Frequently Asked Questions - Payroll

Recurring additional pay is paid by pay period and will be processed on on-cycle payrolls only. For monthly employees, it would pay once a month.

• For biweekly employees, additional pay can be defined for each payday in the month.
• For example, you could define additional pay to pay on the first biweekly pay cycle of the month, for the first and second biweekly pay cycle of the month, or for all three biweekly pay cycles in a month (for those months that have three biweekly paydays in a month). 

Additional Pay (recurring) can be submitted via Payroll Self-Service Transaction Links or PayPath Actions.

If an employee is paid using an incorrect chartstring, the payment can be transferred to the appropriate chartstring using a Salary Cost Transfer request.

There are no specific notifications regarding payments being processed in UCPath. To check if a payment has been processed, review the specific employee's paycheck/payroll data.

• Recurring additional pay is associated with the employee’s empl record, not their position. As a result, if an employee with recurring additional pay is transferred from one position to another, reusing that same empl record, the additional pay will persist. 

• You should go in via the Create Additional Pay, or the PayPath Actions pages to end the additional pay.

If the By Agreement employee receives the exact same amount every pay period, then you can submit a Recurring Additional Pay request for that employee, entering the “Pay Period Amount” as the flat dollar amount that the employee should be receiving.

If the by agreement employee does not receive the same amount every pay period, then the request must be submitted via the One-Time Pay Additional form. 

• Recurring additional pay is associated with the employee’s empl record, not their position. 

• There is an automatic process run by UCPath that ends additional pay once the empl record is inactive for 60 days. If an employee is rehired onto an empl record that previously had recurring additional pay within the 60-day window, the additional pay will persist on the new job. 

• You should go in via the Create Additional Pay, or the PayPath Actions pages to end the additional pay.

The amount submitted using the Additional Pay forms is the total/gross amount, not including any taxes and deductions that will be subtracted when payroll is processed.

The forms have a Gross-Up checkbox to indicate that the submitted amount should be the net amount that should be paid to the employee; if this checkbox is selected, the employee will receive the submitted amount exactly as their net amount and the department/chartstring will be charged for the additional amounts that would have gotten taken out in taxes/deductions (i.e., the true gross amount needed for the employee to get paid that amount as net).

Yes. The Recurring Additional Pay form allows for document attachment.

Additional Pay transactions are used to pay an employee a regular flat dollar amount above their base compensation, on a recurring basis. For example, a $500 stipend paid once a month, or once a pay period. 

If the student is owed additional hours that have not been paid to them, then this would not be the appropriate form to use and the hours should be submitted via the Off-Cycle/Final Pay form instead.

If the work-study student is owed additional pay for an action that is separate from their regular hours/salary (e.g., if the student has been given a STAR award), then this would be the appropriate form to use.

When you open an Additional Pay form, current payroll requests for that employee that have been submitted will be shown to the right of the new submission.

60 days. Additional Pay will persist on an inactive record for 60 days before UCPath automatically removes it.

When you open an additional pay form, current payroll requests for that employee that have been submitted will be shown to the right of the new submission, thus allowing the Initiator to check if a specific request has already been submitted. It is up to the Initiators to check current requests and previous paychecks to ensure that they are not submitting a duplicate request; the UCPath Center is not responsible for this action and will process both updates.

There are fields in each Additional Pay form meant to identify the appropriate pay periods that the additional pay should apply to, thus allowing for retroactive submission. Note: You can only submit retroactive payments for earn codes that are eligible for retroactivity.

Additional Pay is defined as pay that is in addition to the employee’s regular base pay. Thus, “out-of-scope” requests for Additional Pay consist of inputting regular hourly and/or salary pay in current or previous pay periods. It also would not be appropriate for “rush”/off-cycle requests as well as final pay.

No. Additional Pay requests will be paid out using the employee’s regular on-cycle payroll. In order to “rush” a payment, you will have to fill out the Off-Cycle/Final Pay form in order for the additional pay to be processed during UCOP’s next available payroll run.

An Off-Cycle check is any payment that is not paid on the employee’s regular “on-cycle” pay cycle (either monthly or biweekly). This payment can be necessary when employees miss a significant amount of pay (e.g., missed time card, incorrect hours). Though the processing frequency is still being finalized, off-cycle pay will most likely be processed 2-3 times a week, and the employee will be paid with their regular payment method (direct deposit vs. paper check). This process will be different from a “Rush Check."

Amounts can be submitted in hours, flat dollar amounts, or percentages, depending on what is appropriate for the employee type and earn code. For example, to submit regular pay (earn code REG) for monthly exempt employees, you can enter a salary % value.

