Common Myths for HR/Payroll Administrators

1. Payroll can change object codes.
   
2. Costing will be corrected and updated back to the effective date on the form.
   
3. Pay Changes: An employee's pay will be corrected and updated back to the effective date on the form.
   
4. I can update my employees' records by calling the Payroll Hotline.
   
5. A new paid employee can receive an HUID before their I-9 is submitted.
   
6. The combination of termination and rehire transactions has the same effect as a transfer.
   
7. I can adjust costing when I create a PeopleSoft form.
   
8. The quickest way to get a new hire processed (other than students, temporaries, and others hired through the quick-hire process) is to send each document(e.g. I-9, W4, Direct Deposit) to Payroll as soon as it is completed.
   
9. The day I enter the information into ASPERIN, WASABI, or HIRES is the day of submittal to Payroll.

Payroll can change object codes.

Truth: Object codes are predetermined by the combination of job and earnings codes and are not edited by Payroll.

Back to Top ^

Costing will be corrected and updated back to the effective date on the form.

Truth: Costing transactions only impact current and future pay periods in PeopleSoft, regardless of effective date on the form. All retroactive adjustments must be done through general ledger journal entries which are the responsibility of the departments.

Back to Top ^

Pay Changes: An employee's pay will be corrected and updated back to the effective date on the form.

Truth: Payroll transactions with effective dates prior to the current pay period will not generate a retroactive adjustment. All retroactive adjustments must be done through approved Additional Pay requests which will be paid in the pay period when the request is received.

Back to Top ^

I can update my employees' records by calling the Payroll Hotline.

Truth: Employee records are updated through approved transaction requests only. Payroll responses to Payroll Hotline requests will identify current record status and correct only those errors that relate to incorrectly entered information.

Back to Top ^

A new paid employee can receive an HUID before their I-9 is submitted.

Truth: Until a new hire transaction is processed for an employee, an HUID can not be generated. Paid employees can not be hired in PeopleSoft and receive their HUID until an I-9 is received and entered.

Back to Top ^

The combination of termination and rehire transactions has the same effect as a transfer.

Truth: Terminations and rehires impact the benefits status and eligibility of an employee, frequently triggering automatic false terminations of benefits. Preempting and/or correcting these situations can require significant man-hours in Benefits. If an employee with a single, paid, non-temp job is moving to a new job within Harvard it is critical that a transfer request be created by the receiving department.

Back to Top ^

I can adjust costing when I create a PeopleSoft form.

Truth: In order for costing to be valid in PeopleSoft it must first be created in the Oracle general ledger. Transactions created in feeder systems trigger the addition of the costing in the general ledger. Forms created through Harvard websites and forms edited after creation may not match valid costing in the general ledger which can result in rejected PeopleSoft transactions.

Back to Top ^

The quickest way to get a new hire processed (other than students, temporaries, and others hired through the quick-hire process) is to send each document(e.g. I-9, W4, Direct Deposit) to Payroll as soon as it is completed.

Truth: The quickest way to get a new hire processed (other than students, temps, and others hired through the quick-hire process) is to submit a complete, stapled new hire packet of all transactions for the employee. The sequence of entering these documents into PeopleSoft is critical. Direct deposit, personal, and tax information, for example, reject and cause unnecessary rework if the new hire transaction was not entered first.

Back to Top ^

The day I enter the information into ASPERIN, WASABI, or HIRES is the day of submittal to Payroll.

Truth: The date of submittal for any payroll transaction is the date the approved/related paperwork is received in Central Payroll. Currently only successful/complete hire or rehire transactions entered into these systems add records in PeopleSoft. The status of these employees is unpaid until hiring paperwork is received and entered by Payroll. All other transactions entered into feeder systems are entered by Payroll from paper requests generated from the feeder systems, reviewed and approved at the TUB level, then submitted to Central Payroll.

Back to Top ^