UMass Dartmouth
Office of Human Resources
Guidelines for Employee Self-Service Time Entry and
Manager Self-Service Time Approval
Purpose of this Document
The purpose of this document is to record the university’s policies, procedures and
guidelines for employees, student employees and managers who participate in the
university’s Employee Self-service Time Entry and Manager Self Service Time Approval
program. It outlines the university’s expectations of the participants in this program.
This document does not provide a step-by-step process of time entry or time approval nor
is it meant to be used as a substitute for training. It may be used as an accompaniment to
training and as a reference guide for employees and managers. Human Resources will
provide this document to managers prior to their department’s participation in the
Employee Self-service Time Entry and Manager Self Service Time Approval program.
Background
Prior to May 3, 2009, the university operated on a paper-based system of time tracking.
Departmental timekeepers would record time and attendance for employees and student
employees on paper timesheets that were signed by the manager. The departmental
timekeeper would then enter the time into the PeopleSoft Human Resources system. The
timekeeper would then generate a report which would be signed by the manager. The
purpose of this report was to provide a reconciliation of the paper timesheets and the
system. Timekeepers performed these functions on a weekly basis.
Implementation of HRDirect
On May 3, 2009, the University implemented an upgrade of the Human Resources
PeopleSoft system. This new system is called HRDirect and it provides self-service
functionality for employees and managers. The Dartmouth campus is implementing a
program of Employee Self Service Time Entry and Manager Self Service Time Approval.
This program was initially offered to a limited number of pilot departments and is
continuing to expand to additional departments until a full campus roll-out is achieved.
Program Purpose
The purpose of the Employee Self Service Time Entry and Manager Self Service Time
Approval Program is to automate the paper-based manual system by:
a) Eliminating the use of paper timesheets including the storage of these
documents
b) Having employees and student employees assume responsibility for entering
their own time resulting in a shift of responsibility from departmental timekeepers
c) Having a system which records and stores the manager’s approvals
d) Eliminating the use of reconciliation reports including the storage of these
documents
System of Record
When a full campus roll-out is achieved, HRDirect will be the official system of record
for time and attendance and the sole repository for time approvals.
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Training
All employees, student employees, approving managers and proxies will receive training
prior to participating in the Employee Self Service Time Entry and Manager Self Service
Time Approval Program. Training is done with on-line video tutorials and job aids.
There is no classroom training for this program.
System Accessibility
HRDirect is a web-based system and can be accessed easily from remote locations. VPN
access is not required. It is also available 24 hours per day every day. Users are notified
in advance if the system is unavailable due to maintenance.
Who will Self Report Their Own Time?
The following groups will participate at this time:
 Non-unit Professionals
 Non-unit Classifieds
 AFT Librarians
 AFT Professional Technicians
 ESU
 AFSCME
 IBPO Lieutenant & Sergeants
 Hourly Paid Students
 Hourly Paid Employees (temporary/non-benefited)
Who is exempt from Self Reporting Their Own Time?
The following groups of employees are exempt from this program at this time:
 Full-time Faculty
 Part-time Faculty
 Benefited Research and Technical Associates
 Benefited Post Docs
 Stipend Paid Employees
 Stipend Paid Students such as graduate students
 IBPO Police Officers
 Maintainer union
Time Entry Process for Employees and Student Employees
What are the Different Types of Time?
Exception and Positive
What is Exception Time?
Exception time occurs when you do not work your regularly scheduled hours. It
could be sick or vacation time. It could also be overtime or holiday comp time. It
differs from REG time.
What is Positive Time?
Positive time reporters (sometimes called Hourly) need to enter their time in order
to be paid. This applies to students and employees who are paid hourly.
Which Time Needs to be Reported?
Both exception and hourly time needs to be reported in HRDirect.
Which Time Does Not Need to be Reported?
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Regular (REG) time that applies to the entire day or the entire week does not need
to be reported. The system assumes you are REG unless you specify otherwise.
Deadlines for Reporting Time
Employees and student employees of participating departments are required to
report their time (exception or hourly) on a weekly basis. HR recommends that
employees complete their time entry prior to noon every Friday in order to
provide managers with an opportunity to complete their approvals prior to the
close of business. Department managers may exercise discretion in requiring
their employees and student employees to complete their time entry earlier if
necessary. The system is also available on the weekends for those employees
who work and need to report time.
Entering Future Time
Employees may input future time for upcoming vacations and such that has
been pre-approved by their manager.
Entering Past Time
Employees are unable to enter or change time for prior pay periods. Employees
with the need to enter or change time from prior pay periods must complete a
paper Correction Timesheet, obtain their manager’s approval and submit the
Correction Sheet to Human Resources for processing.
Employees who are Unable to Report Their Time
Managers should enter the time for employees who are unable to do so as a result
of an unplanned absence.
