HRAR-1.07 - Time Review and Approval

Purpose

Management review and approval of City time entry is required to ensure that time submissions are accurate and employees receive pay in accordance with City pay policy and practices.

Bureau Responsibilities

Every bureau shall be responsible for establishing and maintaining bureau-specific management of time entry review and approval systems, documenting the procedures and processes they adopt in their system, and retaining all source time entry and review and approval process documentation, which substantiates that their system is being followed.

Time Review and Approval Requirements

Each bureau time review and approval process shall contain the following elements:

1. Managerial review and approval of time source documents used as the basis for time entry into SAP.
2. In cases in which data entry into SAP of time data from other systems or hard copy is necessary, there shall be a review of the data entered into SAP to ensure it is consistent with the approved time from (1) above. This review shall be performed by an individual other than the individual(s) entering the data.
3. Managerial approval of any retroactive time entry change or in circumstances where a time entry change has been made to a previously approved time submission.

Timing

The regular deadline for execution of bureau time review and approval activities in support of the elements listed above is the Friday after the end of the pay period. In exceptional circumstances when the regular deadline cannot be met, time review and approval activities shall be executed by the Friday after the end of the subsequent pay period. Bureaus may require their managers to review and approve time on an intermittent basis throughout a pay period up through the regular deadline in order to address operational needs.

Adjustment to the SAP time submission and bureau time review and approval processes timeline may be required as the result of announced process scheduling changes, including those noted in the Annual Payroll Calendar. Bureaus will need to adjust internal time review and approval processing schedules accordingly.

Adoption of more restrictive bureau requirements

The standards and guidelines outlined in this Administrative Rule are the minimum requirements for time review and approval. Bureaus may adopt more restrictive procedures to address their specific circumstances.

Documentation and Accountability

Bureaus will document their bureau-specific time review and approval process and any subsequent process changes and submit those to the Bureau of Human Resources to ensure the most current plans are on file with Human Resources. The standardized format to be used to document the plan is available in the Bureau of Human Resources Forms Library.

Bureaus will retain all documentation relating to their time review and approval process results to demonstrate they are following their adopted time review and approval process.

Retention of Time Source and Time Review and Approval Documents

Bureaus are to retain all time management records, including those related to time review and approval in accordance with the City’s retention schedule, and make such records available for internal policy compliance and external auditor review upon request.