News and Announcements

Special Payroll Processing Deadlines

Dear Colleagues:

We write to share the 2021-2022 Special Payroll processing deadlines and reminders about processing Special Payroll hire requests in PageUp.

Special Payroll Processing Deadlines
Due to the high volume of Special Payroll hire requests preceding academic semesters and intersessions, HR and Payroll provide processing deadline dates for PageUp and SmartHR. Special Payroll hire requests must be approved by HR in PageUp before departments may submit a SmartHR transaction, and it may take up to 4-6 weeks for a Special Payroll hire request to receive all required approvals. While HR and Payroll will make every effort to process in a timely manner, late submissions risk a delayed first paycheck for the employee. In addition, late submissions pose risk to the University if any employee begins working without a completed I-9 on file. Lastly, in compliance with state regulations, eligible employees (i.e., Adjunct Faculty) must make an irrevocable retirement election by the end of their first day of employment.

The tables outlining the 2021-2022 processing deadlines are available on the Special Payroll Information website. Please note that the PageUp submission deadlines for faculty during Winter and Summer Sessions are only applicable to 11-month Faculty, as these requests must be processed through PageUp. 9-month and 10-month Faculty appointments are submitted directly in SmartHR and do not require submission in PageUp.


10 Business Days
To ensure that employees complete all necessary tasks and are compliant with all terms and conditions of employment prior to their start date, the request to hire on Special Payroll must receive final approval from HR ten (10) business days prior to the scheduled start date. If the start date of the appointment is less than 10 business days from HR approval, HR will either update the request directly or return the request to the hiring department to make necessary changes and resubmit through the approval workflow. Requiring 10 business days provides adequate time for candidates to complete or comply with:

Monitoring Hire Requests
We encourage departments to monitor hire requests once approved by HR to ensure timely acceptance of offers and adequate time for the candidates to comply and complete the requirements listed above. When HR approves a hire request, please extend the online offer by updating the status in PageUp to “Make Online Offer” as soon as possible. Once extended, departments should continue to monitor when the candidate accepts an offer. Departments who do not extend the online offer and candidates who do not accept their offer in a timely manner risk not completing all terms and conditions of employment prior to the start date, which may require HR to revise the start date to a later date.

We appreciate your attention to these details in the Special Payroll hiring process, and we look forward to ensuring a smooth process for the upcoming year.

Please reach out to the Special Payroll team (SPAR@uconn.edu) with questions.

 

Sincerely,
Heather Souer and Hannah Traynor

Relaunch of Travel (From Daily Digest)

Relaunch of Travel

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome back to Travel!

The University of Connecticut recently lifted the restriction in place for Domestic Travel.

In anticipation of the increase in travel activity, we have put together aPowerPoint presentationwith some useful information and helpful tips as you navigate the process and get back into the loop of all things travel.

Please open the following link to the presentation for further information: Relaunch of Travel.

For more information, contact: UConn Travel Team at travel@uconn.edu

7-19-Relaunch-Travel-powerpoint

Updated FY22 KFS Expense Object Code Description Guide (From Accounting)

Good Afternoon,

The KFS Expense Object Code Description Guide has been updated for FY22. All object code description guides can be found on the Accounting Office website: https://accountingoffice.uconn.edu/oversight-of-kfs-object-codes/

If you have any questions about object codes, feel free to contact me using email or Teams.

Thank you,
Annette

KFS is now open for Fiscal Year 2022 Processing (From KFS)

KFS is now open for Fiscal Year 2022 Processing. Happy New Fiscal Year!

As you begin to look at balances on your accounts in KFS, please note the following:

1. Although Fiscal Year 2022 is the default on balance inquiries, you have the option to change the date to Fiscal Year 2021 by typing over 2022.

2. When looking at Fiscal Year 2021 balances on the “General Ledger Balance” inquiry, there is an additional period called “Year End.” This is where you will see any activity posted after June 30, 2021 that relates to Fiscal Year 2021. On the General Ledger Entry inquiry, you will see these transactions in Fiscal Period “13.”

3. Fiscal Year 2022 Budgets are loaded for all 2-ledger, 3-ledger, and Fiscal 4-ledger/6-ledger accounts. (Sub-funds OPTUI, OPOTF, OPAUX, RFNDO, RFNDA). Budgets for project accounts are scheduled to be updated overnight on July 1st as pending entries (see #4 below). Processing for all accounts should continue as necessary. 

4. KFS has the ability to show the prior year balances carried over into the new fiscal year. Ending balances from Fiscal Year 2021, which are scheduled to be loaded overnight on July 1st as pending entries, will be regularly updated into Fiscal Year 2022 until the final close in August.

