Employee Guide: Manage Leave

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Welcome to ASCENDER EmployeePortal. This application provides you with access to various employee data inquiries and maintenance features.

EmployeePortal allows you to view year-to-date leave earned, leave used, and leave balances (including any unprocessed leave transactions entered for future payrolls). You can view up to 18 months of check stub information. In addition, you can create, edit, delete, and submit leave requests

Your local education agency (LEA) determines the pages and data fields that can be viewed and/or edited in EmployeePortal. If you have questions, please contact your EmployeePortal administrator.

Before You Begin

Review the ASCENDER EmployeePortal Navigation page to familiarize yourself with the portal.

TIP: If you have any new notifications from EmployeePortal, the number of pending notifications is displayed in the top-right corner of the page on . Click to view the Notifications box. You can either click Mark All As Read to mark all notifications as read and clear all notifications or click a notification to open the Notifications page. From the Notifications page, you have the option to Mark All As Read or click to clear each individual notification.

I. View Leave Balances

View leave balances.

ASCENDER EmployeePortal > Leave Balances

This page is used to view leave information as it currently exists in your record for the selected frequency.

If this page is not enabled, check with your EmployeePortal administrator as the LEA may have opted to not allow access.

If a message is available from your LEA, it is displayed in red at the top of the page.

View leave balance data:

Please select a frequency type	Click to select the payroll frequency for which you want to view leave balances.

Leave Type	The specific leave code(s) for which you have leave data is displayed. The leave types are first displayed in the order that is set for your check (called stub position), and then leave type code (01-99) order.
Beginning Balance	The leave balance as of the beginning of this year for each leave type is displayed.
Advanced/Earned	The number of units of leave advanced or earned as of the last pay period is displayed.
Pending Earned	The total leave earned but not yet processed through payroll is displayed.
Used	The number of units of leave used as of the last pay period is displayed.
Pending Used	The total leave pending and approved but not yet processed through payroll is displayed. This amount is subtracted from the Available Balance field.
Available	The total number of leave units still available for use is displayed. The Available balance is determined by the following calculation: (prior year balance + advanced earned + pending earned) - used - pending used
Units	Indicates the type of units (hours or days) that is used when calculating leave requests.

View a specific range of leave data:

❏ Use the following fields to filter the information by date range and/or leave type.

Leave Type	Click to select the type of leave for which you want to view leave data. The leave type description is displayed.
From and To Date of Leave	Type the range of dates for which you want to view processed and unprocessed leave data or click to select the dates. Note: An LEA setting determines whether or not to show processed and unprocessed leave transactions. The from date may not exceed 18 months from the current date. You can leave the date fields blank to retrieve dates 18 months from the current date. Note: The from and to date selections select leave dates rather than pay dates. Additionally, if the from and to dates are left blank, all future leave and all prior leave up to 18 months is retrieved. If a from date is entered and no to date is entered, all leave starting with the from date and all future leave is retrieved.

Leave Type

Click

to select the type of leave for which you want to view leave data. The leave type description is displayed.

From and To Date of Leave

Type the range of dates for which you want to view processed and unprocessed leave data or click to select the dates.

Note: An LEA setting determines whether or not to show processed and unprocessed leave transactions.

The from date may not exceed 18 months from the current date.

You can leave the date fields blank to retrieve dates 18 months from the current date.

Note: The from and to date selections select leave dates rather than pay dates. Additionally, if the from and to dates are left blank, all future leave and all prior leave up to 18 months is retrieved. If a from date is entered and no to date is entered, all leave starting with the from date and all future leave is retrieved.

❏ Click Retrieve. A list of leave requests for the specified date range is displayed with the following data:

Leave Type	The leave type description for the leave request is displayed.
Date of Pay	The pay date for which leave was charged is displayed.
Date of Leave	The date for which the leave was taken is displayed in the mm dd yyyy format.
Leave Used	The number of units of leave taken is displayed.
Leave Earned	The number of units of leave earned is displayed.
Status	Indicates the status of the leave (processed, not processed, or not posted to payroll). The data displayed here depends on certain LEA option settings. For example, if you know you have leave that has not gone through payroll processing, then the feature to display unprocessed leave was disabled by the LEA. Processed - The leave has been processed through payroll and posted to your leave master record. Not processed - The leave has not been processed through payroll and is not yet a part of your leave master record. Processed and not processed leave units have already been added to/subtracted (as appropriate) from your master leave record and are reflected in the leave grid. The Available field is reflective of what is available should all unprocessed leave be posted.

II. Manage Leave Requests

Create and submit leave requests.

ASCENDER EmployeePortal > Leave Requests

This page is used to create, edit, delete, and submit leave requests for the selected payroll frequency. After a leave request is processed by payroll, it is no longer displayed on this page.

If this page is not enabled, check with your EmployeePortal administrator, as the LEA may have opted to not allow access.

If a message is available from your LEA, it is displayed in red at the top of the page.

Payroll Frequency	Click to select the payroll frequency for which you want to create a leave request. If you have leave in multiple payroll frequencies such as biweekly, semimonthly, and monthly, those options are displayed and can be selected.

