Understanding Prior Period Leave Redistribution for Monthly Paid Employees

Understanding Prior Period Leave Redistribution for Monthly Paid Employees

Eligible employees earn vacation leave on a biweekly or monthly basis. For employees paid biweekly, vacation pay is recorded in the same earnings period as the leave is taken. For employees paid monthly, vacation pay is recorded in arrears.

To accomplish the proper recording of leave for monthly paid employees, the UCPath Prior Period Leave Redistribution program “looks back” to retrieve the funding in effect at the time the leave was taken. The program then charges the corresponding chartstring(s) for the leave and credits the “reg-like” pay chartstring(s).

Positions Skipped during Prior Period Leave Redistribution

When the Prior Period Leave Redistribution program cannot determine the applicable funding, the position is “skipped” and the leave transactions on the paycheck are charged to the blank earnings code distribution line(s). A blank earnings code distribution is required during funding entry to serve as a “catch-all” distribution. When establishing funding using the Salary Cap/MCOP Funding Worksheet, this distribution often uses the department default chartstring and Project 2222222. To properly record the leave for a skipped position, a correction may be needed to distribute the transactions recorded to this chartstring to the appropriate chartstring(s).

A few circumstances will always result in a skipped position. This is not due to a defect in the program and occurs because in some situations the program cannot determine the appropriate fund source. Circumstances where a position will be skipped include:

  • The employee changes positions between when the leave was taken and when it was processed in UCPath.
  • The employee does not have any earnings in the pay period the leave was taken.
  • There are not sufficient regular earnings recorded in the pay period the leave was taken to fully offset the leave earnings.

Proper establishment of the department default and blank/catch-all chartstring(s) will make it easier to identify and correct skipped positions and other transactions that may require correction. See Understanding Department Default and Catch-All Funding Sources (opens in new window) (MyAccess login required) for guidance on department default and blank/catch-all chartstrings.

Correcting a Skipped Position

Corrections are normally accomplished using a salary cost transfer (opens in new window) (Direct Retro) in UCPath. Salary Cost Transfer Initiators can manually move salary expenses to correct leave transactions that did not distribute correctly on paychecks. Corrections to VAC earnings distributions will also adjust and correct the corresponding Vacation Relief Benefits Credit.

Several system defects were identified in UCPath in January 2021 that affect leave redistribution for Health Sciences Compensation Plan (HSCP)faculty whose funding was entered using the Salary Cap/MCOP Funding Worksheet. In May 2022, updated guidance (opens in new window) was provided to Salary Cost Transfer Initiators and Approvers to identify and correct leave redistributions resulting from this issue.

Contact the Controller's Office Solution Center if you need assistance correcting leave distributions for a skipped position.