Defining Time Off Plans

To define Time Off plans that determine employee time off accruals, use the Time Off Plans form.

Note:  The Time Off Register is where the system tracks how much paid time off the employees have accrued and taken. For more information, see Creating Time Off Accrual Schedules.

Each Time Off plan establishes limits on the amount of paid time off that employees can earn and how many hours they can carry over from one plan period to the next. Clients often have more than one Time Off plan. For example:

• Vacation
• Sick
• Personal
• Other plan types taken according to client policy that can represent time accrued

Note:  To copy a Time Off plan from another client, use the Copy from another plan option, and then edit the Time Off plan information as required.

To define a Time Off plan:

1. Click the Client menu.
2. From Client|Change, select Time Off Plans. The Time Off Plans form opens.
3. Complete the following:
Field Description
Plan Code Enter a unique code for this plan.
Description Enter a description for this plan.
Accrual Method

Select the Accrual Method used to accrue time off. Additional fields become available based on this selection. If you specify Unlimited, many of the fields are disabled and you cannot enter values in them.


Note: If the client’s employees cannot carry over unused Time Off hours, enter 0 in the Annual Carryover and Lifetime Carryover fields. If there is no maximum number of hours, enter 9999.99.
Annual Carryover Enter the maximum number of unused hours that employees can carry over from one year to the next.
Lifetime Carryover

Enter the maximum number of unused hours that employees can carry over for the duration of their employment. This includes all plan years, starting from each employee’s start date.

 

Note: A warning message displays if you set the Lifetime Carryover field to zero (0), "Zero designates no limit. If you do not want carryover then enter zero in the Annual Carryover field instead of here." (Since a value of zero designates no limit in this field, the system does not apply this value when it calculates carryover at the end of a plan year.)
Allow Negative Carryover Select if employees’ negative hours can carry over from one year to the next.
Carryover Expiration

Enter the number of days, months, or pay periods after the beginning of a new year that any unused carryover hours expire. Leave this field blank if hours do not expire.

 

Note: The system calculates the carryover expiration hours by the year-end date to determine where it takes the hours.

Expiration Period

Select for the Carryover Expiration: Days or Months, or Pay Periods.

Suppress Pay Stub Print For

Suppress printing on pay stubs. Enter the number of days or months (from the Time Off start date) to suppress printing the Time Off balance of this plan on each payroll check stub and to suppress the display in Employee Portal. From the list, select Days or Months.

Accrue On Arrear Voucher

Select if hours should accrue on arrearage vouchers.

Add Hours To Balance on First Accrual

Enter a flat amount to add on the accrual balance when the first accrual triggers for any employee assigned to this Time Off plan.

 

Note: This amount only applies to plans with an Accrual Method of Flat Amount, Flat Amount by Hours Worked, or Months Worked. (Plans that use other Accrual Method options will display Add Hours To Balance On First Accrual as read-only.)

Note the following:

• If you enter a Add Hours To Balance On First Accrual amount before selecting an Accrual Method option, after selecting an option the system removes that amount.
• If a current Time Off Plan contains a Add Hours To Balance On First Accrual amount, when you access that plan and select an unsupported Accrual Method option and click Save, the system removes that amount.

Obsolete Date

Enter the Time Off benefit expiration date. After this date, no paid time off accrues for this plan.

Usage Waiting Period

Specify a usage waiting period to suppress employees’ accrued time off until after the specified period of time after their original hire date. Using the field and the drop-down, enter the number of hours, days, or months until employees can request time off, if appropriate for this Time Off plan. (This must be a whole number.)

Note: Accrued time off will not display as available on pay stubs/advices until that many hours, days, or months have passed since their original hire date. If an employee leaves the company and is then rehired, the system uses the original hire date, not the rehire date.

Maximum Usage Limit Per Plan Year

Enter the maximum use limit per register year that the employee can use.

Display Payroll Warning when Maximum Usage Limit Exceeded

Select if the system must stop the calculation/initialization step of the time sheet process when one or more employees exceed the Maximum Usage Limit Per Plan Year.

Display Used Amount on Pay Stub

Select this setting to display, on the memo line of the employee pay stub, the hours that the employee already used (year-to-date). Use this field to comply with California's COVID-19 sick leave requirements for 2022.

 

To use this setting, you must have Print On Check enabled for the corresponding Time Off Register Type. For details, see Creating Time Off Accrual Schedules.

Note the following:

• Most check formats support a maximum of four memo lines.
• The system prints the Pay Stub Name from the Time Off Register Type in the memo line, if it exists. Otherwise, the Plan Description displays here.
4. If you want to perform Time Off adjustments for the selected employee, select one of the following shortcuts:
• Time Off Types: Opens the Time Off Types form, where you can restrict the number of register types that can be assigned to an employee to avoid employee Time Off register duplication. (You need to create only one of each time off type, such as vacation or illness.)
• Time Off Accrual Schedules: Opens the Time Off Accrual Schedules form where you can create or update a Time Off register. (Time Off registers track the usable hours of Time Off that employees accrue over the course of the year.)
• Time Off Pay: Opens the Time Off Pay form where you can create codes for all absences, paid and unpaid. (Paid absence codes are associated with a Time Off Pay Register. Unpaid absence codes are not.)
• Time Off Auto Enroll Rules: Opens the Time Off Auto Enroll Rules form where you can specify plans that automatically enroll new employees.

Note the following about these shortcuts:

• Only the forms you can access will display as shortcut links. For example, if you do not have access to the Time Off Types form, the Time Off Types shortcut will not display. If you have no access or are denied access to these forms, the header and shortcuts do not display.
• If you have Inquiry access to these forms, you can select these links and the appropriate forms will open, but you are unable to make any changes within the forms.
5. Click Save.
Panels displaying below the Time Off Plan panel vary based on the value selected in the Accrual Method field.
• Setting Up Flat Amount Calculation Basis for PTO Benefit Plans
• Defining Months Worked Calculation Basis for PTO Benefit Plans
• Defining Hours Worked (by Hours) Calculation Basis for PTO Benefit Plans
• Defining Hours Worked (by Months) Calculation Basis for PTO Benefit Plans
• Defining Hours Worked (by Position) Calculation Basis for PTO Benefit Plans
• Defining Flat Amount by Hours Worked Calculation Basis for PTO Benefit Plans
• Defining Unlimited PTO Plans
• Defining First Year Prorated Amounts