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Guide for Approving Time, Delegation and Telework (Mgrs and Supvs)

The following guide is for managers and supervisors who approve employee time, time approver delegation and telework.

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Manage Employee Time

Important Reminders:

  • Use Manage Employee time to approve time for employees who use Reported and Punch timesheets.
  • Manage Employee time can be used to approve time for employees that use a Time Collection Device (TCD) or the Labor Distribution timesheet to record their time. Review the TCD and Labor Distribution Approver job aids for more detailed instructions for these approver types.
  • It is a statutory requirement to approve all time worked.
  • Time approval responsibilities should follow the reporting structure of your department.
  • The deadline for reporting time is each Thursday at 5:00PM.
  • The deadline for time approval is each Friday at 12:00PM; if you approve time for employees who work Friday 2nd or 3rd shift, or anytime on Saturday, the deadline for time approval is Sunday at 6:00PM.
  • Questions regarding time approval policy should be directed to your agency human resources/payroll office.
  • If you have questions regarding how to perform time approval transactions, please contact the MassHR Employee Service Center (ESC) or your Agency Human Resources/Payroll Department if you are not supported by the ESC.

Navigating to Manage Employee time

StepAction
1.After logging in, you will arrive on the Employee Self-Service homepage. Click on the Employee Self Service drop down at the top of the page. Select Manager Self Service. On the Manager Self Service homepage click on the Manage Employee Time tile. You will arrive on the Manage Employee Time page.
2.The Manage Employee time page summarizes time reporting data submitted by your employees. To review and approve time, use the following links listed:

APPROVE REPORTED TIME tab displays pending reported time for employee.
TIMESHEET tab opens employee timesheet to review and approve reported time.
LEAVE BALANCES tab displays detailed view of employee leave balances such as starting balance, hours earned, hours taken, hours adjusted, and ending balance for pay period.
PAYABLE TIME SUMMARY tab displays pending payable time for employee.
PAYABLE TIME DETAIL tab displays pending payable time details for employee.
MANAGE SCHEDULES tab displays detail view of employee assigned work schedule and default hours.
EXCEPTIONS tab displays reason an employee has low and high exceptions on timesheet.

Approving Time:

As a supervisor or manager, you use Manage Employee time to approve employees’ reported time. Manage Employee time provides two options to select employees that need approval, Approvals and Approve Reported Time. The first option is on the left side under My Work, you will see Pending Reported Time and Pending Payable Time under Approvals. Displayed in parentheses is the number of direct and indirect employees that need approval. When selecting the Pending Reported Time link, all the direct and indirect employees that need time approved display. If the approver prefers to only view their direct reports, the second option allows approvers to exclude indirect reports. This is done by clicking "Get Employees". Once the approver clicks on "Get Employees" from the Approve Reported Time page, the system will only return those employees who are direct reports and have reported time to approve.

StepAction
1.

From the Manage Employee time page, select the Approve Reported Time tab, select the Get Employees button to show employees needing approval, then in the LAST NAME column, select the first employee name.

Note: The TIMESHEET for the selected employee displays.

2.To approve time, managers must review their employees daily reported hours.

Note: If applicable, shift differential and weekend differential will calculate automatically for a punch timesheet employee based on the employee’s IN and OUT times.
3.Review each row of punch or reported time. For the row, ensure that the total reported hours match the total scheduled hours for the employee.
4.For every other row of the employee’s time reporting data, review and as appropriate, SELECT the checkbox to select the row.
5.When finished reviewing and selecting all reported rows for the employee, select the APPROVE button.

A dialog box asks if you are sure you want to approve the time selected. Once the page is saved, the time cannot be unapproved.
6.Select OK to approve or Select CANCEL not to save the approval.

Note: A SAVE CONFIRMATION message appears, signaling that the save was successful.
7.Select OK to acknowledge the confirmation.

Note: You are returned to the TIMESHEET.
8.Navigate to the next employee by selecting the NEXT EMPLOYEE LINK at the top of the page.
9.Review and approve the next employee’s time reporting data by repeating Steps 2 through 8.
10.Select the SIGN OUT link under the Action button to log out of Employee Self-Service.

