Overview
This module describes the campus policies, deliverables, and systems used to ensure that the university's employees are paid timely and accurately, and offers solutions to remedy common issues.
Campus Deliverables
Time Reporting
Upon hire, employees are informed of their timekeeping method. Supervisors are responsible for reviewing and approving time reported. If you have questions about the correct timekeeping method, please check with Human Resources.
Most exempt and nonexempt employees use CalTime to report time monthly or bi-weekly.
Monthly hourly paid employees use the time.berkeley.edu time tracking system.
Academic titles that do not accrue leave do not record time.
One-time Payment Requests
One-time payment requests may be paid for a variety of reasons such as one time stipends, relocation payments, and awards. Campus departments wishing to recognize an employee for a noteworthy work-related accomplishment, length of service, retirement, or sympathy must conform to guidelines. The annual per person limit and tax treatment for each type of gift or award are defined in Recognition Awards and Gifts to Employees.
Overpayments
An employee may be overpaid as a result of a timesheet error, untimely or incorrect job data update, under-withheld voluntary and involuntary deduction errors, tax withholding errors, or another reason. An overpayment represents a debt owed to the university in which the university has a financial obligation to attempt to recover. Overpayment Guidelines describes the policy, governing regulations, roles and responsibilities, and the recovery process.
Payroll in Suspense
The Payroll Suspense Function in the Berkeley Financial System (BFS) allows you to see and correct payroll transactions that have been rejected by BFS. These transactions are placed in a default suspense chartstring where they await correction. Training materials on Payroll Suspense Overview, Functionality, and Approval provide instruction how to use these functions.
Policies that Govern the Work
Roles and Responsibilities
Employees
Employees are responsible for reporting time in CalTime or time.berkeley.edu
Supervisors
Supervisors are responsible for reviewing and approving time reported by their employees.
Divisional Finance Leader (DFL)
The DFL is responsible for a quarterly review of compensation expenses. The Financial Reporting Review is part of our quarterly key controls.
Financial Analysts
Financial Analysts review and correct suspended payroll transactions in the BFS Payroll Suspense function. Supervisors review and approve the proposed corrections.
Divisional Finance Leader (DFL)
The DFL is responsible for clearing all payroll in suspense transactions each quarter.
Systems Used
UCPath
UCPath is the tool for position management
CalTime
CalTime is the tool to report work and leave for all employees, exempt and non-exempt
Time.berkeley.edu
Time.berkeley.edu is used by Monthly paid hourly employees to report work and leave time
Berkeley Financial System (BFS)
BFS Payroll Suspense Function
Cal Answers
In the Cal Answers Payroll dashboard, the Expense Detail report shows chartstring data for each employee, earnings period, and earn code (type of pay). The Absence Management Summary reports on all types of absences including vacation, sick, comp, PTO, PD sick, sabbatical, and service months.
Dashboards in the Campus Workforce Planning subject areas provide an array of reports on position management, workforce detail, employee census, etc. for a point in time or a date range.
The General Ledger Reporting and Financial Management Reporting dashboards in the Finance Subject area have detailed reports on actual compensation expenses.