HR & Payroll

Criminal Background Check and Special Payroll Updates (From HR)

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From: Special Payroll Information <SPECIAL_PAYROLL-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU> On Behalf Of HR – Communications
Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2020 11:18 AM
To: SPECIAL_PAYROLL-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU
Subject: Criminal Background Check and Special Payroll Updates

Dear Colleagues,

We write to share updates on the criminal background check process and PageUp Special Payroll submissions.

Criminal Background Checks

With the implementation of PageUp, Human Resources has moved to an online background check process. Upon the acceptance of a Regular or Special Payroll job offer through PageUp, the Criminal Background Check (CBC) Team will determine the necessity of a background check. If needed, new hires will receive an automated e-mail from Swift Hire via UConnStorrs@screening.services. This e-mail will provide new hires with instructions to start the online background check process. All hires through PageUp will use Swift Hire, and Human Resources will not accept paper forms for these hires.

Human Resources will continue to use paper forms for gratis/volunteer appointments, Minor Protection Programs, and 4H/NRCA Programs. Human Resources will communicate further if these programs move to Swift Hire.

Please contact the CBC Team via HR-CBC@UConn.edu or 860-486-3034 with questions.

Special Payroll

There are several updates and recommendations about the Special Payroll process in PageUp:

  • HR has updated adjunct offer letter templates to include course information (Course Name & Number); please enter this information in appropriate offer letters.
  • PageUp now includes two new fields: (1) a KFS dropdown for criminal background checks and (2) a yes or no question about whether a retiree’s compensation is grant funded.
  • Before saving a request, remember to complete all system required fields to ensure that the document saves properly. Saved requests missing system required fields will not save properly.
  • Always include weekly hours in the “Compensation and Anticipated Hours” section to ensure compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
  • For data changes, ensure that “yes” is selected for “Is this request a data change where the appointment already exists in Core-CT?” and select the Special Payroll Data Change Only onboarding form.
  • Please use the appropriate template (if the appropriate template is not available, please contact Payroll):
    • UC_PG_SPNT (Special Payroll Time Reporter Hire PageUp);
    • UC_PG_SPNTS (Special Payroll Non-Teaching Stipend Hire PageUp);
    • UC_PG_SPT (Special Payroll Teaching Hire PageUp).
  • To help identify which special payroll search to use:
    • First, identify the special payroll title for the appointment.
    • If it’s teaching (Adjunct Faculty or Special Payroll Lecturer), use your special payroll search called “DEPARTMENT Special Payroll Teaching Position”
    • If it’s instructional support (Instructional Specialist, Academic Technician, Academic Specialist, etc.), use the special payroll search called “DEPARTMENT Special Payroll Instructional Support position”
    • If you are hiring a graduate assistant in one of the graduate special payroll titles (Graduate Instructional Specialist, Graduate Overload, Graduate Student Technician, Graduate Special Payroll Lecturer, etc.), use the special payroll search titled “DEPARTMENT Special Payroll Graduate Position”
    • For all other titles, such as Temporary University Specialist, Project/Program Specialist, Public Service Technician, Research Specialist, Research Technician, etc. use “DEPARTMENT Special Payroll Position”

To ensure that hiring departments issue the most up-to-date offer letters to new hires, please merge offer letters within PageUp. HR encourages hiring departments to closely review merged documents for completeness and accuracy. HR reviews all offer letters and out-of-date, incomplete, or incorrect offer letters require significant time to revise causing processing delays.

As a reminder HR will hold an open lab session on Wednesday, January 15th, from 1:30 – 3:30 in Chaplin Training Room on the Depot Campus. No sign up is required.

To sign up for PageUp training, please visit Learning@Work:

Please contact Workforce Solutions via workforce@uconn.edu with questions.

Updated Fringe Benefit Rates (From Univ Research Adm Forum Listserv)

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Dear Colleagues,

As announced by the President, new FY20 fringe rates (as a result of funding applied by UConn) have been approved by the Department of Health and Human Services although we do not yet have an updated signed rate agreement. The rates for FY20 and for proposal budgeting on the Office of the Vice President for Research Sponsored Program Services (SPS) website will be updated soon in accordance with this announcement. The Pre-Award Team will accept the old fringe rates on budgets that have already been submitted to SPS, all future budgets should use the new rates. If you would like to update a budget for a proposal that has already been submitted to Pre-Award but not yet submitted to the sponsor, please contact your Grant and Contract Specialist.

