ess user training leave management · ess user training - leave management - purpose the purpose of...

ESS User Training Leave Management

Table of Contents

1. LEAVE MANAGEMENT .......................................................................................................................... 1

2. EXAMPLE OF AN ESS LEAVE REQUEST WORKFLOW ...................................................................... 1

3. LEAVE MENU OPTIONS ON ESS .......................................................................................................... 2

4. APPLY FOR LEAVE ................................................................................................................................ 3

4.1 LEAVE REQUEST SCREEN ....................................................................................................................... 3

4.2 ATTACHING LEAVE NOTES ...................................................................................................................... 6

4.3 SUBMITTING YOUR LEAVE REQUEST ....................................................................................................... 8

4.4 WARNING MESSAGES WHEN APPLYING FOR LEAVE .................................................................................. 9

5. LEAVE IN PROGRESS ......................................................................................................................... 10

5.1 COLUMNS ON THE LEAVE REQUESTS IN PROGRESS SCREEN .................................................................. 10

5.2 VIEWING THE DETAIL OF A LEAVE REQUEST IN PROGRESS ..................................................................... 11

5.2.1 Leave Request Tab .................................................................................................................... 11

5.2.2 Request Status Info Tab ............................................................................................................. 12

5.2.3 Attachments Tab ......................................................................................................................... 13

6. UPDATING, DELETING AND CANCELLING LEAVE REQUESTS ...................................................... 14

6.1 UPDATING A LEAVE REQUEST ............................................................................................................... 14

6.2 DELETING A LEAVE REQUEST ................................................................................................................ 15

6.3 CANCELLING POSTED LEAVE................................................................................................................. 17

7. PARKED LEAVE REQUESTS .............................................................................................................. 19

8. DECLINED LEAVE REQUESTS ........................................................................................................... 19

9. COPYING LEAVE REQUESTS ............................................................................................................. 20

10. LEAVE TRANSACTIONS POSTED TO THE PAYROLL ...................................................................... 22

11. LEAVE BALANCES ............................................................................................................................... 23

11.1 COLUMNS ON THE LEAVE BALANCES SCREEN ........................................................................................ 24

11.2 VIEWING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE LEAVE BALANCES SCREEN .................................................. 24

11.3 VIEWING LEAVE TRANSACTIONS ............................................................................................................ 25

12. LEAVE CALENDAR............................................................................................................................... 27

13. LEAVE REPORT ................................................................................................................................... 29

14. VIEWING DOCUMENTS ....................................................................................................................... 31

15. NOTIFICATION E-MAIL EXAMPLES .................................................................................................... 32

ESS User Training

- Leave Management -

Purpose

The purpose of this section is to explain the process of applying for leave and managing your leave effectively using Employee Self Service (ESS).

Prerequisites

Computyping skills

Computer literacy

Course Outline

After completing this training, you will be able to:

Apply for leave using Employee Self Service.

View the status of leave requests that are in progress.

Update, delete or cancel leave requests.

View your leave balances for all leave types.

View the detail of all historical leave transactions.

View your own colour-coded leave calendar where public holidays, approved leave and leave requests

still in the workflow will display.

Generate the leave report to view the detail and status of your leave transactions.

ESS User Training – Leave Management 1

© Copyright Sage VIP 2014

1. LEAVE MANAGEMENT

The Employee Self Service (ESS) Leave module provides you with all the information needed to manage your own leave effectively.

ESS allows you to:

view your current leave balances for all leave types;

apply for leave;

cancel leave;

view how a leave request has progressed, i.e., whether it has been approved, by whom it has been

approved and who the remaining approvers are;

view the detail of all previous leave transactions;

view your own colour-coded leave calendar where public holidays, approved leave and leave requests

still in the workflow will display; and

generate the leave report to view the detail and status of your own leave transactions.

You will receive a notification e-mail for each action taken on ESS:

when a leave request is submitted;

each time a leave transaction is approved or declined; and

when a leave transaction is posted to the payroll.

