Update 23C

Revision History

This document will continue to evolve as existing sections change and new information is added. All updates appear in the following table:

Date	Module	Feature	Notes
28 AUG 2023	Absence Management	Absence Planning for Managers	Updated document. Revised feature information.
28 AUG 2023	Absence Management	Support For Rolling Backward Plan Term Type And Multiple Assignments	Updated document. Revised feature information.
28 JUL 2023	Absence Management	Payroll Interface "Update" Mode For Transfer To Pay	Updated document. Revised feature information.
28 JUL 2023	Absence Management	Enhanced Person Selection For Accrual Processing	Updated document. Revised feature information.
28 JUL 2023	Absence Management/ Redwood Experience	Redwood Experience for Donations and Cash Disbursements	Updated document. Revised feature information.
02 JUN 2023			Created initial document.

Overview

HCM Cloud applications have two types of patches you can receive that are documented in this What’s New:

• Release Updates (23A, 23B, 23C, and 23D)
• Optional Monthly Maintenance Packs to each update

It is important for you to know what Release Update your environment is on. You can find this in your Cloud Portal.

____________________

HAVE AN IDEA?

We’re here and we’re listening. If you have a suggestion on how to make our products better, please let us know. To enter an idea go to the Ideas Lab on Oracle Customer Connect. In this document wherever you see the light bulb icon after the feature name it means we delivered one of your ideas.

____________________

Suggested Reading for all HCM Products:

• HCM Common What's New - In this What's New you will find feature that are used across applications.
• Human Resources What’s New – In the Global Human Resources section you will find features on the base application in which other application are built upon. 

NOTE: Not all Global Human Resource features are available for Talent and Compensation products.

• Oracle Human Capital Management Cloud Functional Known Issues and Maintenance Packs (Document ID 1554838.1). These documents identify bug fixes and possible known issues. You will also need to review these documents based in the release update version you are currently on or will be moving to.

• Oracle Help Center – Here you will find guides, videos and searchable help.
• Release Readiness – New Feature Summary, What’s New, Feature Listing Spreadsheet, Spotlights and Release Training

GIVE US FEEDBACK

We welcome your comments and suggestions to improve the content. Please send us your feedback at oracle_fusion_applications_help_ww_grp@oracle.com. Indicate you are inquiring or providing feedback regarding the HCM Cloud What’s New in the body or title of the email.

Feature Summary

Absence Management

Absence Management

Oracle Absence Management is a configurable and flexible global solution that enables organizations to manage absences of their workforce. The framework provides ability to define both complex and diverse absence plans. It integrates with the Oracle Cloud Global Payroll and Time and Labor products and provides dedicated work areas for the roles of Administrator and Employees. Simplified user interface is provided for employees’ absence data entry.

Absence Transaction Approval Date In BI Publisher

The BI Publisher records approval date when an absence is approved. When you approve an absence, the absence data is transferred to Payroll. If the approval doesn’t happen before the payroll cutoff date, the employee won’t be paid for that absence in that pay period. With the availability of the approval date, you can investigate issues related to non-payments, and determine if the approvals were the reason for the non payment. The approval date is captured when you approve the absence through the responsive page or the REST services.

The Bi Publisher captures now the approval date when an absence is approved. You can use this data to investigate issues related to non-payments, and determine if the approvals were the reason for the non payment.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Future Absence Processing Option For Same And Impacted Absence Types Entered On The Timecard

A new configuration option called Future Absence Processing was introduced in the Configure Absence Batch Parameters page in the previous release. This option can be used to process all future absences for all types or process only future absences of the same absence type, and any impacted absences that are a part of the concurrent or shared plan. Now, this functionality is extended to also include absences entered on a timecard.

Future Absence Processing option

If you select the All Absences option, the application reprocesses all future dated absences automatically. If you select Only Impacted Absences, the application reprocesses only the future dated absences of the same absence type, and any impacted absences that are a part of the concurrent or shared plan.

The application now includes absences entered on the timecard in the processing of future absences.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Absence Approval Notifications Delivered Regardless Of Server Status

Previously when the SOA server experienced a downtime during absence submission, the application wouldn’t generate an approval notification for the submitted absence. But with this feature, the application registers a severe server error in the log file and continues the approval process by generating an absence notification for the manager or approver. This removes all orphan records for absence transactions with attachments that are in Awaiting Approval status when the server goes down. By sending an absence notification irrespective of the server status, it eliminates the need to re-enter the absence.