Additionally, please note that the required budget justification language regarding fringe benefits has been updated to the following:

“The fringe benefit rates used in the proposal budget are based on the rates approved by the Department of Health and Human Services. An estimated cost escalation has been included in the out years per University budgeting guidance.”

 

FY21 FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25
Faculty 43.0% 45.0% 46.0% 47.0% 48.0%
Professional/Classified 43.0% 48.1% 49.0% 50.0% 51.0%
Special Payroll 19.5% 21.9% 22.5% 23% 23.5%
Post Docs 15.5% 15.8% 16.3% 16.8% 17.3%
Graduate Assistant, Academic Yr 15.5% 15.8% 16.3% 16.8% 17.3%
Student Labor 2.4% 2.6% 3.0% 3.0% 3.0%

 

FY22 – FY25 rates shown are projected estimates for budgeting purposes only.

FY25 rates should remain flat for FY25 and later for budgeting purposes only.

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

 My proposal has already been submitted, will my project get to use these rates if funded?

Yes, in accordance with our standard process, the actual rate charged to your award will always be in accordance with the actual federally approved rate in place at the time of the charge, even if this varies from what was included in your proposal.

 

My proposal is due today and I don’t have time to update the budget, what does this mean?

If your proposal has already been submitted to SPS, you are not required to update your budget. If funded, you still receive the benefit of the FY21 rates (see previous response).

 

Will my current award be able to use the new rates?

Yes, your project will automatically use the FY21 rates.

 

My current award ends before July 1, 2020, will I get to use these rates?

No, the new rates are effective July 1, 2020 and only salary transactions that occur during FY21 will utilize the rates announced by the President.

 

Laura B. Kozma

Executive Director, Sponsored Program Services and Faculty Services

 

Office of the Vice President for Research

Sponsored Program Services

438 Whitney Road Extension

Unit 1133

STORRS, CT 06269

PHONE 860.486.3798

ovpr.uconn.edu

 

From: University Research Administrators Forum <UCRESADM-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU> On Behalf Of Kozma, Laura
Sent: Thursday, December 26, 2019 10:57 AM
To: UCRESADM-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU
Subject: [UCRESADM-L] Updated Fringe Benefit Rates

Payroll Encumbrances (From KFS Listserv)

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Sent on behalf of the Office of Budget & Planning:

KFS – Payroll Encumbrances

There is one last issue to resolve with the payroll encumbrance files coming from CORE to KFS during this transition from position number to employee number.  Some employees (special payroll or regular faculty/staff) may currently appear over-encumbered. The regular staff will be back to normal by tomorrow morning. The special payroll employees will be fixed by mid-next week.

 

From: Kuali Financial System <KFS-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU> On Behalf Of Wihbey, Kelly
Sent: Thursday, December 19, 2019 8:46 AM
To: KFS-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU
Subject: Payroll Encumbrances

PageUp Tips and Updates (From Special Payroll Listserv)

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Dear Colleagues,

As Human Resources continues to fine-tune PageUp to meet University needs, we write to provide some general tips and updates.

General Updates and Tips:

  • Human Resources is able to quickly update permissions within PageUp. HR is working to ensure all users’ permission groups are set appropriately. If you login to PageUp and are finding you cannot do what you are expecting to do, please contact HR Workforce Solutions at workforce@uconn.edu or 6-1753.
  • In many workflows, there is an approval level called “Org Head/Org Head Proxy.”  This approval level is typically at the department level, requiring the initiator to enter the department head’s name or a delegate’s name (which may be the initiator).
  • Faculty summer salary will be processed as a SmartHR transaction, not in PageUp. All other actions that would have been processed in Recruiting Solutions or SPAR, will now be processed in PageUp. Actions that we did not process in Recruiting Solutions or SPAR, such as gratis appointments or the continuation of an end-date employee, will not be processed in PageUp.
  • HR is creating and updating reports, and we will provide more information as more reports become available.
  • Help documents are available on the Human Resources website, which includes recently added workflows for the unclassified regular search, the unclassified audit process, and the special payroll process.