Additional Resources   for Manage Employee Time

Open file,  Time Reporting Code List for Self Service Time and Attendance

Reporting Time for an Employee

Important Reminders:

  • Reporting time for an employee should be the exception, rather than the rule. The recommended business practice is for the employee to enter time on his/her own timesheet or to direct the employee to contact the MassHR Employee Service Center (ESC), or your Agency HR/Payroll Department if you are not supported by the ESC.
  • The deadline for time reporting is each Thursday at 5:00PM.
  • The deadline for time approval is each Friday at 12:00PM; if you approve time for employees who work Friday 2nd or 3rd shift, or anytime on Saturday, the deadline for time approval is Sunday at 6:00PM.

Manager/Supervisor: Reporting Time for an Employee

StepAction
1.From the Manage Employee time page, select the Timesheet tab.
2.On the page is the Employee Selection Criteria table which is pre-populated with your TIME REPORTER GROUP ID.

Note: If you are a delegate time approver, please review the Time Approval Delegation job aid for detailed instructions on how to review and approve time for employees that have been delegated to you.
3.To review and approve time for your direct reports, select the GET EMPLOYEES button. Employee Self-Service will return a list of employees that report to you based on the search criteria entered in the Employee Selection Criteria table.
4.Select the appropriate employee name in the LAST NAME column.

Note: If you select the first employee in the LAST NAME column, you can use the NEXT EMPLOYEE link to navigate through your employee timesheets.
5.On the selected employee, report hours as needed on their timesheet in the applicable format of Reported or Punch time.

Note: If an employee’s timesheet is blank you need to do the following to populate the default timesheet.

1. Select the APPLY SCHEDULE button to populate an employee’s schedule with their in, meal out, meal in and out times.
2. Select the SUBMIT BUTTON. The submit confirmation page will appear.
3. On the submit confirmation page is the employee certification message which states “I certify that the information entered is accurate and complete.” Select the OK button to certify the timesheet. By entering time for an employee you are attesting to their attendance record and are responsible for accuracy.
6.Select the SELECT ALL button to select every day on the timesheet.
7.Select the APPROVE SELECTED button to approve every day on the timesheet.
8.Select the OK button to approve the employee’s reported time.
9.Select the OK button on the confirmation page.
10.Select the RETURN TO SELECT EMPLOYEE link to return to the Timesheet Summary.
11.Review the status column in the reported time status table. Ensure that each day has an approved status.
12.Select the SIGN OUT link under the Action icon to log out of Employee Self-Service.

Time Collection Device (TCD) Approver

Important Reminders

  • Punches from a TCD will populate the Employee Self-Service punch timesheet.
  • Review the punch timesheet navigation online learning and job aid before you approve and/or edit an employee’s timesheet, to familiarize yourself with the layout of the punch timesheet.
  • Employees cannot edit their own punches. As an approver, you may edit punches on the employee’s behalf, under certain circumstances.
  • Employees cannot perform prior pay period adjustments. As an approver, you have the ability to perform and approve prior pay period adjustments on the employee’s behalf..
  • Approvers may record leave, regular time, or other time reporting codes on behalf of their employees.
  • Employee Self-Service calculates shift differential and weekend differential automatically based upon an employee’s reported IN and OUT times, if applicable.
  • If you need assistance with the time approval process, editing punches, or completing prior pay period adjustments, please contact the MassHR Employee Service Center (ESC) at 1-855-447-7778 for assistance (for ESC user Agencies only). If you work in a non-ESC supported Agency, please direct your questions to your Human Resources/Payroll Department.
  • Please be sure to review your Agency’s policies and procedures regarding time approval. Questions about specific Agency policies should be directed to your Human Resources/Payroll Department.

Manager/Supervisor: Approving Time for Time Collection Device (TCD) Users

StepAction
1.From the Manage Employee time page, select the Timesheet tab.
2.On the top of the page is the Employee Selection Criteria table which is pre-populated with your TIME REPORTER GROUP ID.

