Calculations for Time Off Plans

Overview

Objectives

Identify and describe the types of absence-related calculations.
Configure common absence calculations to meet time off plan requirements.
Create time off plans to meet specific requirements.
Create an absence table.

What is a Calculation?

Accruals
Upper and lower limits
Validation rules
Eligibility criteria
Carryover limits

What Types of Calculations Can I Define in Workday?

Numeric calculations
Boolean calculations
Date calculations
Step-based calculations

Step-Based Calculations

Step-based calculations simplify and streamline calculation development and maintenance by reducing the number of calculations required for complex logic such as nested calculation flows. With step-based calculations, you can:

Perform multiple steps within one calculation. Each step in the calculation produces one numeric value that Workday then uses in the next step.
Use conditions to control whether a step or operation resolves.
Group steps together into substeps using condition groups.

Step-based calculations return a single numeric value. The final value produced is the result of the steps, conditions, and operations performed.

Resource

: For additional information on step-based calculations, search "Create a Step-Based Calculation" in Community.

Advanced Lookup Tables in Lookup Calculations

Create up to 10 columns. You can then use each column for a different calculation.
Assign an effective date for search and return values.
Define search criteria based on:
Instance or text report fields.
Numeric calculations.

Calculations Used for Accruals

Accruals add to the employee's time off plan balance. Therefore, only plans that track balances use accruals.
An accrual specifies the amount of time off an employee receives and when the employee can receive that time off amount.

A constant value, such as 12 hours or 0.5 days
Note
: These values are constant value calculations in Workday.
A calculation based on a service rate lookup table, or any other type of calculation.

Proration

Using Calculations for Eligibility and Scheduling

Eligibility criteria in the Edit Time Off Plan task
Scheduling criteria in the Edit Accrual task

Using Calculations for Eligibility Rules

Use calculations in the Worker Eligibility grid in the Create/Edit Time Off Plan task to define rules to further specify who is eligible for the time off plan.

If time off or accrual eligibility differs from the plan's eligibility rules, use the Worker Eligibility grid on the Time Off Plan Overrides tab in the Create/Edit Time Off or Create/Edit Accrual task to define additional eligibility criteria. Workday then enforces the time off or accrual eligibility rules instead of the plan eligibility rules. However, the worker type and country criteria set at the plan level will always apply to the time off and accruals within the time off plan.

The following Boolean calculations are the most common types of calculations used in eligibility rules:

Logic calculations
Instance set comparison calculations
Value comparison calculations

You will also use other calculation types to meet your organization's eligibility requirements. For example, to specify time off plan eligibility based on country, you would use a lookup calculation with an advanced lookup table.

Using Calculations for Scheduling Rules

Scheduling rules determine when Workday processes an accrual. In the Create/Define Accrual task, use the Scheduling grid to define scheduling rules.

Accrual - Scheduling Rule

The most common types of calculations used in scheduling rules include:

Boolean calculations

Logic calculations
Instance set comparison calculations
Value comparison calculations

Date calculations
Constant date calculations
Date increment/decrement calculation

AND/OR Logic for Eligibility and Scheduling Rules

When defining time off plan eligibility and scheduling rules, keep in mind:

AND logic applies to criteria in the same row.
OR logic applies to criteria in different rows.

Example:

Creating Types of Time Off Plans

Accrue-as-you-go plans
Anniversary plans
Time off plans using rolling period accruals
Time off plans with front-loaded accruals

Accrue-as-You-Go Plans

Accrue-as-You-Go Plan: Time Off Plan Setup Considerations

Unlike plans such as vacation, holiday or sick, an AAYG plan does not have an earned balance. Therefore, employees should not be able to view the AAYG balance. To prevent employees from seeing the AAYG balance, an AAYG plan typically uses the balance visibility option of Never show balance. Selecting "Never show balance" ensures that Workday does not display the plan balance for anyone. Selecting a different balance visibility option, and then selecting the Hide From Worker Self Service option ensures the balance is not visible to employees. The Hide from Worker Self Service option allows:

Users who can enter time off on behalf of the worker, such as managers and administrators, to view the balance while hiding it from the employee.
Balance reports to display the plan and the amount accrued.

