As we approach what appears to be the fourth COVID-19 surge, and some staff are testing COVID-positive, we are receiving frequent questions about COVID-19 PTO. The time bank is still active for those who are eligible and have time remaining. The COVID-19 Time Reporting page has many resources to help you with queries, time allocation, etc. There are also FAQs to help answer commonly asked questions about resources available to employees. Please take a moment to refresh your memory on the time bank and process.

A helpful reminder that staff hired after June 7, 2020, or who took a voluntary furlough in 2020, are not eligible for COVID-19 PTO bank.

The payroll office sends out many audit reports to departments after the payroll runs. Missing Time and Unapproved Time audits are two that we send. Here’s what each report is:

Missing Time report: lists employees who were paid but did not have reported time sent to payroll authorizing their pay.

Unapproved Time report: lists employees who have time reported on their timesheet that is pending approval from their supervisor or the supervisor’s delegate approver.

Employees may show up on both reports, or in many cases, just one.  

Reported/approved time are requirements for those receiving paychecks in order to be in compliance with our Payroll Controls policy. Departments are responsible for having a process in place that is in compliance with the policy, and for ensuring accurate pay for all their employees. Please read the policy to ensure you have the appropriate controls and processes in place. Contact Payroll if you have any questions.

The October payroll calendar is available here.

Many articles have been sent regarding the requirement to check the gross pay register (GPR), first thing in the morning, following a payroll cut-off and the queries used to pull the data. Not checking the GPR is a very common theme when we investigate a pay issue or need to fix a paycheck. Also, too frequently, we find employees who are paid when they should not have been due to late appointment change paperwork, and the department is unaware the employee was paid.  

It is extremely important that these records are reviewed and verified immediately following a payroll. Here’s why: 

• To ensure the accuracy of the payroll
• To meet the obligations of the Payroll Controls requirements
• To allow the payroll team the time needed to process a correction or recall a check, if necessary
• Requests are sent to the University Payroll Office for processing off-cycle checks
• To allow time for departments to notify the employee of an issue and how it will be resolved, before the employee discover it themselves, ensuring employees are confident in our ability to pay them correctly or catch errors quickly and provide resolution.

 The University runs a biweekly payroll every two weeks, a monthly payroll once a month and a weekly payroll that results in correction payments via direct deposit. Every payroll GPR must be reviewed for accuracy and to make sure there aren’t erroneous payments, including the off-cycle weekly payrolls.

The payroll calendar available in Outlook and the Payroll Calendar in pdf format that is sent out monthly indicates when the GPR needs to be reviewed for each payroll that runs.

• Instructions to add the Outlook payroll calendar
• Payroll calendars for download/print

If you do not have a good GPR review process in place, contact our Payroll office to assist you in setting up a process as soon as possible.

There are two methods for correcting pay for an employee that was owed pay due to incorrect time reporting following a payroll.

1. Perform a prior period adjustment on the timesheet: allows correction to reflect on the next on-cycle paycheck
2. Send in a correction form to request an off-cycle direct deposit payment on the Monday following the Thursday deadline

In most cases employees are okay with adjustments happening on the following paycheck. We are asking all supervisors and timekeepers to please make sure this is the first option that you pursue as it is most efficient and cost effective; especially for small amounts owed to the employee. Realizing the amount is relative to the perception of the employee and other factors, please use best judgement with which method to resolve the issue.

In cases where the employee is missing half or all of their paycheck, and the employee is unable to wait until their next on-cycle paycheck for the adjustment, please make sure the correction form is sent to Payroll as early as possible to allow time for processing.