How do rule dates work?

Start and Begin Dates (Requirement Dates)

To determine the service begin date, accrual start date, the allotment begin date and the eligibility begin date, you will need to select a requirements date on each applicable rule. After you define these dates, you can optionally apply waiting periods, points, and for some dates, adjust the date to your pay cycle.

The requirement date is the date selected on a rule that serves as the starting point for determining if employee requirements are met in order to:

• start counting the hours or cycles towards the length of service (service begin date),

• begin the accrual (accrual start date) and allotments (allotment begin date), and

• perform transfers from accrual balances to available balances (eligibility begin date).

Employee Absence Plan Calculation (LP140) calculates each employee's service begin date, accrual start date, allotment begin date and eligibility begin date by taking the rule's requirements date and adjusting this date if a waiting period, points, or pay cycle adjustment apply to that date. After LP140 calculates this date – and the cycle is closed by Absence Plan Close (LP197) – the calculated date is stored on the employee's master file and can be viewed on Employee Absence Plan Master (LP31.1). To determine the requirement date, select one of the following dates.

Waiting Period Dates

You can add a waiting period to service, accrual, eligibility and limits. The waiting period has its own start date in case the waiting calculations do not begin on the same date as the rule start date.

For example, if you define a waiting period start date, you will, at a minimum, be required to define a Waiting Period, Unit and Date Flag. If the Unit is defined as Hours, you will also need a Service Class and Hours Type.

You can use the same date as the start and begin date for the waiting period to start, or you can use a different date. After the waiting period requirement has been met, the waiting period start date is compared to the service, accrual, allotment or eligibility date you chose. The value you select in the Date Flag field (Earliest date met or Latest date met) determines whether the earlier or the later of the two dates is used for the waiting period.

For example, if you enter a value in the Waiting Period Start Date field, you will need, at a minimum, a value in the a Waiting Period, Unit, and Date Flag fields. If the unit is defined as hours, you will also need to fill in the Service Class and Hours Type fields.

The following fields are used for waiting periods:

Points

Points are optional and can be applied to the waiting period. Points indicate whether the waiting period requires a certain entry point; for example, the first date of a month after waiting period requirements are met.

Pay Cycle Adjust

Accrual start and eligibility begin dates can also optionally be pay cycle adjusted to the pay period end date on the employee’s pay plan.

Accrual Begin vs. Accrual Start Dates

The Employee Absence Plan Master (LP31.1) displays both the Accrual Begin date and the Accrual Start Date (after the absence cycle has been closed). These dates may be the same, but it is also possible that they are different. If there is no waiting period defined for accruals, the two dates will be the same. Or, if a waiting period is defined, the Accrual From Option flag on the Accrual Rule defines whether or not the two dates are the same. When the dates are different, an employee's accrual may actually start on a date but accrue back to a different date.

Accrual From Option

When a waiting period is defined on LP03.2 (Accrual Rule), the Accrual From Option field determines whether the Accrual From (Begin) date will be the same as the Accrual (Requirements) Start Date, or if a waiting period will be applied to the Accrual Requirements date selected.

Use this field to 'catch-up' accruals for employees for whom a waiting period applies before accruals start, but once the waiting period is met, accruals are calculated from the accrual requirements date selected. The Accrual Start date determines when LP140 begins to process accruals for the employee. Once the Accrual Start and Accrual From dates are calculated by LP140 and those transactions have been closed by Absence Plan Close (LP197), the dates can be viewed on LP31.1.