For an AAYG plan, set the Accrual Frequency Method for Time Off Plan field to Start of Period. Selecting Start of Period ensures that the employee accrues the time off at the time of use.

If you set a limit on the accrual, it is important to set up a lower limit on the time off plan. The lower limit specifies when time off becomes unpaid once an employee has reached the time off cap.

Accrue-as-You-Go Plan: Accrual Setup Considerations

When you attach the time off to the time off plan, Workday creates calculations called absence component-related calculations (ACRC). Payroll can use these calculations to determine unpaid or paid time off. Absence uses these calculations to determine the total amount of time off taken, which becomes the new accrual amount.

The following example uses the CHN Compassionate Leave Time Off - Time Off Total accrual calculation. This calculation captures the total amount of time off an employee has requested and becomes the amount accrued. For example, if an employee requests one day of CHN Compassionate Leave, the employee will then accrue one day. The employee can accrue the time at the same time requested.

On the Time Off Plan Overrides tab, you can add a limit override. The limit override will add an upper limit or maximum amount the employee can accrue and take off. If there is a limit to how much time an employee can take in a year, the limit override enforces that limit. Base the limit override on the accrual itself and not the plan. Additionally, the plan should not have an upper limit. Instead, the plan must use the limit override on the accrual itself.

Accrue-as-You-Go Plan: Time Off Setup Considerations

Note

: Consider using the Reasons tab to collect information as to the type of time off requested, such as funeral, caring for loved one, pet illness, and so forth.

To prevent or limit the amount of unpaid time off requests, add the Maximum Unpaid Time Off Units Allowed validation.

Anniversary Plans

Time Off Plans with Custom Frequency Examples

Anniversary Plan with a Recurring Accrual Frequency

Anniversary plans with a recurring accrual frequency accrue with the same frequency pattern, such as yearly, every two years, every five years, etc. Following is an example of an anniversary plan that accrues every year on the employee's anniversary after the employee's first year. The plan uses an anniversary balance period so that the balance year aligns with the employee's anniversary. This balance period aids in carryover and reporting.

Time Off Plan: Calculation Tab

This hire anniversary plan uses a custom frequency for the accrual frequency method. Selecting Custom Frequency allows you to select the frequency when the first accrual occurs. For the first accrual date, Workday uses a calculation of hire date + year to give the accrual on the first anniversary. Then, Workday sets a recurrence to 12 months to give this same accrual every year on the employee's hire anniversary.

Accrual: Calculation Tab

The accrual uses a calculation that captures how much an employee should receive. You do not need to add scheduling because the plan uses a custom frequency setup as the accrual frequency method.

Time Off: Details Tab

The time off setup allows an employee to request time off as needed.

Time Off: Time Off Plan Overrides Tab

The Time Off Plan Overrides tab includes the eligibility that overrides the time off plan eligibility. Eligibility at the time off plan level for this plan is employee and United States. Therefore, all employees in the USA can see that they are eligible for the plan in the first year of hire. However, they cannot take time off until the completion of their first year of hire per the eligibility rule added to the time off as shown in the following example.

Following are the details of the 1-Worker Hire Anniversary <= Current Period Start calculation:

Value Comparison Calculation for 1-Worker Hire Anniversary <= Current Period Start

Time Off Plan: Eligibility Tab

The eligibility includes all employees who are eligible for this plan. The eligibility override on the time off will limit the employees' ability to request time off only after their first year. You can also add this eligibility at the plan level. When added at the plan level, an employee will not be able to view or receive the time off until the period they reach their first year.

Anniversary Plan with a Varying Accrual Frequency

Anniversary plans with a varying accrual frequency accrue at different intervals, such as 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, and 15 years. Following is an example of a time off plan that uses the balance period of Anniversary Balance Period. It uses an accrual based on years of service, such as for year 7, grant 24 hours; for year 14, grant 24 hours; and for year 20, grant 24 hours.

