Leave Type, to facilitate 'banking' of leave hours along with payment for the accrued hours, with the payment for the banked hours being made when the RDO leave is taken.

Benefits

This enhancement provides full support for managing RDO leave whereby the leave can be accrued based on a pro-rata percentage of hours worked or a fixed amount per period. At the end of a period when a payee receives payment for pay items against which the leave is banked, the system automatically negates the number of hours that have been banked from the payee's earnings for the period to cater for the fact that the payee will be paid for the banked hours when the RDO is taken.

Enhancements have been made to the pay batch process in the Pay module to facilitate paying and accruing banked leave types such as RDO leave. For more information, see Banked Leave Accrual Pay Batch Stage and Payment of Banked Leave at Leave Payments Pay Batch Stage.

Although this functionality has been introduced to specifically cater for RDO leave requirements for Australia, the same functionality can be used for other leave types that require leave banking, whereby the hours that are worked to accrue the leave are not paid until the leave is taken.

Configuration

Due to the complex nature of leave requirements, it is recommended that configuration of leave is carried out in conjunction with consulting support from the FastTrack Professional Services team. Please contact FastTrack to request consulting support if necessary.

Configuration of RDO leave is a multi-stage process that involves the following:

creating a leave type for the RDO leave
creating one or more leave sets, each with one or more of the following:
- accrual rules
- transfer rules
- deduction rules.

Creating the Leave Type

Leave types are configured under Leave > Maintenance > Leave Type. To configure a leave type for RDO leave, the following settings must be selected on the header of the leave type:

the Accrual option must be ticked
the Bank option must be selected in the Accrual > Accrual Type field
the new Hours with rate option must be selected in the Accrual > Apply To Type field.

These settings are highlighted in the example below.

Creating a Leave Set

A leave type requires at least one leave set, which defines the rules for accruing the leave, transferring accrual balances into entitlements to take leave, paying and deducting leave entitlement balances when leave is taken.

A leave set can be added to a leave type by clicking the Add action on the Leave Sets section of the Leave Type Entry / Edit screen, as shown in the example below.

Leave sets for RDO leave are created in the same way as for all other existing leave types that were previously supported by the system. That is, the following needs to be defined before the leave set can be saved:

a leave set name that uniquely identifies the leave set within the leave type
a hierarchy level that identifies the leave hierarchy level at which the leave set applies
a hierarchy value that identifies the specific value to which the leave set applies that the selected hierarchy level
a validity period start date from which the leave set is to apply and, optionally, a validity period end date the defines the date on which the leave set ceases to be applicable.

New leave set hierarchy levels have been added in this release. For more information, see Additional Leave Set Hierarchy Levels.

Accrual Rules

One or more accrual rules must be added to each leave set to determine the rules around how the RDO leave is to be accrued.

An accrual rule can be added to a leave set by clicking the Add action next to Accrual Rules under the relevant branch of the leave set hierarchy, as shown in the example below.

The table below lists and describes the fields that are available on an accrual rule when the Hours with rate option is selected in the Apply To Type field in the leave type header to support configuration of RDO leave.