Regular Payroll

  • Every search requests requires an assigned workflow. The default workflow is “audit/waiver.”  If you mistakenly submit with “audit/waiver,” HR will cancel these searches, requiring initiators to re-submit with an appropriate workflow. (View Screenshot for Workflow Assignment)
  • The employee identified in the Department Feedback User field on the search request must enter pre- and post-interview evaluations.  Please contact Workforce Solutions at 6-1753 if you need the Department Feedback User field updated. (View Screenshot for Department Feedback User)
  • When entering pre- and post-interview evaluations, ensure that applicant statuses (Interview, Qualified, Unqualified) are selected first.
  • When entering pre- and post-interview evaluations, ensure that every applicant has the word “Reviewed” next to each applicant, including interview candidates where no additional remarks are included. (View Screenshot for Pre- and Post-Interview Evaluations)
  • PageUp does not restrict users from taking recruitment actions prior to receiving appropriate approvals. Nevertheless, the University expects users to consistently and conscientiously follow business processes. For instance, users must wait until their hiring departments has received hire request approval from all approvers in the workflow prior to taking the action to “Make Online Offer.”

Special Payroll

  • The first step for any special payroll hire is to send the candidate the link to apply (View Screenshot for Location of Special Payroll Application Link).  It does not matter whether it is a new hire, renewal, or data change.  The candidate must have a profile in PageUp.
  • HR has done the set-up so hiring departments do not need to create any “searches” in PageUp. Any special payroll “searches” created by departments will be cancelled.
  • PageUp does not restrict users from taking recruitment actions prior to receiving appropriate approvals. Nevertheless, the University expects users to consistently and conscientiously follow business processes. For instance, users must wait until their hiring departments has received hire request approval from all approvers in the workflow prior to taking the action to “Make Online Offer.”

 

From: Special Payroll Information <SPECIAL_PAYROLL-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU> On Behalf Of HR – Workforce
Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2019 9:39 AM
To: SPECIAL_PAYROLL-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU
Subject: PageUp Tips and Updates

PageUp is Live (From Daily Digest)

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Human Resources has transitioned to PageUp, our new recruitment and onboarding system. PageUp is now live for applicants and the University community. Human Resources transferred all active searches into PageUp, including applicant materials (applicants need not reapply).

Applicants may search for jobs via http://jobs.uconn.edu and University users may reach the PageUp dashboard via http://uconn.pageuppeople.com.

Questions may be directed to workforce@uconn.edu or 860-486-1753.

Sign up for PageUp training via Learning@Work:

Regular Payroll

Special Payroll

Open Lab Sessions, where employees may drop in without registration to receive assistance or to ask questions about an ongoing search or the system, will be held from 8:30 – 11 am in Wilbur Cross Training Room A on the following days:

  • Thursday, 12/5
  • Friday, 12/6
  • Tuesday, 12/10
  • Friday, 12/13
  • Monday, 12/16
  • Thursday, 12/19

For more information, contact: Human Resources at hr-communications@uconn.edu

Source Link: http://dailydigest.uconn.edu/publicEmailSingleStoryView.php?id=145789&cid=24&iid=4327

 

Upcoming System Changes – Position Numbers (From KFS Listserv)

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Sent on behalf of the Office of Budget & Planning:

Upcoming System Changes – Position Numbers

As the University prepares to transition to a new recruitment and onboarding system through PageUp People, there is an important business process change that will occur: UConn assigned position numbers will no longer be used or tracked.

Note: The classified employee population (protective service, maintenance, social service and clerical unions) will continue to retain CORE position numbers generated from the State system, as always.

The change will be visible in a few different systems:

Recruiting – PageUp

  • You will no longer need to choose a position number to begin the recruiting process.
  • More detail on the recruiting system process will be available in training, open labs, etc.  Please refer to the Daily Digest for additional information on the Page Up transition or contact Human Resources at workforce@uconn.edu.

