Timecard Save Validation

Note: This business process is an extension model that is developed outside the normal release schedule to meet specific customer needs. To request one of these models, you must submit a Salesforce Service Request to UKG. After the model is delivered to your tenant, you can edit it to meet your needs.

The Timecard Save Validation process provides a framework that offers granular control over transactional data passed to the Workflow Engine by a manager who saves timecard changes.

Organizations have the option to enforce one or more validation workflows at any given time. When the process is initiated by the manager timecard save action, supported validation workflows include:

Historical Edits Restriction

Enabling edits in signed-off periods allows the manager to edit the timecard in any signed-off period.

When you enable the Historical Edits Validation function and an employee’s timecard is signed-off, the manager is restricted to a certain number of signed-off pay periods in which editing is allowed. Restriction is dependent on the employee's primary location (primary assignment) on the edit date.

Timecard edits that are validated under this functionality include:

Manager Access to Employee

Manager access to an employee timecard is based on the employee group assignment. When the employee works for a manager at least one day during the selected time period, the manager has access to all days in the time period.

When you enable the Manager Access to Employee function and an employee works on different contracts or has multiple primary locations and jobs that are not part of the manager's employee group, the manager is prevented from making paycode edits on days when the employee reports to some other manager.

Mandatory Comments

Mandatory Paycode Comments — Timecard entry

Adding a comment to a paycode edit in a timecard is a common business requirement. A missing comment can disrupt an established business process, as in the following examples.

  • Operational reasons

    A production line encounters downtime, which prevents its operators from working. A comment attached to the excused paycode edit identifies the reason, such as malfunction or material shortage, and is then used for reporting purposes. The absence of a comment prevents correct reporting related to the cause of the incident.

  • Payroll reasons

    In certain regions, customers use one generic paycode for a series of different absences. A comment identifies the absence type and is referenced during payroll export. When no comment is provided, payroll is not processed correctly, resulting in payment errors.

  • Missing time audit

    When employees are late, a duration paycode is added to justify missing time. The missing time must be accompanied by a comment for tracking purposes.

To prevent disruption of an organization's established business processes, the Mandatory Paycode Comments function prevents a timecard save action by using a two-step validation. First, the validation checks whether the paycode requires a comment. Second, the validation checks the appropriateness of the comment selection. When no comment or an incorrect comment is attached to the paycode, the system displays an error message and prevents the timecard save action.

Granular control over action types, such as add, edit, and delete, is supported by this function.

Note: The Mandatory Paycode Comments validation process initiates only when a paycode action is performed in the timecard. Paycode actions performed during a group edit, such as in a dataview, are not routed through the validation workflow.

Mandatory Paycode Comments — Global Time Off Requests validation

See the Global Time Off Requests (GTOR) Validation Rulestopic.

The GTOR validation process supports mandatory paycode comments when submitting requests. Enable this validation process according to customer need.

Mandatory Overtime Approval Comments

In some organizations, the manager is required to approve overtime worked by an employee. During approval, the manager approves all, some or no overtime with the expectation that a comment is selected.

The Mandatory Overtime Approval Comments function prevents a timecard save action after overtime approval unless a comment and note are entered. The validation is only applicable when approving overtime since comment and note selection do not apply when editing or resetting overtime. If the overtime approval is reset, the mandatory comment and note are removed.

Mandatory Punch Edits Comments

Adding a comment to a punch edit in the timecard is a common business requirement.

The Mandatory Punch Edits Comments function validates that a comment is present before the timecard save action is allowed. Granular control over different punch actions — add, edit, or delete — allows organizations to configure punch actions that require a comment and note. For example, some organizations could require comments for each punch action, while other organizations could require comments only when adding a punch.

Deleting a punch from the timecard typically requires a document trail for compliance purposes.

When the Mandatory Punch Edits Comments function and granular control over punch comments are enabled, the manager must add a justification comment to a punch before it can be deleted. If the comment is not present, the workflow displays an error message and prevents the deletion. After the manager adds the comment and then deletes the punch, the deleted punch and justification comment can be viewed in the timecard’s audit tab. This action ensures that documentation exists in the system for the auditing staff to review, when required.