2. EXAMPLE OF AN ESS LEAVE REQUEST WORKFLOW

Below is an example of how a leave request progresses through the workflow:

You submit a leave request.

You will be notified of your submission via

e-mail.

The leave approver is

notified of your leave request

via e-mail.

The leave approver

approves or declines your leave request.

You will be notified via

e-mail.

The leave request is

forwarded to the next level

once it is approved, for example, HR. HR is usually

the final approver in the

process.

Once the final approver has approved the leave request,

you will be notified via

e-mail and your leave

transaction will be posted to the payroll.



3. LEAVE MENU OPTIONS ON ESS

You can use the side menu to the left of the web page or the navigation bar above the content area to access the various leave menu options.

The leave menu options are:

Menu Option Description

Apply For Leave Click on this menu option to apply for leave.

Leave In Progress Click on this menu option to view how a leave request has progressed, i.e., whether it has been approved, by whom it has been approved and who the remaining approvers are.

Copy Leave Request Click on this menu option to copy the detail of leave requests that have been deleted or declined and create a new request using the data from the original request.

Leave Balances Click on this menu option to view leave balances for all types of leave.

Leave Calendar Click on this menu option to view your own colour-coded leave calendar where public holidays, approved leave and leave requests still in the workflow will display.

Leave Report Click on this menu option to generate the leave report to view the detail and status of your own leave transactions.

Cancel Posted Leave Click on this menu option to cancel leave that has already been posted to the payroll.



4. APPLY FOR LEAVE

When applying for leave on ESS, you must complete all the relevant fields on the Leave Request screen, attach a leave note if required and then submit your request.

To apply for leave:

Click on Apply For Leave on the Leave menu

4.1 LEAVE REQUEST SCREEN

The Leave Request screen displays when you select the Apply For Leave menu option:

The following fields must be completed on the Leave Request screen:

Field Description

Employee Code The employee code will default automatically and cannot be changed.

Leave Type Click on the down arrow and select the applicable leave type from the list, for example, Annual Leave, Sick Leave, Study Leave, etc.

As soon as a leave type is selected the leave balances for that leave type will display on the right-hand side of the screen:



Field Description

Leave Type

(Continued)

Cycle Entitlement

The leave you are entitled to per leave cycle.

Due @ Start

The leave due at the start of the current processing period.

Period Entitlement

The leave entitlement for the current period when the leave accrues per period. For example, an employee who is entitled to 15 days annual leave per cycle will accrue 1.25 days per month (15 days ÷ 12 months = 1.25 days per month).

Taken this Period

The leave taken during the current processing period.

Trans. Pending

Leave transactions pending approval, i.e., leave requested but not yet approved.

Cancel. Pending

Leave cancellations pending approval, i.e., leave cancelled but cancellation not yet approved.

Total Due

The leave due at the end of the current processing period.

Planned

The leave planned for future processing periods. This value does not reduce the Total Due value.

From Date Click on the down arrow and select the leave start date from the calendar provided.

To Date Click on the down arrow and select the leave end date from the calendar provided.

Day(s) Requested The system will automatically calculate the number of leave days you requested based on the dates selected and will exclude public holidays and other non-working days as defined on the payroll.

Even though the number displaying in this field is calculated automatically, you may adjust the value if necessary. For example, if you selected 15 January in the from and to date fields and the system calculated 1 day, but you are only taking a half day’s leave, you may adjust the value to 0.5. When you adjust the value in the Day(s) Requested field, the calculated days will display in red on the screen as an indication that the value has been adjusted. The person(s) approving your leave transaction can then clearly see that you have adjusted the value.



Field Description

Day(s) Requested

(Continued)

The days requested must be in the range 0.0001 to 9999.00.

Reason Click on the down arrow and select the applicable leave reason from the list. If the leave reason you require is not on the list, you may leave this field blank and enter the reason in the Comments field. You may also request that the HR/Payroll Administrator adds the leave reason to the list before you apply for leave.

Comments Any additional comments may be entered in this field.

