Managing Timesheets Page 1 of 13 Version 1.3 January 2015
Introduction Functionality provided by People Inc. enables you to register timesheets electronically. This is done via the web browser on your computer using the People Inc. Employee Intranet. Timesheets submitted in this way are automatically routed to your manager for review. Once approved the details are then passed to payroll for payment. As well as managing timesheets, the People Inc. Employee Intranet is also used to provide you with access to any personal information held within the system and to enable you to manage your holidays and submit new holiday requests. It is also possible to submit expense claims and contribute to on-line appraisals via the Employee Intranet. Like the submission of timesheets, both of these are provided by optional add-on functionality (this functionality may not be implemented within your People Inc. system). Managers have some additional functionality available to them via the Employee Intranet. If you are a manager you will be able to access information about employees in your team, review their confirmed holiday bookings, and approve (or decline) new holiday requests and timesheets (expense claims, etc.) made by members of your team. This document details the process for submitting and approving timesheets via the People Inc. system. The document has two parts: the first covers how to submit timesheets; the second covers the approval process. Accessing the Employee Intranet The People Inc. Employee Intranet is accessed using a web browser. If an account has been configured for you, clicking on a shortcut or link to the Employee Intranet will open your home page within the system. You should not have to type any information at this point; the system will automatically detect the user account you used to log in to Windows and will use this to log in to the Employee Intranet. The functionality that is used to automate the login for employees is called the Single Sign-On. This functionality will only work if users are accessing the Employee Intranet from a computer that is logged-in to a server within the office Windows network. While it will work from an office computer logged in remotely (from home), it is unlikely to work on a home computer. If the login is not automated, the Employee Intranet login page will be displayed. Before you can log in using this page you will need a valid user account (user-name and password). Your personnel team will provide you with this information. The login page will look like the image below. Employee Intranet Login dialogue To log in to the Employee Intranet, add your user-name and password to the appropriate boxes and click on the Login button. If you have forgotten your password, you can get the system to resend your password to you via e-mail by clicking on the I lost my password text. Page 2 of 13 Version 1.3 January 2015
The first time you access the Employee Intranet, you are asked to change the password you have been given. This ensures that only you know your password. Complete the form and press the Modify button. Change Password dialogue The system should confirm that your password has been successfully changed; click on the text Return to Application to continue. Page 3 of 13 Version 1.3 January 2015
The Home Page Once you have successfully logged in the system displays the Home Page. The configuration of this page will vary from organisation to organisation. The image below is a typical view of this screen. Employee Intranet Home Page You can access a variety of information and functionality from the home page. This includes: your personal information (including contact details, absence history, training history, etc.) a page to view your holiday calendar (showing planned and actual absence together with bank holidays in a 12-month calendar; note that you can print this calendar) a page to view the holiday bookings for other staff in your department/team (this shows all bookings for employee for a 45-day period; once again, you can print this) a page enabling you to submit holiday requests (these are routed to your manager for approval; you can also review requests you have submitted in the past) a page enabling you to submit timesheets (detailed in this document) other optional add-on screens (for example, a screen to submit expense claims and overtime, a screen to complete online appraisal information, etc.) other HR information (for example current vacancies, current training courses) Page 4 of 13 Version 1.3 January 2015
Adding a Timesheet It is possible to add both weekly and monthly timesheets using the employee Intranet. Click on the Timesheets shortcut to view your timesheets. This is normally located in the Add-ons section of the home page. Employee Intranet Add-ons The first time you do this, the system will display an empty screen. Once you have submitted timesheets, by default the screen will list all of these. Timesheets screen (no entries) To add a timesheet, click on the green plus button. Page 5 of 13 Version 1.3 January 2015
Timesheets screen (new record) There are a couple of things you need to complete on this page. These are denoted by boxes with white backgrounds (the content of the boxes with grey backgrounds will be added by the system when you save the information you are entering). Enter the start-date for your timesheet. Weekly timesheets can start on a Sunday or a Monday; monthly timesheets have to start on the 1 st of the month. Note that timesheets cannot overlap. Choose the period type (either Week or Month). If you have further information you would like to add to the timesheet (to help your manager when they are reviewing the details) add it to the notes box. You do not have to complete this box. Click the green button with a tick on it to save your blank timesheet. You can now select the number of day records to add to the timesheet to begin recording the information for each day. You can use the day-entries to show whether there were any bank holidays, periods of absence, or extra hours worked by choosing the category and filling in the start, end, and break times. Page 6 of 13 Version 1.3 January 2015
Timesheets screen (with row added for day-entries) For each in the timesheet: Select the correct dates for the duration of the timesheet (you may wish to skip weekends unless they are worked). Choose the Category by clicking on the magnifying glass in the box in the Category column. A new screen will appear listing the options. Double-click on the appropriate entry in the list to select a Category. Enter some notes (you do not have to complete this box). Enter the time you started work and the time you left. Enter the number of minutes you took for breaks. Click the green button with a tick on it to save the information you have added to your timesheet. The system will inform you if you have entered information that is incomplete or incorrect by displaying a message below the day-entry that needs to be amended. In the example below there is an error in row 1 (the category has been left blank). Note: in some cases, an error message is displayed in red in the top left hand corner of the main screen. In this situation, the system has found a problem with the information in the main timesheet itself (rather than in one of the rows detailing day-entries). Page 7 of 13 Version 1.3 January 2015