Note: If you are a delegate time approver, please review the Time Approval Delegation job aid for detailed instructions on how to review and approve time for employees that have been delegated to you.
3.To review and approve time for your direct reports, click on the GET EMPLOYEES button. Employee Self-Service will return a list of employees that report to you based on the search criteria entered in the Employee Selection Criteria table.
4.Select on the appropriate employee name in the LAST NAME column.

Note: If you select the first employee in the NAME column, you can use the NEXT EMPLOYEE link to navigate through your employee timesheets.
5.The employee’s punch timesheet will display. As a time approver, you will need to:

a. Review the punches in the IN, MEAL OUT, MEAL IN, and OUT columns and the employee’s total reported hours vs. scheduled hours. As an approver, you can see which TCD machine the employee used to record their time by reviewing the TIME COLLECTION DEVICE ID column.
b. You can report time or adjust time as necessary, to report regular (work) time; leave; overtime; comp time; and when needed standby pay to an employee’s timesheet, as well as different time reporting codes (TRC’s).
c. Review the employee’s leave balance table. The TCD will allow the employee to report more time than they have access to; if this happens, you will need to adjust the employee’s reported leave. It is suggested that you should communicate with the employee prior to performing the change.
d. Shift differential and weekend differential will be calculated automatically by SSTA based on the employee’s IN and OUT times, if applicable.
e. If you make any changes to the employee’s timesheet, you must select the SUBMIT button. If no changes are needed, continue to step 6.
6Locate the SELECT column on the timesheet. Select the check box for each row you wish to approve or click the SELECT ALL button to select all hours that need approval. Select the APPROVE SELECTED button.
7An approve confirmation message will appear. Review this message carefully. Select OK to approve the employee’s reported time, or select CANCEL to return to the employee’s timesheet. By selecting OK you have electronically signed your employee’s timesheet. After you select OK, the Approve Confirmation page appears which informs you the approval was successful.
8On the Approve Confirmation page, select OK to return to employee’s timesheet.
9Select on the SIGN OUT link to log out of Employee Self-Service.

eLearning Video for Manager/Supervisor

Labor Distribution Approver

Important Reminders:

  • You will use Manage Employee Time in Manager Self-Service to review and approve time for Labor Distribution Timesheet users. 
    • Using Manage Employee Time allows you to view and edit an employee’s time just as you would on your own timesheet.
  • If you are an approver for a Labor Distribution Timesheet user, you will need to review: 
    • Employee’s Reported Time (regular time and leave)
    • Reported Combo Codes
    • Reported User Fields (if applicable)
  • Time approval responsibilities should follow the hierarchical reporting structure of your department.
  • Questions on the use of Combo Codes or User Fields should be directed to your Agency’s Human Resources/Payroll Department. Combo Codes and User Fields are customizable by individual Agency.
  • Questions regarding time approval policy should be directed to your Agency Human Resources/Payroll Department.
  • If you have questions regarding how to perform time approval transactions, please contact the MassHR Employee Service Center or your Agency Human Resources/Payroll Department.

Manager/Supervisor: Approving Time for Labor Distribution Timesheet Users

StepAction
1.From the Manage Employee Time page, Select the TIMESHEET link.
2.On the page is the Employee Selection Criteria table which is pre-populated with your TIME REPORTER GROUP ID.

Note: If you are a delegate time approver, please review the Time Approval Delegation job aid for detailed instructions on how to review and approve time for employees that have been delegated to you.
3.To review and approve time for your direct reports, select the GET EMPLOYEES button. Employee Self-Service will return a list of employees that report to you based on the search criteria entered in the Employee Selection Criteria table.
4.Select the appropriate employee name in the LAST NAME column.

Note: If you select the first employee in the NAME column, you can use the NEXT EMPLOYEE link to navigate through your employee timesheets.
5.The employee’s timesheet will display. Review and edit the employee’s reported time as applicable. Reference the Employee Timesheet Navigation for detailed timesheet fields definitions.
 