Doctor’s Name This field will only display when you process a sick leave transaction. Enter the name of the doctor you consulted.

Practice Number This field will only display when you process a sick leave transaction. Enter the practice number of the doctor you consulted.

Note Provided? Tick the box if you can provide a leave note for the transaction.

When a leave note is required for a transaction, the following message will display on the Leave Request screen:

View the section on Attaching Leave Notes for step by step instructions on how to upload/attach files related to your leave transaction.

Show or Hide the Leave Calendar

Tick the box to show the leave calendar.



4.2 ATTACHING LEAVE NOTES

When a leave note is required for a transaction, the following message will display on the Leave Request screen:

Scan and save the leave note on your computer. Before you attach the file it is advisable to give the file a meaningful name, for example, SickNote_January2014. The maximum file size is 512 kb and the allowed file types are .gif, .jpg, .pdf and .tiff.

To attach your leave note:

Click on the Attachments tab

Enter a comment if necessary

Click on

Select the file to upload

Click on

Tick the box to the left of Note Provided? if you can provide a leave note.



Once a file has been uploaded, it will display in the bottom section of this screen. You can click on the file to open and view it. You also have the option to remove a file.

There is no limit to the number of files that may be attached.

Attachments will only be saved once the leave request has been submitted.

If you forget to attach a leave note and the leave request is approved, you will no longer be able to attach the leave note yourself. Your next leave approver can then attach the document for you.

Click on the file to open it. Click on Remove File to remove the file.



4.3 SUBMITTING YOUR LEAVE REQUEST

Ensure that you have completed all the relevant fields on the Leave Request screen and that you have attached a leave note, if required, before submitting your leave request. Return to the Leave Request tab to submit your leave request.

To submit your leave request:

Click on on the Leave Request tab

When you submit a leave request, the Summary screen will display indicating that you have a leave request in progress:

You will receive an e-mail confirming that the request has been submitted to the workflow. As the request progresses through the workflow and is approved or declined by the relevant approver(s), e-mail notifications will be sent to you as well as the relevant approvers.



4.4 WARNING MESSAGES WHEN APPLYING FOR LEAVE

If you apply for leave and the transaction overlaps with another transaction already submitted but not yet approved, the following warning message will display:

WARNING: This transaction overlaps with the transactions CURRENTLY IN THE WORKFLOW shown below. Approval of all these transactions may result in over deduction of leave days:

Family Leave From 2014/03/12 To 2014/03/12 0.5000 Total Units, Comment: **

If you apply for leave and the transaction overlaps with another transaction already approved and posted to the payroll, the following warning message will display:

WARNING: This transaction overlaps with the transactions CURRENTLY IN THE PAYROLL shown below. Approval of all these transactions may result in over deduction of leave days:

Long Service An Leave From 2014/03/18 To 2014/03/18 0.5000 Units, Comment: *Collect passport*

You will be warned when a transaction overlaps with transactions in the workflow or in the payroll, but you will still be allowed to submit the leave request.

Overlapping leave will display in red on your leave calendar.

Approval of leave transactions that overlap may result in over deduction of leave days. If overlapping occurs, you should cancel/delete transactions that are not applicable and then reapply.



5. LEAVE IN PROGRESS

As soon as a leave request has been submitted, the Summary screen will indicate that you have a leave request in progress. To view how a leave request has progressed, i.e., whether it has been approved, by whom it has been approved and who the remaining approvers are, you can access the Leave Requests in Progress screen.

To view your leave requests in progress:

Click on Leave In Progress on the Leave menu

All the leave requests in progress will be listed on the screen:

5.1 COLUMNS ON THE LEAVE REQUESTS IN PROGRESS SCREEN

Field Description

View To view more information regarding a particular leave request, click on View next to the relevant leave request.

Type The type of request is indicated. The type for a leave request will always be LeaveRequest.

Status The status of the request is indicated. If a request still has to be approved, WAITING FOR APPROVAL will display. If an approver parked the request, PARKED will display.