Time Off Plans Using Rolling Period Accruals

The initial accrual that defines the amount of the accrual. For example, employees receive 10 days as their initial accrual amount.
The rolling period accrual that:
Specifies how far back to look for expired absences.
Adds the time back into the balance after the specified time frame.

Time Off Plans Using Front-Loaded Accruals

Adding the front-loaded accrual to a time off plan that accrues at the start of the first period of the balance period.
Configuring scheduling criteria on the accrual itself.

Absence Tables

Absence table tiers
Details
Validations
Reasons

Absence Table Tiers

Absence tier functionality allows for an employee time off request to cascade from one time off to another using multiple time off plan balances. Workday recommends using this functionality if you:

Use multiple time off plans to manage one type of absence.
Have a time off plan that workers can use only when they exhaust the balance of another time off plan.
Use separate time off plans for different rates of pay.

Example

: A business may structure their annual leave such that there is a standard allowance per year, and an additional entitlement based on years of service.

Vacation Time Off is the standard allowance that has a carryover of three months into the next calendar year.
Floating Holiday is a service-based allowance that workers cannot carry over to the next year. It expires at the end of the calendar year.

Absence tiers allow workers to automatically take the prioritized floating holiday first before vacation time off, all as one request.

Use the Absence Table Tiers tab in the

Create/Edit Absence Table

task to indicate the time off plans to include in the absence table.

The following table lists and describes the available fields on the Absence Table Tiers tab.

Field	Description
Priority	Specifies the order in which a worker should cascade from time off to time off.
Absence Tier Plan	Specifies the time off plan used in an absence table's tier. You can select a single plan from existing plans in the system, or create a new plan.
Time Off	Specifies the time off for the selected absence tier plan. Note : You can use the same time off plan in multiple tiers, but each tier must use a different time off.
Quantity per Occurrence	Displays when you enable quantity per occurrence on absence table tiers on the Edit Tenant Setup - HCM task. You can do either of the following: Select a constant value calculation for a static value. Create a calculation to allocate an amount of time off units to the tier per absence occurrence.

Each time off on the tiers must use the same time off entry option of Enter Through Time Off only.

Important

: Currently, Workday does not support the following with absence tiers:

Changes to units of time
Deletion of time offs linked to the absence table
Position-based time off plans
Time offs with active reasons
Adjustments and overrides for time offs and accruals

Absence Table Details

Use the Details tab to specify whether workers can enter time off against the absence table through Time Off in Workday Absence Management, Workday Time Tracking, or both.

When selecting the

Entry Option

of

Enter through Time Off Only,

there are additional options available. All tier plans in the Absence Table must be in hours or days unit of time.

Field	Definition
Display Start and End Time	Select to display an optional start and end time period.
Start and End Time Required	Select to display a required start and end time.
Calculate Quantity Based on Start and End Time	Select to ensure that the duration of time between start and end time equals the daily quantity. The unit of time on the tier plans in the absence table must be hours. This setting ignores any daily quantity default calculation value on the tier plans.

Absence Table Validations

Use the Validations tab to validate absence table events.

The following table lists and describes the available fields on the Validations tab.

Validation	Description
Data Entry Validation	Use this field to select one of the following: Consecutive Day Maximum: Specifies the maximum number of consecutive days a worker can take time off. Increment: Specifies the increments for entering time off. Maximum: Specifies the maximum amount of time a worker can request. Minimum: Specifies the minimum amount of time a worker can request.
Value	Use this field to select the value to use for the data entry validation.
Time Off Entries to Include	A single time off linked to the selected tier plan. Note : There can be multiple time offs on a time off plan, so a user must select which one to use for the table.
Time Off Validation Set	If you select All Time Off Entries for Worker (for Time Off Validation Set) for Same Date in the Time Off Entries to Include column, use this field to specify the time offs to include.
Do Not Allow Request	Displays an error message when a request fails the validation.
Allow Override for Entry on Behalf Of Worker	Enables managers or administrators to override the validation rule when entering, revising, or correcting time off on behalf of workers.

Absence Table Reasons

Use the Reasons tab to specify reasons for an absence, which requestors can select when submitting an absence request. You can make a reason selection required by selecting the Reason Required checkbox.