To approve an employee’s reported time, managers must review the following: For Employees with Punch Timesheets:

  • REPORTED versus SCHEDULED hours
  • DAY Column
  • DATE Column
  • IN Column
  • MEAL OUT Column
  • MEAL IN Column
  • OUT Column
  • TRC Column
  • DAILY HOURS Column
  • COMBO CODE Column
  • USER FIELDS 1-5 Columns (If applicable)

For employees with Reported Timesheets:

  • REPORTED versus SCHEDULED hours
  • DAY Column
  • DATE Column
  • TRC Column
  • DAILY HOURSColumn
  • COMBO CODE Column
  • USER FIELDS 1-5 Columns (If applicable)*


*Not all Agencies will use User Fields. If applicable, your Agency Human Resources or Payroll Department will inform you how to use the User Fields appropriately. If you are required to use a User Field, your Agency may determine which combination of fields to use. For example, you may only need to place an entry in User Field 2. Contact your Agency for more direction.

6.Select the SELECT ALL button to approve every day on the timesheet. Notice checkmarks will appear in the SELECT column. Alternatively, you may select each box individually to approve independently.
7Select the APPROVE SELECTED button to approve every day on the timesheet.
8Select on the OK button to approve the employee’s reported time.
9Select on the OK button on the confirmation page.
10Review the status column in the reported time status table. Ensure that each day has an approved status.
11Select the SIGN OUT link under the Action icon to log out of Employee Self-Service.

Time Approval Delegation

Managers/Supervisors who are time approvers in Employee Self Service have the ability to delegate their time approval responsibilities to another Manager/Supervisor for situations in which they will be out of the office or unable to approve their employee’s time.

As an approver you can delegate to another employee based on your Agency’s policy. You still have the ability to log in to HR/CMS and review your employee’s time during the delegation period; however, you will not be able to approve or edit time. You can revoke the delegation at any time, if needed.

Delegation Functionality in Employee Self-Service

When delegating time approval to another Manager/Supervisor:

  • Ensure the time approval responsibilities follow the hierarchical reporting structure and delegation policy of your department.
  • Inform the selected proxy of your Time Reporter Group. This allows them to filter on your direct reports. Note: Time Reporter Group is a system generated number that is tied to your direct report employees and is defaulted on the Time and Labor Work Center and Timesheet.
  • Ensure the time approval delegation is only for a set period of time (for Example, if you are on vacation). It is not designed to allow permanent delegation of time approval responsibilities.

Note: Group ID is a system generated number that is tied to your direct report employees and is defaulted on the Time and Labor Workcenter.

Important Reminders:
  • Agency Human Resources or Payroll Offices and the MassHR Employee Service Center will monitor the use of time approval delegation.
  • Delegation of time approval responsibilities happens in real time and cannot be retroactively assigned.
  • The deadline for time approval is each Friday at 12:00PM; if you approve time for employees who work 2nd or 3rd shift on Friday or anytime Saturday, the deadline for time approval is Sunday at 6:00PM.
  • During the delegation time period, the delegate will appear on reports as the approver for your employees and will receive system notifications for time approval, if applicable.
  • During the delegation time period, the delegator will not receive emails regarding unapproved or unreported time.
  • During the delegation time period, the proxy will not be able to delegate to another employee.
Before You Begin

There are three types of access which may be required by proxies. Determining the access that your proxy requires will determine the transactions which you will delegate and any additional actions which may be required.

  • Defined Delegation – Should be used when a time approver is unavailable to approve and/or report their employee’s time for a defined period of time (ie. Vacation, Sick Leave, etc.)
    • To delegate to a proxy, select both transaction types, Manage Reported Time and Manage Approve Reported Time.
    • The delegator will have the ability to view their direct reports’ time but will not have the ability to report or approve hours.
  • Time Schedulers – Should be used by selected employees who manage employees’ timesheets and prepare them for approval by a time approver
    • To delegate to a Time Scheduler, select only transaction type, Manage Reported Time.
  • Shared Responsibility – Should be requested for employees who need to have the ability to approve and/or report employees’ time in addition to the time approver (ie. Multiple Supervisors, Administrative Support)

In this Job Aid you will learn how to Delegate Time Approval Authority for Defined Delegation and Time Schedulers.