Field Name	Description
Name	Name that uniquely identifies this accrual rule. This field is mandatory.
Sequence Number	Determines the order in which this accrual rule will be applied if multiple accrual rules exist for the leave set. This field is mandatory.
Rounding Type	Determines how accrual values are to be rounded when being stored in the database. The options available are as follows: Round – accrual values will be rounded to a specific number of decimal places Truncate – accrual values will be truncated to a specific number of decimal places The number of decimal places to which accrual values will be rounded or truncated is defined in the Rounding Value field (see below). This field is mandatory.
Rounding Value	Determines the number of decimal places to which accrual values are to be rounded or truncated. This field is mandatory.
Accrual Type	This field defaults to the Leave Accrual option to indicate that the accrual rule determines the rules for accruing leave rather than a payment associated with leave. No other option can be selected.
Calculate At	This field defaults to the Pay Batch option to indicate that the leave accrues in pay batch as opposed to being accrued by the leave service. No other option can be selected.
Bank Type	Determines what type of accrual/banking will apply to the leave accrual. The following options are available: Fixed – a fixed number of leave hours will be accrued each time the conditions of this accrual rule are met Percentage – a percentage of hours worked against specific pay codes will be accrued each time the conditions of the accrual rule are met. This field is mandatory.
Bank Amount	The fixed number of hours or the percentage of hours worked that is to be accrued each time the conditions of the accrual rule are met. This field is mandatory.
Pay Codes/Pay Code Types	If the banking type for this accrual rule is based on a percentage accrual, this field determines the pay codes and pay code types based on which the leave accrues. This field also determines which pay codes are included in the count of hours worked for the purposes of meeting the qualification threshold for accruing leave (for more information, refer to the Qualification Threshold Value field below). It is mandatory to select at least one pay code or pay code type in this field.
Qualification Threshold Value	Defines the minimum number of hours that a payee must work during a period before they begin to accrue leave. For example, if the rules for accruing an RDO are such that a payee is not to accrue any RDO hours for the first 38 hours worked during a pay period but must accrue RDO hours on hours worked in excess of 38 hours in a pay period, key a value of 38 in this field. Note that only those hours worked against the pay codes/pay code types that are selected in the Pay Codes/Pay Code Types field are considered when the system determines if the threshold has been met. Leave this field blank if no qualification threshold applies (i.e. the RDO is to be accrued from the first hour worked onwards).
Qualification Period	Determines the type of accrual period to which the qualification threshold value applies. The options available are: Day Pay Period For example, if a payee must work 38 hours in a pay period before being able to accrue RDO hours, select the Pay Period option in this field. This field is mandatory if a qualification threshold value is specified. Otherwise, if no qualification threshold is to apply, do not select an option in this field.
Cap Value	Determines the maximum number of hours leave that can be accrued per period. For example, if a payee is not to accrue more than two RDO hours per pay period, key a value of 2 in this field.
Cap Period	Determines the type of accrual period to which the accrual cap applies. The options available are: Day Pay Period For example, if a payee is not to accrue more than two RDO hours per pay period, select Pay Period in this field. This field is mandatory if a cap value is specified. Otherwise, if no cap value is to apply, do not select an option in this field.
Pay Code for Negation	Determines the pay code that will be used to negate the payment of hours that are accrued towards an RDO. For example, if a payee works 40 hours per week whereby 38 hours are paid and the remaining 2 hours are banked towards an RDO, the system automatically inserts a pay item into the payee’s pay items in a pay batch to negate the payment of the 2 hours that will be banked towards an RDO. The pay code identified in this field is the pay code against which the banked hours are to be negated. Note that the banked hours that are negated from the payee’s earnings are paid when the payee takes the RDO. This field is mandatory.

Payee conditional variable conditions can be used on an accrual rule to make RDO accrual subject to a payee meeting specific conditional variables. The use of payee conditional variable conditions is optional and such conditions can be added by clicking Add under Conditions > Payee Conditional Variable Condition on the accrual rule, as shown in the example below.

To define a payee conditional variable condition, select the relevant conditional variable from the Payee Conditional Variable field and then select the corresponding value to be matched in the Variable Value field.

Transfer Rules

One or more transfer rules must be added to each leave set to determine how accrued RDO leave is to be transferred into an entitlement to take leave.

A transfer rule can be added to a leave set by clicking the Add action next to Transfer Rules under the relevant branch of the leave set hierarchy, as shown in the example below.

The table below lists and describes the fields that are available on a transfer rule when the Hours with rate option is selected in the Apply To Type field in the leave type header to support configuration of RDO leave.

Field Name	Description
Name	Name that uniquely identifies this transfer rule. This field is mandatory.
Rounding Type	Determines how an accrual amount is to be rounded when it is transferred into an entitlement. The options available are as follows: Round – on transfer to entitlements, the accrual value will be rounded to a certain number of decimal places. Truncate – on transfer to entitlements, the accrual value will be truncated to a certain number of decimal places. The number of decimal places to which values will be rounded or truncated is defined in the Rounding Value field (see below). This field is mandatory.
Rounding Value	Determines the number of decimal places to which an accrual value will be rounded or truncated when transferred into an entitlement. This field is mandatory.
Type	Defaults to Increase so that the entitlement balance is increased, rather than replaced, whenever a transfer occurs. This is the only option that is available.
Calculate At	Defaults to Pay Batch so that the transfer always occurs in a pay batch, rather than being triggered by the Leave Service. This is the only option that is available.
Transfer Immediately	Is ticked on by default to indicate that an accrual is to be transferred immediately into an entitlement. This option cannot be turned off.

Deduction Rules

One or more deduction rules must be added to each leave set to determine how accrued RDO leave is to be paid and how the entitlement balance is to be deprecated when a payee takes leave.

A deduction rule can be added to a leave set by clicking the Add action next to Deduction Rules under the relevant branch of the leave set hierarchy, as shown in the example below.

