June 21, 2007

HR, payroll up and running; ESS ready to go

    With the rollout of the human resources and payroll systems, faculty and staff will have access to OnePurdue’s Employee Self-Service (ESS) feature, and will see a few changes that should be noted, such as the vacation and sick time policy and TDA contributions (see related articles below).

    To help prepare for using ESS, all faculty and staff will receive an information packet via campus mail. The packet, to be mailed June 25, will include quick reference cards and sample pay statements.

    The quick reference cards will include tips for logging in and using the system. Sample pay statements will help employees become familiar with the new look of those statements as they will be viewed online.

    The first pay for biweekly staff under the new system will be July 3, The first pay for monthly staff will be July 31.

    Those monthly-paid staff members who also work in a position that is paid on a biweekly basis will now be paid once at the end of the month.

    The human resources and payroll systems are the second systems to be released as part of OnePurdue. OnePurdue’s financial systems have been running live since February, and student systems are being worked on for future implementation. The travel module will be released after human resources and payroll, and a go-live date is yet to be announced.

Vacation and sick time policy to change

    In the past, staff could use their accrued vacation time up to and including the current pay period. In the new system, accrued time is credited as each pay period is closed, and vacation time earned will be available to use in a subsequent accrual period. So, with the new system, leave time accumulated during the current pay period can only be taken after that period.

    Monthly paid (exempt) faculty and staff will continue to use vacation time in minimum half-day increments. However, these half-day increments must be converted to the equivalent number of hours in order to account for staff who work a different number of hours than the standard eight-hour day.

New system means new way to contribute to TDAs

    The OnePurdue system will provide flexibility in saving for retirement through a tax-deferred annuity.

    Currently, employees can designate a specific dollar amount to be taken from each pay. Under the new system, those contributions can be a specific dollar amount or a specific percentage of pay.

    Faculty and staff who are paid on an academic-year basis should take particular note of this option because the full amount the employee has designated in his or her salary reduction agreement will be taken from every pay, including the partial pays in August and May and any summer pay that is earned. Selecting a percentage TDA deduction will mean smaller amounts are taken from the smaller pays.

    Staff Benefits is sending letters with additional detail to the homes of academic-year employees who have TDAs.

    In addition, with the OnePurdue system, TDA contributions can be divided among Purdue’s five approved TDA vendors instead of just a single company.

Password change every
30 days helps keep ESS secure

    To access the OnePurdue portal and Employee Self-Service, faculty and staff will need to change their Career Account passwords every 30 days.

    The OnePurdue portal and ESS can be accessed at the OnePurdue home page (www.purdue.edu/onepurdue), and will be available to all faculty and staff on July 2.

    To log on to the system, users need to know their career account login and password. Information about how to find your career account login and how to change your password is available at www.purdue.edu/onepurdue/resources/ess.shtml in the “How to Access Employee Self-Serviceâ€? section.

    Those who try to log in and can’t may get the message “User Authentication Failed.â€? Those users should reset their password via the SecurePurdue Web site, www.purdue.edu/securePurdue.

Help is available

    During the period of transition, faculty and staff members may look to peers, supervisors, Human Resource Services, and payroll and business offices for help.

    In addition to these resources, online support is available by clicking on the “Get Helpâ€? button on the OnePurdue home page (www.purdue.edu/onepurdue).

    The OnePurdue Support Center also can help answer questions at (765) 494-6000 or onephelp@purdue.edu.

Benefits Bulletin highlights changes

    The June 2007 issue of Benefits Bulletin, mailed to campus addresses this week, includes an expanded look at changes that relate to the way benefits are handled at the University after the release of OnePurdue’s human resources and payroll systems.

    All faculty and staff should receive a Benefits Bulletin in campus mail. In addition, staff paid on an academic-year basis, will receive the bulletin at home.

    All faculty and staff should take the time to read the Benefits Bulletin for information important to them.

Writer: Julie Rosa, jrosa@purdue.edu