StepAction
1.Log in to Employee Self-Service using your user ID (employee ID) and password. From the Employee Self-Service homepage, select the Support tile, then select the Delegations tile.
2.Select the Create Delegation Request link.
3.Note: If you have multiple Commonwealth jobs, refer to step 3. If you do not, proceed to step 4.

A table listing your job records is displayed. The table is arranged in 4 columns of information and a row for each job. The columns are:

TITLE: The title of your job displayed as a link.
EMPLOYEE RECORD #: The employee record number that is tied to your job.
POSITION NUMBER: The position number that is tied to your job.
DEPARTMENT: The department that is tied to your job.

Select the job record you want to delegate approvals for by selecting the TITLE link of the correct job.
4.The Delegation Request Page will display. Enter the dates of your delegation request. The Start Date will default to the current date. Enter a START DATE that is today or later. Enter an END DATE that is the same as or later than your From Date. Your delegation can be future dated, if needed. Enter a Comment. This is a required field. Select the NEXT button.
5.A prepopulated list of employee in your hierarchy appears. Select the desired proxy by clicking the check box next to the employee’s name.
(Note: If the employee you want to delegate to is not listed within the displayed list, click Add Delegate button. Under Search Criteria, type the last name of the proxy into the last name field, click the Search button. Select the proxy from the new list that appears by clicking the radio button next to the employee’s name.) Select the NEXT button.
6.For Defined Delegation, select the checkboxes beside Manage Approve Reported Time and Manage Reported Time or Select All. For Time Schedulers, select only the checkbox beside Manage Reported Time. Select the NEXT button.
7.Review the delegation request. If all the information is correct, Select the Submit button. If it is not correct click on the step that needs to be corrected or select Exit from the top left corner.
8.Refer to the MY DELEGATES page under DELEGATION to view the status of the request. The proxy you selected will now have the ability to ACCEPT or REJECT your Delegation request in their DELEGATION page under the MY DELEGATED AUTHORITIES page. They may reject the request. However, after they accept the request, they will have to contact either you or a system administrator to revoke the request.

Accept Time Approval Delegation

Managers/Supervisors who are time approvers in SSTA have the ability to delegate their time approval responsibilities to another Manager/Supervisor set up as a time approver for situations in which they will be out of the office or unable to approve their employee’s time.

As an approver you can delegate to another time approver based on your Agency policy. You still have the ability to log in to HR/CMS and review your employee’s time during the delegation period; however, depending on the type of delegation you have selected, you will not be able to approve and/or edit reported time. You can revoke the delegation at any time, if needed. Delegation is an interactive process. The delegator must send the request and the proxy must accept the delegated authority. System generated e-mails are sent throughout the process.

When a proxy has a delegation request it will show that they have a new Notification. Clicking on the Notification will bring you to the Manage Delegation page. Click on the Review My Delegated Authorities or follow the instructions below. 

StepAction
1.Log in to Employee Self-Service using your user ID (employee ID) and password. From the Employee Self-Service homepage, select the Support tile, then select the Delegations tile.
2.Select the My Delegated Authorities link.
3.Select the checkbox next to the delegation transactions.
4.Select the Accept or Reject button.
5.A confirmation page will open. Select the YES button for confirmation.
6.You will now see the delegation in your Accepted or Rejected delegations.

Revoke Time Approval Delegation

Managers/Supervisors who are time approvers in SSTA have the ability to delegate their time approval responsibilities to another Manager/Supervisor set up as a time approver for situations in which they will be out of the office or unable to approve their employee’s time.

As an approver you can delegate to another time approver based on your Agency policy. You still have the ability to log in to HR/CMS and review your employee’s time during the delegation period; however, depending on the type of delegation you have selected, you will not be able to approve and/or edit reported time. You can revoke the delegation at any time, if needed. Delegation is an interactive process. The delegator must send the request and the proxy must accept the delegated authority. System generated e-mails are sent throughout the process.