However, the same REG pay for biweekly employees would be entered using hours.

Since there is no Rush Check form, submit the request using the Off-Cycle Pay Form. After that transaction is submitted for approval, submit a separate request to UC Path Center to indicate there’s an Off-Cycle request submitted that is a rush, and needs to be processed.

In UCPath, Off-Cycle checks will default to the regular method of payment the employee has chosen. If the employee has already signed up for direct deposit, the payment will be directly deposited. 

Merit Increases are a data change a department would make in the PayPath template, using Merit Increase as an action reason. UCPath will automatically generate the pay differential and include that retro pay on the next On-Cycle issue. No other form needs to be generated (for example, Additional Pay). However, there are positions with Earn Codes that are not eligible for Merit Increases.*

*If an employee has additional compensation based on a % of salary, and the earn code for that action is not eligible for retroactive pay, then the initiator would have to submit an additional pay request for the difference owed on the ineligible earn code.

Overtime would be recorded in CalTime which will feed payroll at UCPC for payment processing. If an employee’s status (non-exempt) allows OT, the OT will be paid.

Yes, retro-active hours can be processed for BYA/BYN employees in an Off-Cycle Pay form. 

Bonuses should be submitted as a One-Time Pay using the One-Time Pay form and will be paid on their regular pay cycle. Since bonuses are generally paid on cycle, please refer to your department/regions policies for more information about Off-Cycle Pay. 

As we transition to UCPath, some earn codes will be changed to meet UCOP guidelines. 

CIA will change to “CNB” Coach Non-Base pay. 

On the Off-Cycle form, the earn code options available will be defined by the employees’ pay group.  As we go live, a job aid will be available that describes and lists earn codes. 

Yes

All pay should be paid on a regular cycle whenever possible. Off-Cycle pay is often used in sensitive situations.  Refer to your department/regions policies for more information. 

On the left side of the Off-Cycle form, all current Off-Cycle pay requests, approved, denied, or pending will be available for view. 

UCPath Center will provide payroll calendars, which will list the deadlines for Off-Cycle Pay. Requests must be submitted and approved by the listed deadlines in order to be processed. As we go live, UCPath Center calendars will be published. 

The Home Campus will pay the employee for all work at all locations. The “home/primary” campus for the employee must be determined. If Berkeley is not the Home Campus and an MLA employee is owed pay, then you must contact the Home Campus on behalf of the employee to schedule the payment.

If Berkeley is the Home Campus, Off Cycle/Final Pay is processed per regular steps. 

Yes, a chartstring can be overridden by checking the check box, and a new chartstring can be used. 

The process depends on whether or not an employee has been paid for services prior to signing the Oath. 

When an employee has been paid for services prior to signing the Oath:

• Submit an Inquiry with the subject "Damage Payment"

1. Provide pay period(s) that need to be reversed
2. Provide damage payment amount that should be paid (this should be in hourly increments)

• The UCPath Center will reverse the affected pay period(s) and generate the damage payment (DMG) via the off-cycle process. Any accrued vacation will be paid out to the employee.

When an employee has NOT been paid for services prior to signing the Oath:

• Submit a Payroll Request (E-087) for an off-cycle check.

1. Provide comments that indicate that this is a Damage Payment (DMG)
2. Provide Damage Payment amount to include hours by pay period, vacation, and any legally required benefits

• The UCPath Center will process the Damage Payment.

If the employee is leaving at the end of their natural pay period, then a Final Pay request needs to be submitted only if the employee has vacation/accruals that need to be paid out. 

A Final pay request must be submitted if the employee has accruals and is owed those accrual hours. In addition, a Final Pay request must be submitted if the termination occurs in the middle of a pay period.

If there are no hours worked and no accruals exist in the current pay period in which the employee terminates, no Final Pay needs to be submitted- the pay will be naturally generated (and no further pay will be issued). 

Yes, a chartstring/s can be added (or adjusted as desired) in UCPath for all employees.

Rows listing hours and a corresponding chartstring can be added one at a time. 

The default chartstring is automatically applied in all rows; by checking the override box, blank chartstring fields will appear and the desired chartstring can now be entered.

The Off-Cycle pay request will default to charge the employee’s pre-defined positions’ funding/chartstring(s). 

If the employee and Job Record are the same, multiple Off-Cycle Requests for pay can be combined into one request. By clicking the + sign, multiple earn codes can be added, with specific beginning and end dates in new rows (as many as are needed).  There is no limit to the number of rows that can be added to an instance of an Off-Cycle request.