The table below lists and describes the fields that are available on a deduction rule when the Hours with rate option is selected in the Apply To Type field in the leave type header to support configuration of RDO leave.

Field Name	Description
Name	Name that uniquely identifies this deduction rule. This field is mandatory.
Deduction Rule for	Determines the payment and deduction scenario to which this deduction rule applies. The options available are as follows: Leave Taken – indicates that this deduction rule defines how leave is to be paid and how the leave balance is to be deprecated when a payee is paid for leave that has been taken at the Leave Payments stage of the pay batch process. Payout – indicates that this deduction rule defines how leave is to be paid and how the leave balance is to be deprecated when a payee's leave balance is manually paid out at the Leave Payments stage of the pay batch process. This option is unavailable if the leave set to which this deduction rule belongs is linked to the Parent Client, Client or Cost Centre hierarchy level. Termination – indicates that this deduction rule defines how leave is to be paid and how the leave balance is to be deprecated when a payee's leave balance is manually paid out on termination of employment at the Termination stage of the pay batch process. This option is unavailable if the leave set to which this deduction rule belongs is linked to the Parent Client, Client or Cost Centre hierarchy level. One deduction rule will be required to be configured for leave taken. If the entitlement balance of RDO leave is to be paid out in lieu of being taken or if the entitlement balance of RDO leave is to be paid out at the time of employment termination, a payout deduction rule and termination deduction rule must also be configured respectively. For more information, see Payout, Transfer, Reset & Termination Only Leave Sets.
Rounding Type	Determines how an accrual amount is to be rounded when it is transferred into an entitlement. The options available are as follows: Round – on transfer to entitlements, the accrual value will be rounded to a certain number of decimal places. Truncate – on transfer to entitlements, the accrual value will be truncated to a certain number of decimal places. The number of decimal places to which values will be rounded or truncated is defined in the Rounding Value field (see below). This field is mandatory.
Entitlement Leave Day Rounding Rule	Rule that determines by how much the leave entitlement balance will be deprecated depending on the duration of the leave. For example, the rule may stipulate that if the payee takes half day of leave, one whole day worth of leave is to be deducted from the leave entitlement balance. The options available in this field will depend on the rules that are configured under Agency Portal > Leave > Maintenance > Leave Day Rounding Rules. This field is only available if the Leave Taken option is selected in the Deduction Rule for field, in which case this field is mandatory.
Payment Leave Day Rounding Rule	Rule that determines how the leave will be paid depending on the duration of the leave. For example, the rule may stipulate that if the payee takes a half day of leave that the payee is to be paid for 4.5 hours leave. The options available in this field will depend on the rules that are configured under Agency Portal > Leave > Maintenance > Leave Day Rounding Rules. This field is mandatory.
Entitlement Deduction	This field is ticked by default to indicate that the deduction rule triggers a deduction from the payee's leave entitlement balance based on the selected entitlement leave day rounding rule. This field cannot be unticked.
Pay Code	Identifies the pay code that will be used to pay the leave. This field is mandatory.
Leave Rate Type	Identifies the leave rate type that determines how the leave is to be paid. The options available in this field will depend on the leave rate types that are configured under Agency Portal > Leave > Maintenance > Leave Rate Type and can only be of the following types: Set Value Payee Rate Greatest Rate First In – First Out. This field is mandatory.

The following types of conditions are also available on a leave taken deduction rule for RDO leave:

one or more optional payee conditional variable conditions
a mandatory entitlement balance condition.

Payee conditional variable conditions can be used to make leave payments be subject to a payee meeting specific conditional variables. The use of payee conditional variable conditions is optional and such conditions can be added by clicking under Conditions > Payee Conditional Variable Condition, as highlighted below.

To define a payee conditional variable condition, select the relevant conditional variable from the Payee Conditional Variable field and then select the corresponding value to be matched in the Variable Value field.

A mandatory entitlement balance condition must be defined to determine if an automatic leave payment should occur depending on whether the payee RDO leave balance is sufficient or insufficient to cover the entire duration of the leave. To add the entitlement balance condition, click Add under Conditions > Entitlement Balance Condition, as highlighted in the next example.

If you select the Sufficient option, leave taken will only be paid if the payee has a sufficient leave balance to cover the entire duration of the absence. This is the only option available if the First In -First Out option is selected in the Leave Rate Type field.

If you select the Insufficient option, leave taken will be paid in its entirety even if a payee does not have a sufficient leave balance to cover the duration of the absence and the payee's leave balance will go into negative.