EmpowerHR 2024.1 release notes

We are pleased to present EmpowerHR 2024 Build 1 

Updated: 31 October 2024


What's new


New gender diversity feature 

Project 45675 

EMP-8643

Requested by: Department of Premier & Cabinet (DPAC)

Located at:

Employee Information > Personal & Address Information (desktop)

Personal Details (ESS)

The Tasmanian State Service agreed to a framework for the collection of gender diversity statistics across several government systems.  DPAC requested an enhancement to EmpowerHR to capture more details about Gender Diversity demographics.  

We have created this new feature in EmpowerHR, adding a new tab with additional fields to the:

  • Employee Information > Personal & Address Information screen in the desktop
  • corresponding Personal Details screen in ESS

The new tab allows the user to enter a free text description depending on the option they select.

EmpowerHR provides a flexible solution, allowing DPAC to customise the:

  • options they offer their users (via control tables)
  • order in which they list the options in field selectors (via control tables)
  • titles of fields (via screen painting)
  • on-screen help and information messages in self service (via configuration and screen painting)

For more information and help on implementing this feature, see employee gender diversity information.

A new please select placeholder in the leave type field on leave requests 

iHelp 410023, project 45761 

EMP-8655

Requested by: Department of Communities (DoC)

Located at:

Leave Request screen  

We've improved the user experience by adding a please select placeholder to the leave type field on the Leave Request screen.  Previously, for anyone creating a leave request, it was easy to forget to change the leave type from the default and end up submitting the wrong leave request.  Now, with the new placeholder, you must make a selection before the system will allow you to submit the request, reducing the likelihood of getting it wrong.

[+] Show example
[-] Hide example


Information

You can access the Leave Request screen in several ways.

If you are an employee, go to:

  • Leave > Leave Details, or
  • Requests > Leave

If you are a manager, go to:

  • Staff > Staff Management, and select Leave Details from employee Actions menu, or
  • Staff > Staff Management, select the checkbox from employee Actions menu, and then select Leave > Leave Details, or
  • Staff > Staff Management, select the checkbox from employee Actions menu, and then select Requests > Leave

Information to help you unlock a locked pay certification workflow 

iHelp 480552 

EMP-8639

Requested by: Department of Communities (DoC)

Located at:

Admin >  System > Unlock Workflows

EmpowerHR now provides more information around a locked record.  Previously, when the pay certification workflow was accidentally locked, your administrator did not have enough information about the current state.  So we've added new columns to the Unlock Workflows screen, providing the information needed to troubleshoot a locked record:

New column
Description
Approver Position
Position name and position number of the approver
Waiting for Action
Who is to action the record (workflow task)
Locked By
Who has locked the record
[+] Show example
[-] Hide example

Information

Depending on how old a record is, either the cost code or approver position will be blank. 

When the self service installation setting, Get Approval from 'Reports To' position (pcr2), is set to:

  • y - the Approver Position column displays
  • n - the Cost Centre column displays instead

Where the underlying data is blank, EmpowerHR displays a blank column.

A faster-performing pay certification summary screen

iHelp 480552

EMP-8638

Requested by: Department of Communities (DoC)

Located at:

Organisation > Pay Certification

We've improved the performance of the Pay Certification summary screen.  Previously, the time it took to load this screen was significantly longer because the queries that fetch the summary data performed two separate checks:

  • one for reports to approver, and
  • the other for cost code manager

Now, depending on how the installation setting called Get Approval from 'Reports To' position (pcr2) is set,  EmpowerHR uses one of two separate queries:

  • one query when the installation setting is set to use reports to manager, or
  • the other query when the installation setting is set to use cost code manager instead

Low balance warning for other timesheet leave

Project: 45064

EMP-8736

Requested by: RM Williams

Located at:

Requests > Leave (employee)

Actions To Do > Leave Request (manager)

EmpowerHR has the option to approximate the forward accrual of timesheet leave so employees can see how much leave they would have at a future date. Until now, the approximation only applied to recreational and personal timesheet leave and did not include other timesheet leave.

We’ve enhanced this function to include other normal leave such as RDO (Rostered Day Off) in balance calculations. EmpowerHR uses this balance (any leave that is other timesheet leave) to display a low balance warning when the:

  • employee enters the leave request
  • manager approves the request

This change brings other leave into line with the rest of the leave types.

[+] Show example
[-] Hide example

Information When the installation setting called Forward balance on timesheet L (fbta) is set to y, timesheet leave (annual and personal) future accruals are based on the hours per period value on the employee’s pay screen. Other timesheet leave, like RDO, no future accruals are estimated and instead the employee’s balance is used.

See also:

EHR Self Service User Manual in the Infusion Knowledge Base

Faster-performing ingres databases for reports to employees 

iHelp 486172 

EMP-8586

Requested by: AMES

Located at: Self Service

On Ingres, we've improved the performance of the database view for clients using reports-to functionality with a lot of managers. 

Super guarantee contribution (SGC) exception report enhancement

EMP-8592

Requested by: Fusion5 (internally)

Located at:

Background Jobs > Payroll Processing > Pay Calculations > Super Exception Report


On the Super Exception Report (crrosgex) report, we've made the displayed data more relevant.  We've changed the format to help fortnightly payrolls quickly determine why super wasn't paid for part, or all, of the period.

The report shows the:

  • superable hours 
  • OTE  hours

    OTE = ordinary time earnings, the amount you pay employees for their ordinary hours of work, including things like commissions and shift loadings

    You use OTE to work out the minimum super guarantee contribution for your employees

    (Source:  Australian Taxation Office)

  • superable amount
  • OTE earnings

It also shows what the super calculated using these figures, together with the super paid.  If the calculated super doesn’t match the paid super, EmpowerHR provides a message saying why. 

For more information and help on this report, see super guarantee exception report.

Multiple leave rules for timesheet-driven leave

iHelp: project 254460 #12827

EMP-5801, EMP-8606

Requested by:  City of Greater Geelong (COGG)

Located at:

Task > Leave > Leave Accrual and Rules > Leave Rules


In this enhancement, EmpowerHR lets you set up multiple leave rules for timesheet-driven leave and use one leave type code to easily allocate those rules to an employee.  Timesheet-driven leave is an accruing leave type based on hours worked.

For more information, see:

Standalone release summary

Here is a summary of standalone EmpowerHR releases that delivered particular features requested by a client.

Reference
Description
Client

Project 45641

EMP-8654

New GL interface between EmpowerHR and client's finance system (M3)

Drake


Resolved issues

Issues resolved in EmpowerHR 2024.1


Next topic

Issues resolved in EmpowerHR 2024.1


© 2023 Fusion5. All rights reserved.