An Off-Cycle request form must be submitted separately for each job record as needed. 

No. The One-Time Pay form does not have this functionality.

If a document needs to be attached to the request, the one-time payment can be submitted using the Recurring Additional Pay form, with the effective and end dates adjusted to reflect one single pay period.

You would overwrite the chartfields when the chartfields are no longer active during the recovery process. If the overpayment is being recovered from the next available payment, it will go against the current pay cycle and the chartfields will not be able to be changed.

No, percentages must be submitted as positive amounts. 

Yes, Direct Retro transactions can be submitted regardless of the payroll processing schedule, because they do not impact the pay for a current pay period. Instead, these transactions are shifting funding sources for pay which has already been distributed. Only pay-impacting transactions and PayPath transactions should be held as outlined in the Payroll Processing Schedule. 

The Employee Data Change Deadline, the first column in the location section of the Payroll Processing schedule, is actually for deadline purposes, rather than for hold dates. For this reason, you can continue to focus on the outlined Inbound Files date so long as the transaction is being processed as a mass file. See page 3-4 on the Job Aid: Review the Payroll Processing Schedule. 

Note: The E-084 Manage accruals inbound file writes directly to the employee’s accrual table; an employee data change. Different deadlines apply, so it’s listed in both the Inbound Files - Description and Employee Data Changesections of the Payroll Processing Schedule.

Yes. Like HR Templates, Extended Absence Transactions can continue to be processed so long as they are not sent as a mass inbound file, since they do not write directly to the UCPath system without UCPath Center first processing. 

Yes, HR Templates can continue to be processed during this window, since they require processing at the UCPath Center before writing to the system. However, anything submitted after 3:00 PM of the cutoff date will not be processed for current pay cycle. The UCPath Team team will hold work on these until the  “resume” date listed on the Payroll Processing schedule. Refer to the Payroll Processing document section for “What does this mean for a location” and “What can I continue to do in between the STOP and RESUME date/times?”

Only if the PayPath and Position Management transactions have an effective date beyond the payroll cycle resume date is it okay to submit these future dated transactions.

Yes, vacant and new positions are okay to transact as long as there is no incumbent in the position- vacant position changes are not pay impacting Other Position management changes (especially those with incumbents in the position) should be held until the “Resume” date on the Payroll Processing Schedule.

Yes, the hold dates are pay cycle specific. If the current pay period corresponds to biweekly employees, monthly transactions can be entered and vice versa. See page 10 on the Job Aid: Review the Payroll Processing Schedule

• Position Management Update transactions for the current or previous pay cycles cannot be entered during this period, when there is an incumbent in the position.

• PayPath transactions for the current or previous pay cycles cannot be entered during this period.

Note: the problem is when transactions are initiated and approved because then they will write to the UCPath system and cause issues with the Payroll Processing for that pay period. It is okay to initiate the transaction and NOT approve it until the blackout period has passed for that pay cycle.

A pay-impacting transaction is any transaction in UCPath that updates Job Data in such a way that impacts the frequency in which an employee is paid, amount owed, or the funding for an employee in the current pay cycle or prior pay cycle (i.e., retroactive transaction) during the Payroll production process. This also includes position management changes for positions which are currently assigned to employees. Any job data change, such as a retro-active lower rate change, that will cause an overpayment.

A pay-impacting transaction includes position and incumbent job data changes such as:

• Job data change (i.e. fte, comp rate, pay cycle, title code, benefits etc.)

• Retroactive Job data change which causes the retro module to be triggered

• Additional pay change (change to recurring additional pay such as amount, earn code, effective date etc.)

• Position management change impacting the incumbents job data

• PayPath transactions outside of the current on-cycle pay period; e.g., if the current pay period being processed corresponds to biweekly employees, you may enter monthly transactions.

• Non-PayPath transactions, e.g., HR templates and leaves.

• Transactions with effective dates beyond the current pay period (including PayPath transactions).

• Employee data changes that affect payroll must be submitted and approved in UCPath by 3:00 PM. Changes submitted after 3:00 PM will not be included in the pay run. 

• Locations may continue to send HR Template and Leave of Absence transactions after the STOP date and time. However, if these transactions impact pay, they will not be processed until the resume processing date and will be included in the next pay cycle. 

• E-702 Funding Entry Page and E-703 Funding Upload is due a day (EOD) prior to the Pay Confirm Date.

No, there are no alerts/notifications sent out to tell people that a retroactive payment is or is not triggered. The only notification is if someone at UCPC Payroll thinks an error has occurred and will reach out to the identified individuals to confirm.