Applies to versions: 1.10, 1.11

Benefits

TimeIPS Benefits feature allows you to track sick and vacation time accrued and used.

Permissions: Payroll Management -> Benefits
Default Permission Groups: Manager, Employee Administrator, or Payroll Administrator

Using the left pane Main Menu, click on: Benefits » Employee Benefits

Benefits Overview

The TimeIPS Benefit and Accrual system is available with the IPSQBI module. With this module alone, you receive the following features:

• One accrual group
• Two tenure levels
• Vacation and Sick accrual types
• Automatic weekly accruals

With the Advanced Benefits Tracking module (IPSBEN), the following features are added:

• Unlimited accrual groups
• Unlimited tenure levels
• Unlimited custom plus Vacation and Sick accrual types
• Flexible accrual periods
• Enhanced configuration options including caps and prorating

Viewing and Using Benefits

Benefits -> Employee Benefits

Viewing Current Benefit Availability

Set Benefit Totals

Set Benefit Totals allows you to see the benefit totals to either one or more employees or groups. By clicking on the "Set Benefit Totals" button a new windows will appear. Set Benefit Totals allows you to set the benefit totals available for either one or more employees or groups of employees. By clicking on the "Set Benefit Totals" button a new window will appear.

In this window you are given the following options. 

• "Set benefit totals to specified hours": Here is where you will set an amount of time for for an employee(s) or groups. The hours will be displayed in the format in decimal hours or hours minutes and seconds. This can be change under My Settings > Display tab.
• "Effective at: mm/dd/yyyy and hh:mm:ss." This is the effective date and time the benefit reset will occur for the specified employees.
• For type, Select the type of benefit which will be used for the employee(s) or groups..
• "Comments": An option message to describe the purpose of the reset
• "Affected Employee(s)": A list that shows which employee(s) will be receiving the added benefits.

Resetting Benefit Totals

A benefit reset is a fixed point in an employee's benefit history. It is an assertion that the employee definitively has a certain number of hours at a certain time. If your company's policy requires benefit totals to be reset to a fixed value at a scheduled time, such as resetting unused benefits to 0 at the beginning of each year, this adjustment can be made using a benefit reset. Benefit resets can also be used to set an initial value for employees, such as benefit hours earned before using TimeIPS, or to correct errors. Benefits can be reset in three ways:

• To reset a benefit total for an employee, click the "Reset" link for the desired benefit type from the employee's benefit detail view. This will open a window allowing you to specify the new total, the date the reset becomes effective, and a comment explaining the reason for the reset.
• To reset benefit totals for multiple employees, use the Set Benefits Total option described above. This will open a dialog window allowing you to specify the new total, the date the reset becomes effective, the benefit type to be reset, and a comment explaining the reason for the reset. The dialog also includes a list of employees that will be affected by the reset.
• Benefit totals may also be reset using the Benefits Import function, described below.

Benefit resets may be scheduled at any time in the future or in the past. If scheduled in the past, accruals after the reset will be recalculated starting at the time of the reset. If scheduled in the future, accruals will continue as normal until the time of the reset, at which time accruals will start over at the specified value.

Note that accruals will be given in full, after a benefit reset; the reset does not imply any sort of prorated or truncated behavior, even if "Prorate Partial Periods" is selected. For example, if employees earn 2 hours per year on January 1st, a reset to 3 hours at any time during the year (even on December 31st) will result in a total of 5 hours available after the next accrual on January 1st.

Recalculate Accruals

If there have been any changes in the Accruals or time worked, you may wish to recalculate Accruals to ensure accurate information in the employees benefit record.  If historical accruals before a set date need to be preserved, even if changes have been made, do not recalculate prior to such a date.

This window will allow you to change the date and of the Accrual recalculation and shows a listing of the effected employees.

Employee Benefit Details

Employee Benefit Details

The "Employee Benefit Details" screen will display employee benefit and accrual information.  You will select an employee from the drop down box and click the "View/Use Benefits" button. 

Once the screen is done loading, you will notice that the "Display Options" will still be viewable, and more information is now being displayed on your screen. These sections are:

"Use Benefit Time" Section

• "Effective Date": Input the date and time that the employee has requested off.
• "Benefit Type": Select the type of benefit that is to be used by the employee.
• "Hours": Input the amount of time that the employee has requested to expend.
• "Note": A opptional comment describing the reason for the request.

"Current Levels" Section

This section allows you to view and add time in a particular benefit type. You can click on the "+" sign next to the benefit type to view the benefit availability with a detailed listing for each accrual, usage, or reset.

"Edit Benefit Usage" Section

• "Requested Date: Shows the date that employee requested to use a benefit.
• "Effective Date": The date that the benefit goes into effect.
• "Paid Date": Placing a check next to "Same as Effective Date" tells the system that as soon as the benefit usage goes into effect, that the employee will be paid for that time.
• "Department": You would use this, if you are tracking the benefit usage by department.If no departments are present then this option will not appear.
• "Request Note": Display a note that is left by the employee.
• "Adjusters Note": A text area that can be used to reply to employee about benefit usage.
• "Duration": This is were you will set the length of time that has been approved for the employee.
• "Benefit": In this drop down, you would select the type of benefit that the employee will be using.
• "Add Audit Note": Allows you to add an additional note for auditing purposes.

"Full Benefit Log" Section

This window is used to view previous usage of benefits for the employee. You will see the details of the usage with following information:

• The Effective Date of the last usage.
• The Paid Date, which will show effective if the "Same as Effective Date" was checked.
• The Date that it was adjusted.
• The type of benefit that was being used.
• Reason for the requested usage, accrual, reset, or grant.
• The person that made the adjustments.
• The adjustment or duration of the usage, accrual, reset, or grant.

"Benefits Report" Section

The "Benefit Report" is used to create reports that specify the usage of benefits from employees.

• "Select Date Range" You can manually select a range of time for this report using the drop down, or can specify your own range of dates in the "From and To entry fields.
• "Select Employee or Group" Here you will be a group of employees or a individual employees.
• "Select Benefits to Display" In this area, there are two boxes that will allow you to move back and forth the benfit types used in the report.

"Benefit Log Report" Section

Allows you to run a report for employee(s) adjustments to benefits. Here you will set the criteria that is specific to either individual employee or groups of employees.

• "Adjusted For": Here you will select the employee or group of employees that were adjusted.
• "Adjusted By": Will let you select the employee or group of employees that made the adjustment.
• "Date Range of Report": Allows you to select a preset that will specify the ranges of date used in the report. Also, you are allowed to change to specific dates which will also change the preset to "Custom".
• "Date Field": Is where you will select how the dates will be filtered in the report. You have three options "Date Adjusted", "Effective Date", and "Paid Date".
• The next list of options can be clicked to include one or more types of adjustments within the report. These include:
  • "Benefit Usage"
  • "Benefit Grant"
  • "Benefit Resets"
  • "Automatic Accruals" This includes all automatic system accruals regardless to the "Adjusted By" section.
  • "Accruals Invalidated by Recalculation"
  • "Benefit Usages Deleted by Managers"
  • "Benefit Type" The listing to the right will show all benefit types configured into the system.
  • "Display" Clicking display will generate the report.