Description The type of leave requested, from and to dates and the number of units taken will display.

Parking Expiration Only if the status of a leave request is PARKED will a parking expiration date display in this column. The parking expiration date will give you an indication of the date by which the approver must either approve or decline your leave request.

Approver The name of the next person to approve your leave request will display.

You can also click on the link that has been created on the Summary screen to access your leave requests in progress.



5.2 VIEWING THE DETAIL OF A LEAVE REQUEST IN PROGRESS

To view more information regarding a particular leave request, click on View next to the relevant request:

The Leave Request screen will display:

5.2.1 LEAVE REQUEST TAB

The detail of the leave request can be viewed on the Leave Request tab.

Click on View.

Three tabs are available:

Leave Request;

Request Status Info; and

Attachments.



When a leave request has been submitted and it has not yet been approved (no action has been taken), you

may still make changes to the request and then click on the button. You will also have the

option to delete the request by clicking on the button if the request has not yet been approved by the final approver.

5.2.2 REQUEST STATUS INFO TAB

The actions that have taken place so far as well as the remaining approvers in the workflow can be viewed on the Request Status Info tab.

Click on the Request Status Info tab to view the following:

1. the actions that have taken place so far:

the leave request has been CREATED, i.e., submitted;

the leave request has been UPDATED, if you made changes to the request after it was

submitted and before it was approved;

the leave request has been APPROVED;

the leave request has been PARKED;

the leave request has been REASSIGNED to another approver; and

the leave request has ESCALATED to the next approver.

2. the remaining approvers in the workflow.



5.2.3 ATTACHMENTS TAB

Any documents that you have attached before you submitted the leave request can be viewed on the Attachments tab. If you forgot to attach a leave note and the leave request has already been approved by the first approver, you will no longer be able to attach the leave note yourself. The next leave approver can then attach the document for you.



6. UPDATING, DELETING AND CANCELLING LEAVE REQUESTS

How far a leave request has progressed in the workflow will determine whether you will be able to make changes to the request, delete it or cancel it.

6.1 UPDATING A LEAVE REQUEST

When a leave request has been submitted and has not yet been approved (no action has been taken), you

may still make changes to the request and then make use of the button.

Once the first approver has approved a leave request, you will no longer have the option to update the request. You then have the following options:

Delete the request by making use of the button and submit a new request if required.

Contact the next approver and request that he/she declines the request. When the leave request has

been declined, you can submit a new request if required.

To change and update a leave request that has been submitted but not yet approved:




Click on View next to the applicable leave request.



The Leave Request tab will display where the detail of the leave request can be viewed and changed:

The Summary screen will display once the request is updated.

6.2 DELETING A LEAVE REQUEST

When a leave request has been submitted and has not yet been approved by the final approver, you have

the option to delete the request by making use of the button.

To delete a leave request that has been submitted but not yet approved by the final approver:



1. Make the applicable changes to the leave request. For example, change the dates.

2. Click on .


Click on View next to the applicable leave request.



The Leave Request tab will display where the detail of the leave request can be viewed:

The Summary screen will display once the request is deleted. Deleted leave requests will display under Requests History on the Summary screen.

When a leave request is deleted, all relevant approvers will be notified via e-mail.

The detail of leave requests that have been deleted can be copied to create a new request using the data from the original request. View the section on Copying Leave Requests for further information.

Click on .



6.3 CANCELLING POSTED LEAVE

If your leave request has already been approved by all approvers and posted to the payroll, and you wish to cancel the request, you will have to cancel the posted leave request.

A posted leave request has already updated your leave balance for the particular type of leave. When you cancel a posted leave request, the cancellation request will have to be approved by the same approvers who approve your leave requests.

To cancel a leave request that has been posted to the payroll:

Click on Cancel Posted Leave on the Leave menu

All the posted leave transactions will be listed on the screen:

When you click on Cancel, the Leave Request tab will display where the detail of the leave request can be viewed. Cancellation comments can be entered on this screen and the leave cancellation request can be

submitted by clicking on the button.