Financial – KFS

  • All payroll expenditure and encumbrance files that feed into KFS will have the employee number value in the position number field (similar to the process in KFS prior to FY2016).
  • This change takes effect during Pay Period Ending 11/21/19. Encumbrance updates will occur the week of 11/25 and the first payroll expense will hit the week of 12/2.
  • For this Fiscal Year only, due to the timing of the transition, the KFS Account Status (Current Funds) inquiry screen will display the YTD actual pay split by position number (pre-transition) and employee number (post-transition).

Budget Construction

  • No vacancies will be loaded into Budget Construction. As always, users may add new vacancies manually with “TBA” placeholder positions. For refills, users can budget the refilled salary on the incumbent employee’s line.

KFDM

  • There is no change to the .pdf and .html versions of the Filled Position Detail and Summary reports as they did not contain position number.  The position number field will be removed from the excel version of the reports but it will remain as a field in the data star.
  • We recommend running any self-created detailed payroll reports by employee number.

      If you have any further questions regarding the change within KFS, please contact your assigned budget analyst.

       

      From: Kuali Financial System <KFS-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU> On Behalf Of Pavone, Annette
      Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2019 3:52 PM
      To: KFS-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU
      Subject: Upcoming System Changes – Position Numbers

      PageUp: Transition and Training (From Daily Digest)

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      PageUp: Transition and Training

      On December 2, Human Resources will transition from Recruiting Solutions and SPAR to PageUp People, a new recruitment and onboarding system. PageUp is a cloud-based applicant tracking system that will modernize UConn’s recruitment and onboarding capabilities.

      Business Process

      PageUp will impact the University’s current business processes by allowing for the creation and dissemination of online offer letters; integrating SPAR into PageUp; eliminating unclassified position management and the processing of faculty summer payroll within a recruitment system; using online applications for special payroll appointments, including adjunct faculty; maintaining a centrally-managed approval workflow; launching a central onboarding program for new employees; and integrating regular and special payroll SmartHR hire templates in Core-CT.

      Transition

      Human Resources has plans to transition both Recruiting Solutions and SPAR requisitions and transactions to PageUp.

      For Recruiting Solutions, all open requisitions will be transitioned to Page Up regardless of the search status. Applicants who have applied to open searches will also be moved to Page Up and attached to the appropriate requisitions. Starting November 25th, Recruiting Solutions will not be available to users post PageUp go-live, but will be available to Human Resources. There will be no interruption to faculty applying to open searches through Academic Jobs Online; there will be a moratorium on applying for staff positions during the week of November 25th.

      For SPAR, transactions processed prior to PageUp go-live will be closed-out in SPAR. SPAR will remain available to end-users post PageUp go-live. Beginning December 2nd, SPAR transactions will be submitted and processed through PageUp.

      Training & Support

      Human Resources will host training sessions for Regular and Special Payrolls through February. (Select “find more classes” at the bottom of the page to reveal all available training sessions.)

      In addition, Human Resources will hold “open” lab sessions immediately after go-live and through December. Employees will be able to drop in without registration to receive assistance or to ask questions about an ongoing search or the system.

      Human Resources will also provide online tutorials and job aids upon go-live. Employees may contact Human Resources directly by phone at 860-486-1753 or email workforce@uconn.edu with PageUp questions.

      For more information, contact: Human Resources at workforce@uconn.edu

      Tracking Special Payroll Return Retirees in HR Systems

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      Beginning immediately, the University will use a new Employee Classification value when employing State of CT retirees into a Special Payroll appointment.

       

      Smart HR processors should choose “CU- Contractual/University” in the Employee Classification field on the Smart HR template(s). The University will no longer use the “SA-Special Appointment Higher Ed” value when employing return retirees.

       

      The implementation of PageUp, which will incorporate Special Payroll hiring, will also use the Employee Classification value of “CU” for return retirees.

       

      Please contact SPAR@uconn.edu  if you have any questions about this new process.

       

      From: Special Payroll Information <SPECIAL_PAYROLL-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU> On Behalf Of HR – Communications
      Sent: Tuesday, November 5, 2019 8:48 AM
      To: SPECIAL_PAYROLL-L@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU
      Subject: Tracking Special Payroll Return Retirees in HR Systems