Timesheets screen including data entry error If this happens, make changes to the information in the top section of the timesheet and re-save. If the system is happy with your completed timesheet when you save it, it will display ticks at the end of each row, and the words Data Saved will appear in the top left hand corner of the screen. You do not need to complete the timesheet at this time. If you wish, you can save the information you have added and log out of the Employee Intranet safely (without losing the information you have added). You can then return at a later date to add further information to your timesheet (or change the details you have entered). When you return to the system your timesheet will be listed in the Timesheets screen; double-click on the entry to open. Note: at this point, your timesheet has been saved in the system but has not yet been submitted. At any time, you can print the details recorded on your timesheet by selecting one of the print options via the last button at the top of the screen. Page 8 of 13 Version 1.3 January 2015
Print options The system may display additional options before the information is displayed for print. These will default to the correct values for your expenses; simply click OK to these options. Print Preview Page 9 of 13 Version 1.3 January 2015
Submitting a Timesheet When your timesheet is ready to be submitted, tick the Submit box (see image below) and click the green button with a tick on it to save your timesheet (this will also submit your timesheet). Note that you will no longer be able to make changes once you have submitted your timesheet. Submitted Timesheet Your manager will be notified that you have submitted a timesheet (by e-mail). The next time your manager or supervisor logs into the Employee Intranet, they will be able to review your timesheet and either approve or reject it. Monitoring progress When your manager approves (or rejects) your timesheet, the system will send you a notification e- mail. If your manger approves your timesheet, it will be passed to payroll for payment. If however your timesheet is rejected, it will be returned to you. Your manager should have added notes to the timesheet indicating the reason for rejecting it (in the Notes box). You will then be able to make amendments and re-submit the timesheet. You can see details of the progress your timesheet has made in the top right hand corner of the Timesheet; the system displays when you submitted the timesheet, when your manager approved the timesheet, and when this was passed for payment. Page 10 of 13 Version 1.3 January 2015
Approving Timesheets If you are assigned a manager account you will be able to approve timesheets for the employees in your department or team. This account will also grant you access to your own details and enable you to submit timesheets yourself (timesheets that you have submitted yourself, and the timesheets submitted by members of your department for you to review will all appear in one list). While you are able to process timesheets submitted by members of your department, the system will normally stop you from approving your own timesheets. By default, these will be routed to your manager for review. It is however possible to configure the timesheet approval so that managers can approve their own timesheets. Note that it is possible to have more than one manager for each department or team. This means that a colleague can process timesheets if you are away from the office. When a member of your team submits a timesheet you will receive a notification e-mail. This e-mail has a link on it that will open the Timesheets screen and list all timesheets that are ready for review. If you have not implemented the Single Sign-on you will be prompted for your user-name and password at this point. You may have elected not to receive e-mail notification (these e-mails are optional). In this case you should make a note to check the Timesheets screen in the Employee Intranet regularly. Employee Intranet Add-ons The list that is displayed will include timesheets submitted by all the members of your team. By default it does not display timesheets that have already been processed. Timesheets screen (list view) Page 11 of 13 Version 1.3 January 2015
To review a timesheet, simply double-click on an entry in the list. This will display the timesheet in detail. Timesheet awaiting approval Use the Status drop-down to approve (or reject) a timesheet. Select Approved to approve the timesheet, and Rejected to reject the timesheet (and press the green button with a tick on it to save the change). When you do this an e-mail is sent to the employee notifying them of your action. Approved By default, once you have approved a timesheet it will be routed to a system user who will finalise the timesheet and pass them to payroll for payment. It is possible to disable this second level of approval. When this is done, the timesheet is finalised and passed for payment when you (a manager) approve it. Rejected When you reject a timesheet it is returned to the employee for review. In this situation it is useful to add some comments to the Notes box to indicate the reason for rejecting the timesheet. They will then be able to rectify this and re-submit the timesheet. If there are minor issues with the timesheet you may be able to resolve them without rejecting the timesheet (by making changes to the details recorded in the screen). Note that this is not always enabled (some organisations will disable this option). There is also an option to enable managers to add timesheets for employees in their team. If this option is enabled, you will be able to create new timesheets for your employees by adding a new Page 12 of 13 Version 1.3 January 2015
timesheet via the screen and selecting the employee using the magnifying glass in the Employee ID box. Complete the form in the normal way. Note: it is possible to view timesheets that have already been processed. To do this, click on the magnifying glass button and in the first drop-down, select the ESS Group Details Approved or ESS Group Details Finalised option and press the Execute button. Viewing Timesheets that have been processed Second Level Approval Timesheets need to be finalised before they are paid. Timesheets are normally finalised by somebody in payroll or HR. This is also referred to as second level approval. The process for second level approval is not detailed in this document. It is also possible to configure the system so that when a timesheet is approved (by a manager) it is also finalised at the same time. This means than no second level approval is required. When a timesheet is finalised, the employee is notified that this has happened (via e-mail). Once this has happened, the timesheet can no longer be modified. If a timesheet is rejected by the second level approver it is returned to the employee for review. Once again, the employee is notified that this has happened (via e-mail). Page 13 of 13 Version 1.3 January 2015