Click on Cancel next to the leave transaction you want to cancel.

You can select a specific leave type and then click on to view transactions for the selected leave type only.

You can sort the leave transactions according to leave types, from date, to date or payroll reference numbers by clicking on the applicable headings.

Click on the button next to a leave transaction to reveal more information regarding the specific leave transaction.



The Summary screen will display once you submit your leave cancellation request.

The leave cancellation request is submitted to the workflow and all relevant approvers are notified of the request via e-mail.

To view how the cancellation request progresses, you can access the Leave Requests In Progress screen:

Your leave balances will only be updated once the cancellation has been approved by all the applicable approvers.

Click on .

Cancellation comments can be entered.



7. PARKED LEAVE REQUESTS

When you view your leave in progress and you notice that the status of a leave request is PARKED and there is a date in the Parking Expiration column, this means that your leave request has been parked by an approver. An approver will park a leave request if, for example, you submitted a leave request for a date in the distant future and the approver does not yet have all the information needed to approve your request. The parking expiration date will give you an indication of the date by which the approver must either approve or decline your request.

8. DECLINED LEAVE REQUESTS

When an approver declines your leave request, the request will be removed from your Leave In Progress screen. The declined request can be accessed from your Summary screen under Requests History:

All the declined leave requests will be listed on the screen:

You will be notified via e-mail if your leave request has been declined by an approver.

The detail of leave requests that have been declined can be copied to create a new request using the data from the original request. View the section on Copying Leave Requests for further information.

Click on the link to view all the declined leave requests.

Take note of the comment made by the approver who declined the leave request. This will give you an indication of why the request was declined.



9. COPYING LEAVE REQUESTS

The detail of leave requests that have been deleted or declined can be copied to create a new request using data from the original request.

To copy a leave request:

Click on Copy Leave Request on the Leave menu

A list of requests that meet the copy criteria will display:

When you click on View, the original request will be opened and all the detail will display in read-only format.

The request can then be copied by clicking on the button.

The detail of declined or deleted requests can be copied.

Click on Copy to copy the request directly from this grid, or click on View for the detail of the request to display.



Once a request has been copied, it can be edited as normal and then submitted to the workflow for approval:

A copied request is then treated as an entirely new request and does not retain any of the history actions of the request that it was copied from.

Click on .

The copied information can be amended if required.

Click on .



10. LEAVE TRANSACTIONS POSTED TO THE PAYROLL

When a leave request has been approved by the final approver, the leave transaction will be posted to the payroll and will no longer be in the workflow.

Click on the link to view all the posted leave requests.

When the final approver approves the request, it moves from Requests in Progress to posted leave requests under Requests History.



11. LEAVE BALANCES

It is advisable to view your leave balances before you apply for leave for an indication of how much leave you have available.

To view your leave balances:

Click on Leave Balances on the Leave menu

The Leave Balances screen will display where the leave balances for all leave types can be viewed:



11.1 COLUMNS ON THE LEAVE BALANCES SCREEN

Field Description

Click on the button to reveal more information regarding the specific leave type.

Apply Click on Apply to apply for leave. The Leave Request screen will display where the detail of your leave request can be entered.

Leave Type Description The descriptive name of the leave type.

Cycle Entitlement The leave you are entitled to per leave cycle.

Leave Due @ Start The leave due at the start of the current processing period.

Period Entitlement The leave entitlement for the current period when the leave accrues per period. For example, an employee who is entitled to 15 days annual leave per cycle will accrue 1.25 days per month (15 days ÷ 12 months = 1.25 days per month).

Leave Taken This Period The leave taken during the current processing period.

Transactions Pending Leave transactions pending approval, i.e., leave requested but not yet approved.

Cancellations Pending Leave cancellations pending approval, i.e., leave cancelled but cancellation not yet approved.

Total Due The leave due at the end of the current processing period.

Planned Leave The leave planned for future processing periods. This value does not reduce the Total Due value.