Under Unprocessed Leave Requests, a list of your unprocessed (not processed by payroll) leave requests is displayed, if any. The following details are displayed for each leave request:

Start and End Date	The start and end date range for the leave request is displayed in the MM-DD-YYYY format.
Start and End Time	The start and end time range for the leave request is displayed in the HH MM format and click to select AM or PM.
Leave Type	The type of requested leave is displayed.
Comment Log	Any employee (requestor) comments that were added to the leave request are displayed.
Status	The current status of the leave request is displayed. When a leave request is created, an email message is automatically sent to your direct supervisor notifying him of the request and prompting him to approve or disapprove the leave request. The status of the leave request is updated to Pending Spvsr Approval. After a leave request is approved by your supervisor, an email message is automatically sent to the email address listed on your demographic record notifying you of the action. The status of the leave request is updated to Pending Payroll. If a leave request is disapproved by your supervisor, an email message is automatically sent to the email address listed on your demographic record notifying you of the action. The status of the leave request is updated to Disapproved. You can edit and resubmit the leave request or delete the leave request. After a leave request is processed by payroll, it is no longer displayed on this page.

Create a leave request:

You have two options to create a leave request.

Option 1: Click Add in the upper-right corner of the Leave Requests page. The Create Leave Requests pop-up window opens allowing you to enter the details of your leave request.

Option 2: From the EmployeePortal homepage calendar, you will notice that the current day is highlighted in yellow.

TIP: If you have an existing approved or pending leave request, the entry is displayed for that calendar day. You can click the entry to open the details of the request and edit the request as needed. If you have an existing processed leave request, you can click the entry to open the details of the request; however, you cannot edit the request.

Click the day for which you want to enter a leave request. The Add Request Type pop-up window opens allowing you select the type of request you want to enter.

Click Leave. The Create Leave Requests pop-up window opens allowing you to enter the details of your leave request. The Start Date and End Date fields are automatically populated with the date you selected.

Your leave balances are displayed at the bottom of the Create Leave Requests window under Leave Balance Summary.

❏ Complete the following information for the leave entry:

Leave Type	Click to select the type of leave that you want to request. Only leave types assigned to you are displayed. An LEA setting determines whether or not you can use a leave type with a zero balance. All assigned active leave types are displayed even if the leave type amount is zero.
Absence Reason	Click to select the absence reason. The absence reasons are determined by your LEA and correspond to the selected leave type.
Start Date	Type the start date for which you want to request leave in the MM/DD/YYYY format or click to select a date from the calendar.
End Date	This field is automatically populated with the date selected in the Start Date field; however, you can change the date. Type the end date for which you want to request leave in the MM/DD/YYYY format or click to select a date from the calendar. You can use this field to cover consecutive dates of a leave request excluding the weekend (Saturday/Sunday).
Start Time	Type the beginning time in the HH MM format for which you want to request leave. Click to select AM or PM.
End Time	Type the end time in the HH MM format for which you want to request leave. Click to select AM or PM.
Hours/Day Requested	The number of hours per day for which you are requesting leave is automatically calculated based on the Start Time and End Time of the leave request. If the field is not automatically calculated, you must manually type the number of hours per day for which you are requesting leave. An LEA setting determines whether or not this field is automatically calculated.
Total Requested	Indicates the total amount of requested leave in the specified units.
Remarks	Type any comments related to your leave request. The comments are available to all approvers.

The leave balance amounts translate to hours or days based on the assigned unit type for the selected leave type.

Leave Type	The specific leave code(s) for which you have leave data is displayed. The leave types are first displayed in the order that is set for your check (called stub position), and then leave type code (01-99) order.
Beginning Balance	The leave balance as of the beginning of this year for each leave type is displayed.
Advanced/Earned	The number of units of leave advanced or earned as of the last pay period is displayed.
Pending Earned	The total leave earned but not yet processed through payroll is displayed.
Used	The number of units of leave used as of the last pay period is displayed.
Pending Used	The total leave pending and approved but not yet processed through payroll is displayed. This amount is subtracted from the Available Balance field.
Available	Indicates the number of units of leave still available for use. The Available is based on beginning balance, plus advanced/earned, plus pending earned, less used, and less pending used.
Units	Indicates the type of units (hours or days) that are used when calculating leave requests.

❏ After completing your leave request entry, use one of the following options to continue:

Click Submit and Add to submit the leave request to your supervisor for approval and remain on the Create Leave Requests window to continue adding additional leave request entries.
Click Submit and Close to submit the leave request to your supervisor for approval and close the Create Leave Requests window.

A leave request is created and an email message is sent to your direct supervisor to notify them that a leave request is pending their approval.
Depending on the leave type, additional approvers may be in the approval path for the leave request.
If you are set as the temporary approver for your supervisor, and you enter a leave request when your supervisor is unavailable, the request is submitted to your supervisor's supervisor. You are not allowed to approve your own leave requests.
When a leave request is approved or disapproved, an email message is automatically sent to the email address listed on your demographic record notifying you of the action.
If your leave request is approved, the approval email message will contain links to add your approved leave request as a calendar event in Outlook and Google.

Click X or Cancel to close the pop-up window without submitting any leave requests and return to the Leave Requests page.

Edit and delete leave requests.

❏ You can edit a leave request until it is processed by payroll in which case, the leave request is no longer displayed under Unprocessed Leave Requests and no longer editable from the homepage calendar.

Edit	Click Edit next to the leave request that you want to edit. The Edit Leave Requests window opens. Make the necessary changes and click Resubmit for Approval to resubmit the edited leave request for approval. Otherwise, click Cancel to return to the Leave Requests page.

❏ You can delete a leave request until it is processed by payroll in which case, the leave request is no longer displayed under Unprocessed Leave Requests and no longer editable from the homepage calendar.

Delete	Click Delete next to the leave request that you want to delete. A message prompting you to confirm deletion is displayed. Click OK to delete the leave request. Otherwise, click Cancel to return to the Leave Requests page.

Note: If you delete a leave request that has already been approved by your supervisor, your supervisor will receive an email notification.