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Payroll ePAF Functions

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Payroll ePAF Functions

If you have additional questions regarding Payroll system functions please contact the Payroll department directly by phone: 405/325.2961 or email at payroll@ou.edu.

GT Batch Form Processing allows users to use a CSV file to create forms for each line in the file utilizing a single batch upload. Listed below is the form and instructions used to enter batch add pay data to load into peoplesoft add pay epaf system. 

Obtaining Access to Payroll Systems

An employee must have Department User or Reporting HCM role. In order to access account information such as running extracts, an employee must be the department sponsor or be given the role of proxy. The account sponsor or a designated proxy with the ability to create proxies needs to assign the “HR Reports” option to the employee in FAMS, Financial Account Management System.  FAMS may be accessed by following the provided link: https://webapps.ou.edu/fams/ (An employee must have Department User or Reporting HCM role also)

Human Capital Management (HCM) and ePAF Security

Log-in – The User ID for active employees is their NetID (4x4) and their password set up through IT. New employees must activate their account before they can access PeopleSoft (HCM). Follow this link to the IT website regarding OU Net IDs: https://webapps.ou.edu/it/support/ounetid.cfm. All active employees can access PeopleSoft Self-Service to view their personal information.

Please contact HR regarding directions for adding or dropping security in PeopleSoft HCM.

Account Sponsor – This role is assigned through FAMS https://webapps.ou.edu/fams/ by an account sponsor or their proxy. To be able to approve at the account sponsor level, receive emails and have the ePAF appear on their worklist, an employee must be set up in FAMS as a Proxy with PAF Approval selected.

Vice President – this role is set up by completing the HR PeopleSoft Department User Security Access Form, additional questions can be forwarded to the HR Security Team at IT-APPSEC-Requests@ou.edu.

Internal Auditing ePAF Security Rules:

  1. A Preparer cannot approve an ePAF that they have created
  2. An employee can only approve an ePAF at 2 of the following 3 levels:
    • Account Sponsor, Department Head, and Dean/Director
  3. No one can approve an ePAF for themselves at any approval level

Employee Look Up

This page allows you to lookup any employee that has been hired into PeopleSoft and provides detail about the employees' Department, Job Code/Classification, FTE. etc.

PeopleSoft path: Main Menu > OU MAIN MENU> Records > Employee Lookup

Employee Name Changes

In order to change an employee’s name in Peoplesoft, HR Records must receive a copy of the new social security card.

A marriage license or other documents CANNOT be used as supplemental documentation.

Job Data

PeopleSoft path: Main Menu > Workforce Administration > Job Information > Job Data

Job Data contains the following principle panels:

  • Work Location
  • Job Information
  • Payroll Type (Hourly, Monthly, 9/9, etc.)
  • Compensation Amount (Salary, Hourly wage)
  • Employment Information

Electronic PAF (ePAF) vs Paper PAF

The Personnel Action Form (PAF) is used by HR and Payroll to hire, re-hire, or change the status of an employee. The form is also used to pay a monthly employee for summer money (SUM), supplemental pay (SUP), or overload base (OLB).

When to use ePAF:

  • ePAF’s are required to be used except in certain circumstances. It is much easier to check the routing process in ePAF and to locate it once it has been approved.  ePAF enables a faster approval process.

When to use paper:

  • New hired International students who have applied for but not yet received a social security number
  • Affiliate PAFs of any sort
  • Appointments of Adjuncts when the employee is already 1.00 FTE
  • Extensions of Adjunct that will receive only supplemental pay (Payroll records them as .10 FTE at zero pay)
  • When 2 different effective dates happen within the same pay period, one can be online or both can be done on paper
  • Changing a staff position job code to a faculty job code or vice versa
  • Exceptions that are instructed by Payroll to do on the paper form

For ePAF How To's, please utilize the Payroll Guide for instructions on:

  • Starting a New ePAF
  • Resubmitting, Changing, or Withdrawling and ePAF
  • Evaluating an ePAF
  • Viewing an ePAF
  • Viewing ePAF Worklist
  • Viewing ePAF History
Employment ActionsDescription
Hire/RehireHire is an initial appointment and refers to placing an individual on the payroll for the first time. Rehire is placing a former employee (who was previously in an appointed, budgeted position) into an appointed, budgeted position.
PromotionPromotion is the advancement of an employee to a position with a classification of higher responsibility and a higher pay grade.
DemotionDemotion is the movement employee into a position with a classification of lower responsibility and a lower pay grade.
TransferTransfer is the movement of an employee from one department to another while maintaining the current level of responsibility and pay grade.

No documentation other than a completed ePAF is required for a transfer.
Leave of Absence

A leave of absence removes an employee from working status and is time taken for personal reasons, vacation, disciplinary action, employee illness, injury, or disability, illness or death of a family member, funeral attendance, military or civic duties, or for reasons defined as administrative leave.

When completing the ePAF, choose one of these reasons for the leave of absence.

  • Personal Reasons
  • Employee Illness/Injury/Disability
  • Funeral Attendance
  • Administrative Reasons
  • Disciplinary Action/ Suspension
  • Vacation
  • Military Leave 
  • Sabbatical
  • Jury Duty
  • Illness or Death of a Family Member
Return from Leave of AbsenceA return from leave of absence reinstates an employee to working status.
Termination

Termination ends the employment relationship.