View Transactions Click on View Transactions to view all the leave transactions for the specific leave type. Leave requests in progress will not display on the list.

11.2 VIEWING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE LEAVE BALANCES SCREEN

Click on the button next to the applicable leave type on the Leave Balances screen to reveal more

information regarding the specific leave type. When you click, will change to and additional information such as the following will display:

If different leave lines have been linked to the same leave type on the payroll, these leave lines will

display and you will be able to view the balances for the individual leave lines.

Leave cycle end dates which will give you an indication of when leave days may expire.



11.3 VIEWING LEAVE TRANSACTIONS

Click on View Transactions next to the applicable leave type on the Leave Balances screen to view all the leave transactions for the specific leave type. Leave requests in progress will not display on the list of leave transactions. The most recent leave transaction will display at the top of the list of transactions.

Example: Viewing transactions for annual leave

Click on the button next to the applicable leave transaction to reveal more information regarding the leave

transaction. When you click, will change to and additional information such as the following will display:

if a leave transaction has been split over different leave lines on the payroll, these leave lines will

display and you will be able to view how the leave has been split.



Example: Viewing more information for a split transaction



12. LEAVE CALENDAR

The leave calendar shows a graphical view of your leave for a 13 month period, centred on the current month.

The calendar will include the following information:

your non-working days (usually weekends);

public holidays;

approved leave; and

leave requests still in the workflow.

The various colour codes and leave type abbreviations used on the calendar are described at the bottom of the screen.

The leave calendar can be exported in the following formats:

Csv;

Xls;

Pdf; and

Rtf.

To view your leave calendar:

Click on Leave Calendar on the Leave menu

Example of a leave calendar:

You can select a different centre month and then click on

to view the six months before and after that month.



The detail of each transaction displayed on the calendar can be viewed using one of the following methods:

hover the mouse pointer over one of the highlighted fields; or

click on the Transactions Detail tab above the calendar to view the detail of all the transactions

displayed on the calendar.

The status, IN PREMIER PAYROLL, means the leave transaction has been posted to the payroll.



13. LEAVE REPORT

To view your leave requests in report format, you can access your Leave Report screen and then select the relevant criteria for your leave report.

To access your leave report:

Click on Leave Report on the Leave menu

Select the report criteria:

The following report criteria can be selected:

Leave Type: The report can be generated for specific leave types or for all leave types.

From Date: The date from which leave transactions must be included.

To Date: The date up to which leave transactions must be included.

Show approver comments: Select this option to show any comments added to the transaction at the

time of approval.

You have the option to view the leave report on screen ( ) or to send the report by e-mail to your

e-mail address ( ). The report will be e-mailed in pdf format.

Example of a leave report viewed on screen:



When you select to view the report, you will have the option to print the report and to export the report to the following types of output:

Pdf;

Xls;

Rtf;

Mht;

Text; and

Image.

The following buttons are available on the Leave Report screen:

Button Description

Use this button to search for specific words or phrases in the report.

Click on this button to print the report.

Click on this button to print the current page.

Click on this button to export and save the report.

Click on this button to export the report and show it in a new window.

Click on this button to close the report.

Use these buttons to search, print and export report information.



14. VIEWING DOCUMENTS

Documents such as leave notes may be attached when leave requests are submitted. Documents are attached from the Attachments tab on the request submission screen.

To view documents that have been attached to support leave requests:

Click on Documents on the Views menu

The attached documents will be listed on the screen. You can click on a document to open and view it:

The following additional information will display for each document:

comments;

file size;

the type of request the document was attached to, for example, Leave Request;

a summary of the request, for example, the type of leave, the from and to dates and the number of

units requested;

the status of the request, for example, posted successfully, deleted, cancelled, etc.;

the date the document was added; and

the user who added the document.

The list of documents can be exported in the following formats:

Csv;

Xls;

Pdf; and

Rtf.



15. NOTIFICATION E-MAIL EXAMPLES

Example of an e-mail you will receive when you submit a leave request:



Example of an e-mail notifying your leave approver that you submitted a leave request: