Difference between hours and cycles

When you define absence management plans, you can determine whether they are based on the number of hours an employee works or the number of calendar cycles.

Hours

Hours type plans are defined for the actual number of hours an employee has worked. You can define which types of hours count; for example whether family leave counts toward vacation accruals.

An hours service type is defined on a table which is then attached to an hours-based plan. The hours service type determines which hours and positions will count toward length of service when the employee has multiple years of service and multiple enrollment records.

You run Length of Service Hours Update (LP188) to calculate length of service hours.

Cycle

In contrast, instead of counting the number of hours an employee has worked, cycle-based plans are based on such cyclical periods as weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually and so on. For example, a vacation plan might award paid time off based on years of service.

A cycle service type is defined on a table which is then attached to a cycle-based plan. The cycle service type determines how length of service will be treated for that table’s calculation when the employee has multiple enrollments within the same plan. Length of service in cycles is then determined by taking the earliest service begin date from the appropriate master record as determined by the cycle service type.

Length of service in cycles is calculated when you run Employee Absence Plan Calculation (LP140).