The new enhanced absence approval process now generates an absence approval notification for the manager to approve even if the SOA server goes down mid process.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Support For Rolling Backward Plan Term Type And Multiple Assignments

The support for multiple assignments on qualification plans with rolling-backward plan terms has been improved. Prior to this release, the application calculated entitlement usage for absences that spanned two plan years for only employees with a single assignment. With this release, entitlement usage is calculated for workers having multiple assignments and an absence that spans rolling backward plan term years.

Now the application also supports the qualification plans of employees with multiple assignments where the Rolling Backward plan term type is used for entitlement calculation.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Display Required Field For Attachments In Administrator Absence Records Page

The enhanced absence records page for administrators now displays the required field icon when the attachments are mandatory for absence entry.

Absence records page for administrators

With this feature administrators can easily see when required information is needed.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Automatic Accrual Recalculation With Enrollment End Date

The application now automatically recalculates accruals when you perform a manual adjustment to the enrollment end date.  When you manually perform a plan unenrollment and accruals have already been calculated until the end of the period, the accruals are automatically rerun until the unenrollment date. You don't need to manually run the accrual process.

You don't need to manually run the accrual process.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Absence Planning for Managers

Line managers can now use the Absence Planning page to review absences related to absence types with accrual or compensatory plans for all their direct reports. Here’s how they can access this page:

1. On the Home page, click the My Team tab.
2. Under quick actions, click Show More.
3. Click Absence Planning in the Absences section.

Managers can review the data in three ways on this page:

View	Manager Actions
Main Table	Review absence requests that need approval. View current and future absences of all direct reports. Approve or deny a single absence request or multiple requests. Sort and filter available columns for analysis
Conflict	Review an employee's absence request that could potentially coincide with another employee's absence.
Timeline	Review the data in a timeline format that makes it easy to see the multiple absence requests and scheduled absences.

Main table view of Absence Planning page

Timeline view of Absence Planning page

Conflict view of Absence Planning page

This feature makes absence planning for managers much easier to visualize.

Steps to Enable

You need to enable the ORA_HCM_VBCS_PWA_ENABLED profile to access the HCM Redwood pages.

Tips And Considerations

Managers can’t approve the absence requests added using timecards on the Absence Planning page.

Access Requirements

Duty Role	Duty Role Code	Role
Plan Absences by Manager	ORA_ANC_PLAN_ABSENCES_BY_MANAGER	Line Manager

Provide Formula Execution Statistics

You can now view detailed execution statistics of fast formulas including custom fast formulas in the Enterprise Scheduler (ESS) processes output file. The output file provides information about what formulas were run, how many times they were run and how long it took for each batch run. You can use this info to review and address performance issues with your fast formulas.

You can get the output file for the following scheduled processes:

1.     Evaluate Absences

2.     Calculate Accruals and Balances

3.     Update Accrual Plan Enrollments

4.     Generate Daily Breakdown of Absence Details

5.     Evaluate Certification Updates.

Output file

See detailed execution statistics of fast formulas including custom fast formulas in the Enterprise Scheduler (ESS) processes output file.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Enhanced Person Selection For Accrual Processing

The Update Accrual Plan Enrollment process is now enhanced to include future hires. When you run the Calculate Accruals and Balances process, the application calculates accruals for future periods automatically up to the last accrual run date for all employees active as of the effective date. Concurrently, it now also calculates accruals for all future hires who fall within the accrual run date.

Use the enhanced person selection for accrual processing to ensure that future hires are also included in the process.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Payroll Interface "Update" Mode For Transfer To Pay

New customers implementing Payroll and Absence Management can take advantage of a new update mode for transferring absence information to payroll.  The new absence updates to payroll interface ensures that only the absence changes are updated for the payroll interface.

For example, when someone records a three week absence, daily entries are interfaced to payroll. With this release we are introducing an update mode for the interface process. When you use this mode, the application replaces only the daily entries with modifications. Previously, if the absence was modified to end one day earlier, all daily entries were deleted and recreated. This caused unnecessary net-zero retro pay transactions that complicated reconciliation and had a negative impact on the performance of payroll calculation.

Improve the performance of payroll calculation process and simplify reconciliation with the new update mode for the payroll interface.

