Introduction
The Employee Payroll Requests found within Request & Approvals include two distinct request types: expense reimbursement requests and the ability to make changes to tax information. These requests pertain to how employees manage their payroll-related information within the ESS Hub. While this category or employee-related requests encompasses only two request types, configuring access and establishing an approval processes is a bit more involved.
Reimbursements
The "Reimbursements" request type allows employees to submit expense reimbursement requests for business-related expenses, such as supplies and travel, through their ESS Hub. Once enabled, a "Reimbursement" tab will appear on the left-hand menu of the ESS Hub, where employees can initiate new reimbursement requests and view the status of their approved, pending and even denied requests.
Granting Access to Reimbursement Requests
Granting access for this request type involves different options compared to other request types, however the process still starts by clicking the "pencil" icon located along the row of the request type.
After changing the permission from its default setting of "No access" to "Allow request," the next step is to define which types of expense reimbursements employees can request and in doing so, determine which employees are eligible to make these requests.
For each category of reimbursements that can be toggled on and made available, the following fields will be required:
- Payroll Code - Select the appropriate Payroll Code for the reimbursement category from the dropdown menu. This requires that a Payroll Code for the reimbursement type is already set up. All Payroll Codes for Expense Reimbursements need to be set up as an "Add to Net" Deduction Code. For more information on how to add deduction codes, please refer to Empeon's article Company Deductions Setup.
- Allowed Requesters - This setting determines which employees can request this reimbursement type. The dropdown menu options are based on the Filter Groups established within Empeon Workforce. To permit all employees to make this request, select the option for "All Employees".
- Require Receipt - Activating this option will require employees to upload a receipt when submitting their reimbursement request.
For mileage reimbursements, there is an additional field where a "Rate Per Mile" can be established. Similar to the "Require Receipt" toggle, there is instead a "Require Mile Log" toggle for Mileage as well. When activated, this option will require employees to upload a detailed log of their mileage when submitting their reimbursement request.
After configuring each reimbursement accordingly, the final step is to establish the Assignee(s). During this process, there's an additional toggle for "Notify Assignees Via Email", which helps Assignee(s) stay on top of reimbursement requests. Since reimbursements are often time-sensitive, this notification ensures that requests are addressed promptly, preventing delays and ensuring employees receive reimbursements in a timely manner.
Taxes
The "Taxes" request type allows employees to edit their tax information, including filing status, dependent credits, and additional withholdings for both federal and state taxes. When this request type is activated, any changes made by the employee will require an electronic signature on an updated W-4 form, which will then be saved on file. It is recommended to establish an approval process for this request type, allowing for an Assignee to review the changes, including the updated W-4 form. For clients using Empeon's Tax Map feature, an approval process for this request type is mandatory, with no option for "Auto Approve".
Granting Access to Taxes Requests
To grant access to the Taxes request type, click the "pencil" icon located along its row.
The first step will be to change the permission from it's default setting of "No Access" to "Allow request".
Upon changing the permissions to "Allow request", the system will then require the designation of an "Assignee". There are two options for setting up the approval process for when employees make changes:
- Auto Approve - This option will forego the approval process and updates the system automatically with the changes the employee made. This is often suitable for straightforward items such as Emergency Contact and Address information.
- Selecting Assignee - For employee requests requiring review and approval, a primary Workforce Administrator can designate a specific User Role, the employee's Manager, or an individual User to review and approve the changes. Multi-step approvals can be set up to involve multiple reviewers in a defined sequence. Once the initial Assignee approves the request, it seamlessly progresses to the next assignee for further review, and so forth.
The final setting to consider when configuring an Employee HR request type is whether to establish "Only assignees can approve" the request. This optional setting enforces that only the designated Assignee(s) have the authority to approve the request. Note: This restriction applies only to the custom Users and Roles assigned for approval and does not affect system-level Administrators, such as Company or Organizational Admins, who retain approval capabilities.
Granting access to the Taxes request type will make it available to all employees within the organization. There is currently no option to restrict this request to only a specific group of employees.