Time as Currency: Purchase Leave Feature in SAP SuccessFactors

[shrutithakkar]

PURCHASE LEAVES

In SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central, the purchase leave feature allows employees to buy additional vacation or leave days beyond their allotted or accrued time off. It provides employees with the flexibility to enhance their work-life balance by purchasing extra leave time and taking time off without having to go on an unpaid leave of absence.

The Purchase Leaves feature in SF EC enables organizations to configure rules and policies related to purchasing additional leave. Employees can request to purchase extra leave days based on predefined conditions, such as the maximum number of days they can buy or the frequency of purchase requests allowed.

Once an employee's purchase leave request is approved, the system sets up a deduction pay component in the employee's payroll record. This deduction can be a one-time deduction or spread over a specified period, depending on the organization's configuration.

Overall, Purchase Leaves in SAP SF EC empowers employees to tailor their time off according to their individual needs, promoting a healthier work-life balance and increased employee satisfaction.

WHY USE THE PURCHASE LEAVES FEATURE

Enabling Purchase Leaves in SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central can bring several advantages to both employees and organizations. Here are some of the key benefits:

1. Enhanced Work-Life Balance: Purchase Leaves provide employees with the ability to buy additional time off, allowing them to take longer breaks or vacations and achieve a better work-life balance. This flexibility promotes employee well-being and can contribute to higher job satisfaction and productivity.


2. Customized Time-Off Options: By enabling Purchase Leaves, organizations empower employees to tailor their time-off options according to their individual needs. Employees can choose to purchase extra leave days when they require extended time off for personal or family-related commitments, special events, or simply for rest.


3. Increased Flexibility: The ability to purchase leave offers employees greater control and flexibility over their time management. They can strategically plan their time off, aligning it with personal preferences or important events, without the constraint of fixed vacation allocations.


4. Cost-Effective for Organizations: While there may be some additional administrative effort in setting up and managing Purchase Leaves, it can be a cost-effective solution for organizations compared to unpaid leaves. Organizations can retain their employees' productivity and avoid the financial strain of prolonged unpaid absences.


5. Reduced Unpaid Leaves: Purchase Leaves help reduce the need for employees to take unpaid leaves of absence. Instead of going without pay for extended periods, employees can use purchased leave days, ensuring a continued income stream while taking time off.

Overall, enabling Purchase Leaves can contribute to a positive work environment, employee satisfaction, and a healthier work-life balance for employees, resulting in improved retention rates and increased organizational productivity.

ENABLE PURCHASE LEAVE FEATURE

Below is the step by step process to implement the Purchase Leave feature in SAP SuccessFactors.

 

STEP 1 - Setup Role-based permissions to configure the next steps.

Navigate to Manage Permissions roles→ Create New / select existing role if created already (Admin Role) → Update the permissions → Save it.

Time Management Object Permissions

STEP 2 - Create a Pay Component

Navigate to Manage Organization, Pay and Job Structures → Create New → Select Pay Component → Update the details → Please Note: Frequency =Total Deduction Period (TDP), Is Earning = No & Recurring = Yes → Save.

Update the permissions for new pay component created- User Permissions → Employee Data → Pay Components  → Purchase Leave  View permission so that employees can see their leave purchase deductions, Edit for admins & HRAs and other roles as per requirements.

Purchase Leave Pay Component

 

STEP 3 - Create a business rule for Purchase Leave validation.

This is optional and can be modified as per business requirements.

Navigate to Configure Business Rules → Select Time Account Purchase Leave Validation as a scenario under Time Management Category → Update the Condition → Save.

Business Rule

 

STEP 4 - Create Time Account Purchase Profile

Navigate to Manage Data → Create New → Time Account Purchase Profile→ Update the details required for the Purchase Leave Time Type → Assign the pay components → Assign the business rule created in Step 3 → Save.

Time Account Purchase Profile

 

STEP 5 - Create Time Type Account & Time Type

Navigate to Manage Data → Create New → Time Type Account→ Update the details required for the Purchase Leave Time Type →Linking Purchase Profile is Important → Save.

Navigate to Manage Data → Create New → Time Type → Update the details required for the Purchase Leave Time Type → Assign the Time Account Created → Save.

Time Type Account

Time Type

 

Assign Time Account Type with Time Type

Step 6 - Update the created Time Type - Purchase Leave under specific time profiles for the countries purchase leave is applicable.

Navigate to Manage Data → Time Profile → Select the Time Profile → Add Purchase Leave under Available Time Type → Save.

Assigning Purchase Profile Time Type to Time Profile

 

Step 7 - Provide Permissions for employees to access the Purchase Leave functionality

Navigate to Manage Permissions roles→ Select Employe Self Service role → Update the permissions → Save it.

Manage Time - Access Purchase Leave

Manage Time Off -  Manage Purchase Leave

Time Management User Permissions -  Create Purchase Leave in Self-Service

 

Employee Data - Purchase Leave Component.

This permission may vary depending upon the role. Admins, HR Administrators could have edit access to the pay component.

 

STEP 8 - Homepage Tile to access Purchase Leave.

A quick card for the leave purchase feature does not appear as standard on the latest Home Page. The link you need for leave purchase is "/sf/payoutandpurchasetime#purchase". The URL will be based on the instance URL.

Navigate to Manage Home page→ under cards, click on Organizational Updates → Click on Add Card → Enter the details → Enter the URL in tile : https://performancemanager5.successfactors.eu/sf/payoutandpurchasetime#purchase → Save.

Custom Tile on Latest Home Page

The configuration is now ready and is available for employees to use it!

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, enabling Purchase Leaves in SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central offers significant advantages for both employees and organizations. It promotes work-life balance by allowing employees to purchase additional time off, tailored to their individual needs. This flexibility enhances employee satisfaction, engagement, and well-being, leading to improved retention rates and productivity.

Hope this blog helps to identify the need to enable the purchase leave feature and also the steps to implement it.

Please feel to drop me a message if you have any questions, queries, or feedback. Your thoughts and feedback are appreciated. Also, if you have faced any issues, or challenges or designed any custom solution around the same, please share with us. It would be amazing to hear about different options.

Thank you for taking the time to read, Happy Learning 🙂