Introduction
Empeon's Accrual Module is a useful feature for setting up and managing time-off balances for employees. For any instance where accruals do not seem to be working properly, it almost always stems from how the accrual policy is configured. Please refer to the troubleshooting tips below to help identify potential issues and indicate which parts of the accrual policy may require inspection and adjustment.
Editing Accrual Policies
When editing an Accrual Policy, it is important to note that any changes made will only affect how accruals are calculated going forward. Simply editing the policy does not retroactively apply these changes to past payrolls.
Recalculating Accruals
If after editing an accrual policy, there is the need to retroactively apply the changes made to the policy toward a past date, the policy can be recalculated accordingly. However, it is important to note that recalculating accruals will not account for changes made to employment status during the period of time the policy is being recalculated for.
For example, an accrual policy set-up for only full-time employees, being recalculated for the past six months, will be applied to all employees who are currently classified as full-time. If any employees had changes in their employment status during the past six months, the recalculation will not account for these changes and when they took place. Instead, it will apply the recalculation based solely on their current full-time status, recalculating their accruals for the entire past six months regardless of any recent status changes.
Due to the significant impact of the "Recalculate Accruals" feature, it is generally available only to Empeon Customer Support for assisting clients with their accrual policies. However, it can be enabled for clients upon request, provided there is a clear understanding of how this feature works.
Accrual Overrides
In scenarios where accrual balances appear incorrect, verify if any accrual overrides have been applied. Accrual Overrides are used to make specific adjustments for individuals requiring unique accrual accommodations. For example, a policy that might have a Carryover Limit of 40 hours can be overridden for a specific employee to a different amount.
Accrual Overrides may be due to why balances may seem off. Be sure to use the dropdown next to the appropriate Accrual Bank within the Employee's Profile to view any Accrual Overrides.
Displaying Accrual Balances on Paystubs & ESS
For any major adjustments being made to the accrual policy, it may be beneficial to temporarily turn off the ability for employees to view their accrual balances on both the pay stub and within their ESS Hub. These settings are found within the Policy Info section of the accrual policy. Once the adjustments have been made and balances are updated to reflect the correct amount then these options can be turned back on.
After adjustments have been made, there is the ability to retroactively update processed pay stubs in order to update the correct balances being displayed. Contact Empeon Customer Support for assistance in recalculating paystubs.
Accrual Policy Eligibility
For issues where employees are accruing hours incorrectly or not accruing hours when they should, the problem almost always relates to the eligibility settings within the accrual policy.
Employment Type
For an employee who is accruing when they shouldn't, or not accruing when they should, check their assigned Employment Type within their Employee Profile. Make sure that their Employment Type matches what is assigned within the policy, as sometimes employees can be added to Empeon Workforce without an Employment Type being assigned.
Filter Groups
For Filter Groups that are assigned to the accrual policy, confirm whether the Filter Group's conditions match the conditions of the employee being impacted. For a quick glance view of the employees included within a Filter Group, navigate to the Rules & Alerts section within the Company tab and select the Filter Groups Card. For the appropriate Filter Group, select Preview employees using the three-dot menu.
A window will pop-up with a running list of names who are included within the Filter Group, with a search option to locate a specific employee, if needed.
Probationary Period
The probationary period within the accrual policy establishes when employees are eligible to start using their accrued balances. During a probationary period, employees will still be able to accrue hours however those hours cannot be used until the probationary period ends. Confirm whether a probationary period is set up within the policy to make sure that the impacted employee does not have a probationary period being applied to them.
Employees within a probationary period, will have a "Pending" balance that reflects the hours they have accrued so far, however their "Available" balance will show as zero. Once the probationary period concludes, their Pending balance will transfer to their Available balance.
Plan Year Carryovers & Rules and Rates
Confirm whether the accrual policy has a carryover rule in place and if so, how it is structured. As a new plan year begins, this can reduce available balances for employees based on the carryover limit that is specified in the policy.
Carryover Limits
Within the Plan year section of the accrual policy is where carry over rules are set up. However it is in the Rules and Rates section of the policy where the carryover limit is established. If the policy has different accrual tiers that are based on length of service (LOS) with the organization, it is common for the carryover limit to vary between tiers. While confirming the carryover rules and limits, be sure to also confirm the affected employee's length of service.
Accrual Limit vs. Balance Limit
In scenarios where the employee has stopped accruing hours, be sure to confirm the policy's Accrual Limits and/or Balance Limits.
- Accrual Limit - Establishes the maximum number of hours that can be accrued within a plan year. Once this limit is reached, no further accruals will occur until the new plan year begins.
- Balance Limit - Establishes the maximum amount of available hours an employee can have. This acts as a cap on the employee’s available hours. If the Balance Limit is reached, the employee will stop accruing additional hours. However, if the employee uses some of their hours and their balance falls below the limit, accruals will resume, provided that the Accrual Limit (if one has been set up) has not been reached.
Please note that accrual policies do not need both an Accrual Limit and a Balance Limit set up. Policies can be configured with one, the other, or neither. However, if an employee has stopped accruing hours, it is often due to one of these limits.
Code Groups
For any Code Groups that are assigned to the accrual policy, it's important to confirm what Earning Codes are assigned within the Code Group itself that are counted toward the accrual of hours. If there are discrepancies with balances that should be accrued but may not be accruing fully, it can be due to the configuration of the Code Group, with particular Earning Codes not being included. Be sure to maintain Code Groups accordingly.