StepAction
1.Log in to Employee Self-Service using your user ID (employee ID) and password. From the Employee Self-Service homepage, select the Support tile, then select the Delegations tile.
2.Select the My Delegates link, then select the Active tab.
3.Select the checkbox for the employee you wish to revoke delegation.
4.Select the Revoke button.
5.A confirmation window will open. Select the YES button for confirmation.
6.You will see now see the proxy in the Revoked tab.

Approve Telework

A notification will appear on the on the Manager Self Service homepage when a telework request form has been submitted by an employee. The Notifications bell located at the top right of the page contains the Actions and Alerts notifications.

The approver has access within Manger Self-Service that will allow the ability to view, approve, deny, or push back employee’s Telework Request Form. Supervisors should discuss teleworking arrangements with their employees prior to them completing the Telework form.

Approve, Deny, or Pushback a Telework Request

StepAction
1.Log in to Employee Self-Service with your user ID (employee ID) and password.
2.You are now on the Employee Self Service home page. Use the down arrow located at the top left of the home page to select Manager Self-Service.
3.

From the Manager Self-Service home page, select the Approvals tile.

Note: The Approvals tile will be available after the first telework request. An overnight security run is needed to initiate the tile. Once the tile is generated, it will remain available for the approver.

Note: The Telework Request Forms are also available in the Actions and Alerts notifications window. Select the Notifications bell located at the top right of the page. 

4.

You are now on the Pending Approvals page. Select the Telework tab located to the left in the activity grid.

Choose the desired employee’s telework request row that is awaiting approval, then select the arrow (>) to the left of the row to open the Telework form.

5

On the employee’s Telework form, select the View Remote Worker Request link located on the middle-left of the page to open the Request Details page.

Review and verify the contents of the request including any attachments and notes.

Select the “X” located at the top right of the page to close the request and return to the employee’s Telework form.

6.

Choose to Approve, Deny, or Pushback the request using the buttons located at the top right of the page.

  1. Approve = moves the request to the next approver in the workflow. If you are the final approver, the request becomes fully approved and active.
  2. Deny = sends the request back to the employee at the Denied status. The employee cannot edit the request; they can only submit a new request. The employee will NOT be able to edit a denied request.
  3. Pushback = sends the request back to the employee so they can edit it and resubmit it. Use pushback to allow the employee to edit the request.

Note: Only the direct supervisor needs to review and approve, deny or pushback the Form. If the direct supervisor is out of the office, the second-level supervisor may review and approve, deny or pushback the Form.

7.

An Approver Comments window will appear.  Enter a comment then select Submit.

Select the arrow (<--) located at the top left of the page to return to the Pending Approvals page.

8.

You have successfully processed a Telework request.

Select the arrow (<--) located at the top left of the page to return to the Pending Approvals page.

9.On the Pending Approvals page, select the arrow (<--) located at the top left of the page to return to the Manager Self-Service home Page.
10.

The employee will receive a system generated e-mail notification with the status of their request.

Note: Please remember to view your Actions and Alerts notifications frequently on the Manager Self Service homepage. Select the Notifications bell located at the top right of the page.

View a Telework Request

StepAction
1.Log in to Employee Self-Service with your user ID (employee ID) and password.
2.

You are now on the Employee Self Service home page.

Use the down arrow next to “Employee Self Service” located at the top left of the page and select Manager Self-Service.

3.On the Manager Self-Service home page, select the Manage Telework Form tile.
4.

You are now on the Remote Worker Request page.

Use the Select (>) arrow located to the right of the chosen employee’s row from the displayed Team Members list to open their Request Details page.

Note: To find an employee not displayed in the list, select Find Team Member located at the top left of the page and enter the employee’s information, then select the Search (magnifying glass) icon.

5.

You are now on the employee’s Request Details page, use the Edit/View (>) arrow located to the right of the chosen employee’s row to open their telework request.

The contents of the request including any attachments and comments can be viewed here.

6.

Select the arrow (<--) located at the top left of the page to close the request and return to the Team Members page.

To return to the Manager Self-Service home Page, select the arrow located at the top left of the page.

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