5. Encumbrances:

a. New Fiscal Year 2022 external encumbrances (Purchase Orders) are in KFS.

b. Prior Year external encumbrances that are carried forward into Fiscal Year 2022 are also in KFS.

c. Fiscal Year 2022 payroll encumbrances will be posted the night of July 7, 2021.

If you have any questions, please contact Annette Pavone at Annette.pavone@uconn.edu.

HUSKYBUY BROADCAST – New User Experience in HuskyBuy

Coming soon! New User Experience in HuskyBuy

We’re pleased to deliver a updated look to the HuskyBuy experience in the coming weeks. Beginning Friday 6/25, you will find an option in HuskyBuy to toggle and explore the new look and feel to Shopping, Requisitioning, Approving, and Invoicing, and provide feedback for a period of two weeks; on 7/26, the new experience will become standard for all users. During the trial period, job aids for the new look will be available alongside our library of legacy job aids until the permanent transition occurs in July. Please find links below related to how to activate/inactivate the New User Experience beginning 6/25, as well to review the updated job aids for a sneak peak of the upcoming changes. Please reach out to the Procurement Solutions Center with any questions. 

How to toggle the new experience during the opt-in period

HuskyBuy New User Experience Job Aids

Thank you,

The Procurement Solutions Center

huskybuysupport@uconn.edu

Updated Post-Doc Offer Letter Template (from HR)

Dear Colleagues,

On April 28, 2021, the Connecticut General Assembly approved the collective bargaining agreement between the University and UAW Local 6950, covering Postdoctoral Research Associates.  The contract is available on the HR website.

Human Resources has updated the template offer letter to reflect required changes, based on the contract, and the template is available on HR’s Offer Letter page and within PageUp.

Additions to the letter include:

  • Contact information for the hiring department. Departments will need to input the appropriate name and contact information;
  • Funding source field titled Grant Funded (this field defaults to Yes but departments can update to No, as appropriate);
  • Links to the HR benefits website and the University’s non-discrimination policy;
  • Contact information for International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS);
  • A notification of the employee’s opportunity to develop and discuss an Individual Development Plan with their PI; and
  • A statement and link recognizing that the appointment is covered by a collective bargaining agreement.

Please begin using the updated offer letter immediately, and feel free to refer questions to workforce@uconn.edu.

 

Thank you,
Human Resources

Minimum Wage to Increase on August 1st (from Student Employment)

In 2019, the Governor signed legislation that will gradually increase the minimum hourly wage in Connecticut to $15.00 per hour over the next several years. The next increase is scheduled for August 1st. The hourly rate for any student whose active payroll record is not at the minimum of the new pay class will be systematically increased. We encourage employers to review the hourly rates of those student employees whose rates will not be automatically increased to identify any inequities.  Any manual increases may be processed using the Student Payroll Data/Pay Change template (UC_TBH_DC_STUD_DAT) in CORE-CT.

 

Level of Job Current Effective Aug 1, 2021 Effective July 1, 2022 Effective June 1, 2023
Class I (trainee level)  

$12.00

 

$13.00

 

$14.00

 

$15.00

Class II (assistant level)  

$12.15 – $13.35

 

$13.15 – $14.35

 

$14.15 – $15.35

 

$15.15 – $16.35

Class III (specialist level  

$13.40 – $15.35

 

$14.40 – $16.35

 

$15.40 – $17.35

 

$16.40 – $18.35

Class IV (advanced level)  

$15.40 – $30.70

 

$16.40 – $31.70

 

$17.40 – $32.70

 

$18.40 – $33.70

 

HUSKYBUY BROADCAST – Commodity Code Updates! (from UBS)

Commodity Code Updates!

To better serve the University community, University Business Services has created new Commodity Codes in the HuskyBuy system. Historically, the Professional Services (306) and Consulting Services (132 and 133) commodity codes have been used for commodity groupings that we discovered warranted their own designated commodity codes. The new codes are as follows:

4 Audio Recording Services
158 License Agreements (Non-IT)
171 Security Personnel and/or Staffing
242 Editorial/Editing Services
243 Document Preparation and Records Management
244 Shredding Services
245 Survey Services
288 Equipment Loan – Lab & Classroom related
303 Insurance
304 Affiliation Agreements (Medical)
305 Legal Services
308 HR related Professional Services (including exec. search svcs., EAP, etc)
328 Space Rentals (rooms, office space, etc.)
329 Building Leases
377 Music Compositions

An updated commodity code list is available on the UBS website at: https://media.procurement.uconn.edu/purchasing/images_commodities/Commodity_List.pdf For any inquiries, questions or guidance, please contact the appropriate buying team.  

Thank you