Voluntary Termination

Voluntary termination is initiated by the employee. The employee must provide a written letter of resignation. The supervisor is recommended to write a letter accepting the resignation. The department should submit copies of both letters to Human Resources to be retained in the employee's record.

Involuntary Termination

Involuntary termination is initiated by the university. The department must provide a written letter of termination to the employee. Submit a copy of this letter to Human Resources.

Reasons for Termination

When completing the ePAF, choose one of these reasons for termination.

  • Completion of Program
  • Death
  • Disability
  • End of Budget Year
  • End of temporary appointment Failure to return from leave
  • Grant / Funding expired
  • Job Abandonment
  • Reduction in workforce
  • Resigned – accepted an off campus position
  • Resigned – family reasons
  • Resigned – health reasons
  • Resigned – marriage
  • Resigned – personal reasons
  • Resigned – return to school
  • Retirement from OUHSC
  • Terminated by department
  • Transfer to Norman campus
RetirementRetirement is when an employee ends their OU employment and begins receiving retirement benefits from Oklahoma Teachers' Retirement System, OU, and/or Social Security.

The employee must submit a letter of resignation for retirement to their department. The department must send a copy of this letter to Human Resources to be retained in the employee's record.  
Data Change ActionsDescription
Full-Time Equivalency (FTE)Full-time equivalent (FTE) is based on the total of all hours in an employee’s active job records. 1.00 FTE = 173.33 standard hours each month.

An FTE change is a change in the percentage of hours worked on average in a week by an employee.
Job CodeJob code is the identifier which defines an employee's particular position or classification.
Pay RaiseA pay increase for work performed in the current position.
Primary Department NumberA change to correct the primary department number an employee is assigned to. The department paying the greatest amount of an individual’s pay is determined to be the primary department, unless that department instructs Human Resources in writing of a different arrangement. The primary department directs where the employees’ checks, ETR panel, and mail are received.
Postiion NumberNumber in a sequence that is controlled by the department and is used to identify a position/job.
Reclassification of Position

Review of existing position by HR to determine the appropriate job classification based upon the position description and duties.  Reclassification may result in a promotion or demotion by the position incumbent.

Find out more by visiting the HR website at hr.ou.edu

Payroll Source Change ActionsDescription
Earnings DistributionThe amount an employee is paid for a particular position from a specific account.
Organization (G/L Account)
The account from which an employee is paid for a particular position.

Encourage employees to use PeopleSoft Employee Self-Service to report changes in personal data such as name, marital status, home address, email, and telephone number.

Changes in contact information should also be made in the university's emergency contact systems available through emergency preparedness

If these changes are a result of a life event like the birth of a child or marriage, your employee can find information about changing benefits here.

PAF Tips

  • Regular employees can’t be appointed to more than 1.0 FTE and student employees can’t be appointed to more than a combined .99 FTE. Be sure to verify the employees current FTE on Employee Lookup so you can appoint them to the appropriate FTE. Employee Lookup can be found by viewing the employee's FTE in PeopleSoft HCM.
  • Graduate students can be placed on leave without pay for the summer by creating an ePAF using LOA/SUM effective the first day without pay. They must be returned from leave at the end of the summer by using RFL/SUM. If you need to transfer their position when they return, you can combine the two action/reasons. Begin by processing an ePAF to transfer the position. At the end of the ePAF you will check the box that states the “employee is currently on LOA, do you want to return them?” This will trigger the action reason codes XFR/POS or XFR/JOB and RFL/SUM.
  • Graduate students are always paid on a monthly basis regardless of the length of their appointment. You must calculate the rate of pay based on 12 months and you must terminate the graduate student when their appointment ends.
  • Terminations should only be processed when the employee is ending their employment with the University. If the employee is transferring to another department at the University and there is no break in service, the department the employee is transferring to needs to complete a Hire an Employee ePAF to transfer their job.
  • Leave of Absence (LOA) is leave without pay and Paid Leave of Absence (PLA) is leave with pay. If an employee is placed on LOA, they cannot be paid until a PAF is approved to return them from leave or place them on PLA.
  • Employees can only have one active appointment to a position number. If you need to pay the employee two different pay rates, they must be appointed to two different position numbers.
  • An employee can only be appointed to one pay group (HRY, H99, MTH, 9/9, 9/12, TCH). Monthly paid employees may be appointed in an additional hourly capacity, but this work must be paid by supplemental pay on a monthly payroll.

Top Reasons not to print ePAF’s

  1. Privacy laws such as HIPPA, Social Security, data privacy, etc. Do you really want to try and keep up with ever changing laws when Payroll already has to?
  2. Keeping a duplicate I-9 could result in fines for your department if all the data is not correct and you are audited
  3. If your office was broken into, your department would be responsible for telling employees their data was breached. If PeopleSoft is breached, IT would be responsible for notifying the employees.
  4. Payroll no longer keeps paper copies of anything unless mandated by the government. Everything we get is imaged and then destroyed.
  5. The University of Oklahoma is trying to go green.
  6. Who really wants to file or purge all that paperwork?
  7. All the data is already stored in PeopleSoft and reports can be written by Payroll for you.
  8. HR Records is the system of record for Personnel files, etc and has institutional forms and procedures that must be followed when someone wants to review a file.