Pay cycle changes
We have made changes to the fortnightly pay cycle, beginning in pay period 03 (20 April 2022). Please take some time to read the key information below.
Why has the pay cycle changed?
Our bank is moving to bank file technology that no longer supports 'stop-pays' and manual payments. These were both very manual processes. Previously, around 25,000 transactions were submitted between the first draft SUE on Thursday (day 9) and close of business on Monday (day 13). This put immense pressure on our team to get your employees paid accurately, and on time. The new cycle cut-off is on Thursday, which will allow more time to correct errors and submit out-of-cycle payments, resulting in more accurate and timely pay and fewer overpayments.
Some deadlines have moved and there are hard cut-offs for those online pay transactions that are immediately processed. We know that sometimes, despite best efforts, there will be instances where urgent payments need to be made to employees’ pay after cut-off. That is why we have added an out of cycle (OOC) pay option.
We've worked with the Ministry of Education to streamline the pay cycle, in line with payroll best practice. Visibility has also improved, and for the first time the SUE Reports will show all payroll payments for the pay period.
These changes are effective from the start of pay period 03 (20 April 2022 – 4 May 2022), the pay period during the school holiday break.
The key changes
- With the manual pay facility being no longer available, urgent payments will be made through the new Out of Cycle (OOC) payments process. Unlike stop pay adjustments and manual pays, the OOC payments will be included and clearly identified in your Staff Usage and Expenditure Report (SUE). This means that you can be confident that both the SUE and the School Annual Accrual Report (SAAR) will list all payroll payments made to employees.
- During each pay period there will be two versions of the SUE report, instead of the three under the old pay cycle.
- The first SUE report has moved from Thursday (day 9) to Friday (day 10). Adjustments to this SUE, via an EP31, are be limited to correction of errors. The final SUE will continue to be issued on Tuesday (day 14).
- New cut-off time for pay transactions that are processed immediately:
After 5.30pm on day 9 of the pay cycle (Thursday), EdPay pay transactions that are straight through processed (those that are processed immediately and not via a ticket), will be processed but not paid in the current pay period. They will be paid in the next pay period. Non-pay-impacting submissions, such as bank account and email address changes, will not be subject to this cut-off.
- Termination pay will be a separate payment, on day one (Wednesday) of the next pay period.
Important definition - EdPay straight through processing (STP)
EdPay submissions that are processed immediately and can be seen in the Activity History with the status ‘successful’ are "straight through processed" or STP. There is no ticket generated for these transactions.
See a list of STP features here, so you’ll know which features are affected by the day 9 STP cut-off.
The previous and streamlined pay cycles compared
| SUE report availability |
Previous pay cycle |
Streamlined pay cycle |
| First SUE |
day 9 (Thursday) |
day 10 (Friday) |
Second SUE
|
day 13 (Monday) |
no longer produced |
Final SUE
|
day 14 (Tuesday) |
no change |
| Key deadlines and cut-offs |
Previous pay cycle |
Streamlined pay cycle |
NOVO and EdPay forms
(commitment to process by pay day) |
day 6 (Monday) |
no change |
EdPay submissions that generate a ticket
(commitment to process by pay day)
|
day 6 (Monday) |
no change |
EdPay STP submissions that are pay transactions (those processed immediately, no ticket)
|
day 13 (Monday) |
5.30pm day 9 (Thursday) |
First SUE adjustments deadline EP31
(for corrections only)
|
day 9 (Thursday) |
5pm day 10 (Friday) |
Bank account changes in EdPay
|
day 13 (Monday) |
no change |
Tax code changes for relievers or for a special tax code (STC)
|
day 6 (Monday) |
no change |
Tax code changes in EdPay
|
day 10 (Friday) |
day 9 (Thursday) |
Tax code changes for relievers or for a special tax code (STC)
|
day 10 (Friday) |
day 9 (Thursday) |
KiwiSaver contribution rate changes in EdPay
|
day 10 (Friday) |
day 9 (Thursday) |
Out of cycle payments EP31
|
not currently available |
day 2 (Thursday) of next pay period, paid day 3 (Friday |
The SUE reports
People have had questions about is role of the first SUE report. The key purpose of this report is to provide an accurate record of the payments made in a pay period, while also giving you sufficient time to check and correct any errors before the pay is run.
The previous first SUE report (Thursday) was not accurate as a considerable number of transactions (approx 25,000) were entered after it was produced. By the time the second SUE report (Monday) was available, there often was not enough time to process error adjustments before the pay was run. Our bank withdrawing the option to stop pays compounded this situation.
In the new streamlined pay cycle, most transactions need to be completed by Thursday 5.30pm so that the first SUE, issued on Friday, is an accurate record of payments for the pay period. You then have a full day to check and identify any errors, which can then be corrected in time for payday.
Input checking using the EdPay transaction histories alongside the first SUE report
With the increase in visibility that EdPay provides, the majority of pay transactions are processed immediately and can be checked for accuracy as soon as they have been entered, without having to wait for the first SUE report. For example, all timesheets that are submitted via EdPay can immediately be viewed from the Timesheet Overview screen and key details such as date worked, pay code, hours and funding can all be checked and confirmed correct, then printed and signed off when convenient.
Implications for relievers and timesheet employees
Now the changes are in effect, the timeframe for submitting timesheets for day-to-day relievers and timesheet employees is still be 14 days in length. A comparison of the two pay cycles follows:
Previous pay cycle
The timeframe for submitting hours for these employees to be paid on the upcoming payday started on day 14 (previous pay period) and endedday 13 (current pay period).
New streamlined pay cycle
The timeframe for submitting hours for these employees to be paid on the upcoming payday starts on day 10 (previous pay period) and ends on day 9 (current pay period).
As this timeline shows, the previous timeframe for submitting EdPay transactions (up until day 13), allowed little time for the required checks to take place before employees were paid (day 14), leading to errors. The streamlined timeframe will remedy this.
Useful links
Links to resources applicable from PP03 (20/4/22) – these are website links, unless otherwise stated: