There are four conditions that are present in Payroll that pertain to Time Off Codes

• Hours Eligible = Accrued or Limit Hours + Carry Over Hours
• Available Hours = Hours Eligible - Hours Used
• When based on an annual Limit, benefit hours are not Available until any delays have expired.
• When based on Accrual, benefit hours are not Available until they are both accrued and any delays have expired

Time Off hours can accrue in a variety of ways based on the Payroll Setup Options and Time Off Maintenance.

In Payroll, Setup, Payroll Options, on the Benefits ab:

1. Time Off hours can be based on the annual "Limit" amount, "available" all at once after a possible delay period, or on an "Accrued" basis, where benefit hours are "available" as they are accumulated over time, as dictated by the "Time Off Code" associated with the employee. In either case, hours should be accrued at a rate which will normally bring the accrued hours to the annual limit by the end of the year. This is needed to properly compute Carry Over hours at the end of the year.
2. Carry Over and/or Used Hours can be applied to an annual limit, so that (Accrued hours + Carry Over - Used) cannot exceed the annual limit.

In Payroll, Setup, Time Off Maintenance:

1. The "Accrual Method" determines at what intervals accruals are to be made, Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Per Check, Dollars Paid, or a Fixed amount at year-end:

   • Hourly to accrue benefits during the normal payroll process based on the number of hours worked.

   • Dollars Paid to accrue benefits during the normal payroll process based on wages paid

   • Daily to accrue benefits during the normal payroll process based on days worked

   • Weekly to accrue benefits during the normal payroll process based on weeks worked

   • Checks to accrue benefits during the normal payroll process based on the number of checks issued

   • Fixed to update the total accrued benefit hours per year amount during year-end processing

2. The "Rate Method" can be based on a Fixed multiplier (Accrual Rate) or a Table of Accruals, allowing up to 20 steps based on dates from hire or anniversary.
3. Delay Period can delay the start of accrual of Time Off hours by 1 to 999 days after the hire date. Carry Over hours and hours based on annual Limit are not subject to this condition.
4. Eligibility Wait provides an additional delay after Time Off hours have been accrued, wait 1 to 12 months before the accrued hours become available for use. Carry Over hours and hours based on annual Limit are not subject to this condition.
5. Eligibility Hours provides that, regardless of the Time Off hours accrued or hours eligible based on annual limit, they are not "available" until 1 to 12 months after the hire date. All hours (Carry Over and hours based on Limit or Accrual) are subject to this condition.
6. Max Hrs/Check: Enter the maximum hours per check on which Time Off accruals should take place. If not limit set a zero.

Once an employee is attached to a Time Off Code any changes made to the Time Off Code in Time Off Maintenance must be applied to the employee. Use the Apply button to apply to employees on that schedule. **See Additional Information section below for more details.

Glossary Terms

Accrual Rate
Accrual Rate is not a percentage, but rather a multiplier. For a Weekly Accrual Method with a benefit of 40 hours per year, the Accrual Rate is:

• Accrual Rate = Time Off Hours per Year divided by the Number of Accruals per Year (40 / 52 = 0.7692310)

For a Dollars Paid ($) Accrual Method with a benefit of 80 hours per year, the Accrual Rate is:

• Accrual Rate = Time Off Hours per Year divided by the Annual Salary (gross) (80 / 36,000 = .0022222)

Eligible Hours
Hours that have been earned or accrued.

Eligible hours = Accrued or Limit hours + Carry Over hours, where the Accrued or Limit hours are not subject to any delay conditions.

Available Hours
Hours that any applicable delays have expired, and any hours used have been subtracted from hours eligible.

Accrual Method
Determines at what intervals accruals are to be made, Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Per Check, Dollars Paid, or a Fixed amount at year end.

Delay Period
Can delay the start of accrual of benefit hours by 1 to 999 days after the hire or review date as determined in Payroll Options. Carry Over hours and hours based on annual Limit are not subject to this condition.

Eligibility Wait
Provides an additional delay after Time Off hours have been accrued, wait 1 to 12 months before the accrued hours become available for use. Carry Over hours and hours based on annual Limit are not subject to this condition.

Eligibility Hours
Provides that, regardless of the Time Off hours accrued or hours eligible based on annual limit, they are not "available" until 1 to 12 months after the hire date. All hours (Carry Over and hours based on Limit or Accrual) are subject to this condition.

Max Hrs./Check
Maximum hours per check on which Time Off accruals should take place. Leave at zero for no limit.

See related article below, Amounts are not accrued on the Time Off Register, for more details on printing Time Off Register during Payroll Data Entry.

Additional information: 

Before applying changes it is recommended to test in a copy company to ensure changes are what you are expecting.

How to apply changes in Time Off Maintenance to employees:

In Time Off Maintenance, click 'Apply' to assign new Time Off Code limits to a group of employees. The changes are applied to all employees who are already assigned to the selected schedule code and fall within the selection criteria.

1. Open Payroll, Setup, Time Off Maintenance.
2. Select the schedule code and make any desired changes (if necessary).
3. Click the Apply button. The 'Apply Hours/Year To' window appears.
4. If necessary, change the selection criteria for the following:
5. • Employee Number
   • Time Off Eligibility Date
6. Click Proceed. All employees who are already assigned to this Time Off code are updated with the changes, based on the selection criteria.