Tracking Time Outside of HRDirect
Human Resources suggests that employees utilize the university’s electronic
calendaring system or some other method approved by their manager to track
their time outside of HRDirect for reconciliation and audit purposes.
Approval Process for Managers
Who Can Be a Time Approver?
Time approval for employees is the responsibility of Department Managers and/or
other professional staff members who have been given this authority. Classified
staff are not responsible for approving time for employees. Classified staff
members may approve time for student employees as deemed appropriate by the
department managers.
When a department is selected for inclusion in this program, Human Resources
will work closely with Department Managers to designate the appropriate time
approvers for their area.
Reported Time vs Payable Time
Reported Time is entered by employees into HRDirect.
The system then runs a process which converts Reported Time into Payable
Time. This process runs twice daily and is called “Time Administration”. It
takes the Reported Time which was entered by the employee and applies system
rules and edits. It then becomes Payable Time.
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Here’s an example:
1- Sue Venir worked 3 hours of overtime in addition to her regular shift.
She enters the following time in HRDirect:
REG
7.5 hours
OVS
3.0 hours
-----------10.5 hours total
This is Reported Time
2-Time Administration Process Runs
3- It now becomes the following Payable Time:
REG
7.5 hours
OVS
0.5 hours (converted one half-hour to straight time)
OVP
2.5 hours (converted two and one-half hours to premium overtime)
Managers are required to approve their employee’s Payable Time.
Making Corrections to an Employee’s Time
While conducting the time approval process, mangers may encounter incorrect time for
their employees. If this occurs, the following steps should be followed:
1- Contact the Employee to Correct the Time
If the employee is unavailable to fix their own time, the manager should do so via
the on-line timesheet.
1-Revisit the Approval later in the day
After Time Administration is finished, the corrected time is available for manager
approval.
Deadline for Approving Time
Managers are required to perform their time approvals on a weekly basis. HR
recommends that managers complete their approvals prior to the close of business each
Friday but absolutely no later than 12pm on “Hard” Monday payroll days. Hard
Mondays occur in the same week we are paid.
Here’s an Example:
Pay Check Date: Friday, August 7th
Pay Period:
July 19th – August 1st
Week 1
Sun
7/19
Mon
7/20
Tues
7/21
Wed
7/22
Thurs
7/23
Fri
7/24
Sat
7/25
Week 2
Sun
7/26
Mon
7/27
Tues
7/28
Wed
7/29
Thurs
7/30
Fri
7/31
Sat
8/1
Tues
8/4
Wed
8/5
Thurs
8/6
Fri
8/7
Sat
8/8
Paycheck week:
Sun
Mon
8/2
8/3
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This is Hard Monday
Approve Time no later
than 11am
This is Paycheck Day
Failure to Approve Time by the Deadline
The failure of managers to approve time prior to the deadline on Hard Mondays will
result in the system batch approving the time for employees. This means that any time
unapproved by the manager will be automatically paid as it was entered by the employee.
Managers must affirmatively approve time for hourly paid students. The failure of
managers to approve time for hourly paid students prior to the deadline on Hard Mondays
will result in students not being paid. Unapproved time will not be uploaded to payroll.
Hours entered by a student absent the supervisor’s approval will not be paid. Students
who enter or change hours after the hours are approved will not be paid, unless a manager
chooses to revisit those hours and affirmatively approve them.
The absence of a manager’s approval and the presence of batch approved time creates a
host of problems such as:
1) Potential of incorrect paychecks
2) Potential of incorrect time balances
3) Auditing Issues
Monitoring Batch Approvals
Because of the potential serious problems associated with batch approved time, Human
Resources will be monitoring the approval process each pay period. Human Resources
will alert managers to any occurrences of time which was not approved and will require
managers to review each occurrence of unapproved time for trueness and accuracy. For
any occurrence of inaccurate time, submit a paper Correction Timesheet to Human
Resources.
Importance of Approving Time
As mentioned in page one, HRDirect is the official system of record for time and
attendance and the sole repository for time approvals for those participating in the
Employee Self Service Time Entry and Manager Self Service Time Approval Program.
As a result, the manager’s approval is critical and required.
Managers who are Unable to Approve Time
Human Resources recognizes that on some rare occasions, managers may not be
available to approve time prior to the deadline. This could be a result of an extended
vacation or an unplanned leave of absence. Therefore, all time approvers should have a
designated back-up who can assume the responsibility for approving time in their
absence.
Additional Information
Additional Information about this program can be found at the HRDirect website at
www.umassd.edu/hrdirect or by contacting Kimberley Pennock, Human Resources
Information Systems Manager at x8073 or email kpennock@umassd.edu.
X:\HR Share\PeopleSoft\Upgrade 9.0\Guidelines for ESS Time Entry and MSS Time Approval.doc
Last Updated 6.20.2011
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