HR Tips - Staff Leave Management
Welcome to our first HR Tip for 2020!
This HR Tip guides Supervisors on how to access staff leave information using the Absence Management tile in the Manager SSO function in Staff Services Online (SSO).
Appropriate management of staff leave requests, excessive leave balances and leave cancellations are key actions Supervisors can take to balance workload during the COVID-19 situation.
This HR Tip complements the COVID-19 Staff Leave Management information guide and COVID-19 Leave Entitlements summary, and applies to continuing and fixed term staff.
Manager SSO – Absence Management
Manager SSO can be accessed by clicking on the dropdown option next to Employee SSO, at the top of the SSO homepage. In Manager SSO, click on the Absence Management tile and find the toolbar on the left that takes you to important leave information:
Monthly Calendar
Click on Monthly Calendar to find a monthly snapshot of all approved and requested leave for your direct reports for the current month.
Here you will find the work schedule of each staff member, including total workday hours, public holidays and rostered days off.
This is a very useful tool to help Supervisors manage workload and consider when it may be appropriate for staff to take leave.
Handy Tips
By ticking ‘Show Schedule’ in the ‘Display Options’ and then clicking the ‘Refresh View’ button, Supervisors can see the work schedule of all direct reports across the month
Previous and future months can be viewed by adjusting dates in the ‘View Criteria’ section
The monthly calendar information can be exported to spreadsheet by clinking the spreadsheet icon
View/Forecast Balances
This function helps you identify excessive annual and long service leave balances.
Click on this tab for details of staff leave balances, whether now and at a particular date in time. Select an employee in the list presented and you can view their current balances for each leave type. Note: approved, future-dated leave periods are not included in the current balance displayed.
Selecting Forecast Balance for an individual allows you to calculate that employee’s leave balance for a particular leave type, at a specific date in the future.
Handy Tips
Leave types, such as Special Leave and COVID-19 discretionary leave, do not appear in this section. Supervisors should refer to COVID-19 Leave Entitlements and view previous employee absence requests before approving Special Leave (see below for viewing previous absences).
Forecasting will take into account an employee’s recorded Voluntary Flexible Work Arrangement. Remember to consider the impact of a VFWA ending or a new VFWA request taking effect during the period selected.
Action Absence Request
If you have any outstanding leave requests from your direct reports, you will find them by clicking on Action Absence Request, or by following the link included in the notification email you were sent.
Handy Tip
This section will also provide you with a history of all previously approved or denied leave requests.
Apply for Employee’s Absence
In the event that an employee is unable to submit their own leave request (i.e. due to prolonged illness or lack of system access) Supervisors can do so on behalf of their direct and indirect reports by clicking Apply for Employee’s Absence. This action results in an e-mail notification to the employee which includes the duration and type of leave submitted on their behalf.
Handy Tip
Before submitting a request for Special Leave - COVID-19 Discretionary Benefit on behalf of a staff member Supervisors should refer to COVID-19 Leave Entitlements to ensure the scenario meets the criteria.
View Employee Absence Request
Click here to find a history of all staff leave requests. This also allows Supervisors to cancel previously approved leave in the event the employee is unable to do so themselves due to lack of system access.
Supervisors are presented with a list of their direct report employees, and an option to drill down to view their indirect reports. Selecting a specific employee provides a summary of all leave requests across a 6 month timespan.
Supervisors can cancel a previously approved absence request on behalf of an employee by clicking the ‘Edit’ Button.
Handy Tip
Supervisors can expand the timeframe to view historical leave requests by selecting a new date rage using the ‘From’ and ‘Through’ fields on the employee’s page.
Questions or Feedback?
We’d like to hear your thoughts on how we can tailor future HR Tips to support you in your leadership role in the University, including challenges presented under the current COVID situation.
If you have any questions about Manager SSO, feedback or a general HR query, please get in touch with our friendly HR Service Centre team on 8313 1111, or complete the HR online enquiry form.