Steps to Enable

1. Navigate to the Setup and Maintenance work area.

2. Search for and click the Manage Profile Options task.

3. Search for and select the ORA_PAY_ INTFC_ABSENCE_IN_PLACE_UPDATE profile option.

4. Select the Level as Site.

5. Enter Y in the Profile Value field.

6. Click Save and Close.

Tips And Considerations

• Existing customers who created their payroll elements prior to this release cannot use the feature until their payroll elements are upgraded.  An upgrade script will be made available in a future release.
• Absence updates feature is limited to absence entitlements. Absence disbursements and final payouts are not included in the 23C scope.
• Changes to UK SSP Payment Certification won’t trigger an absence update.
• Absence updates are supported for absences entered in Cloud Absences but aren’t supported for absences entered on timecard.
• Absence updates are only supported for absences with one plan entry per day.  If an absence includes two plan entries for a single day, payroll will delete and recreate all data related to that absence.  This update mode limitation will be removed in a future release.

Redwood Experience

These pages or flows have been recreated in the Redwood tool set Visual Builder Studio (VBS) to improve your user experience. The pages or flows look and act like Redwood pages or flows, to help create cohesiveness through the application.

Redwood Experience for Existing Absences

The Existing Absences page was re-created using the Redwood tool set Oracle Visual Builder Studio, to improve the user experience by providing the same consistent functionality across Redwood pages.

Existing Absences Redwood page

Here’s how you access the Redwood page for Existing Absences:

1. On the Home page, click Me.
2. Click the Time and Absences.
3. Click the Existing Absences tile.

The new Existing Absences page lets you experience Redwood’s high-fidelity interactions.

Steps to Enable

This page is turned off by default. If you want to enable this page, you will need to do so in the Profile Options. Here are the steps for changing the delivered Profile Options:

1. Navigate to the Setup and Maintenance work area.
2. Search for and click the Manage Administrator Profile Values task.
3. Search for and select the profile option ORA_ANC_EXISTING_ABSENCES_VBCS_UI_ENABLED.
4. Select the Level as Site.
5. Enter a Y in the Profile
6. Click Save and Close.

Extensibility Limitations

NOTE: The use of VB Studio to extend this page is limited to the variables to set up Nudges and Guided Journeys at this time. If you have Guided Journey’s configured you will need to reconfigure them, if you are using the new Redwood page. Refer to the following on setting up Nudges and Guided Journeys:

• 23B HCM Common What’s New - Enable Guided Journeys for the Rebuilt Redwood Pages

• 23B HCM Common What’s New -  Nudge Users to Complete Tasks

The use of VB Studio to extend the Donations page is limited to the variables listed below, as well as the constants defined for Nudges and Guided Journeys.

Type	Variable Name	Variable Description	Level
Constant	renderNudges	This variable controls the rendering of the nudges on this page. Set it to on/off to render and hide nudges respectively.
Constant	journeyCode	This property represents the guided journey code which can help find unique guided journey information.	Page
Constant	task code	List of task codes whose information is supposed to be rendered. If this list is empty/null/undefined the component will render information of all the tasks related to the guided journey.	Page

Key Resources

For a listing of all profile options for the recreated pages across applications, see the following document in My Oracle Support: HCM Redwood Pages with Profile Options - DOC ID 2922407.1

Redwood Experience for Plan Balance Summary, Accrual, Compensatory, and Donation Plan Balances

The Plan Balance Summary, Accrual, Compensatory, and Donation Plan Balances pages were re-created using the Redwood tool set Oracle Visual Builder Studio, to improve the user experience by providing the same consistent functionality across Redwood pages.

Absence balance summary Redwood page

Accrual plan balance Redwood page

Compensatory plan balance Redwood page

Donation plan balance Redwood page

Here’s how you access these pages:

1. On the Home page, click Me.
2. Click the Time and Absences.
3. Click the Absence Balance tile.

The new Plan Balance Summary, Accrual, Compensatory and Donation Plan Balances pages let you experience Redwood’s high-fidelity interactions.

Steps to Enable

These pages are turned off by default. If you want to enable them, you will need to do so in the Profile Options. Here are the steps for changing the delivered Profile Options:

1. Navigate to the Setup and Maintenance work area.
2. Search for and click the Manage Administrator Profile Values task.
3. Search for and select the profile option ORA_ANC_PLAN_BALANCE_VBCS_UI_ENABLED.
4. Select the Level as Site.
5. Enter a Y in the Profile
6. Click Save and Close.

Extensibility Limitations

NOTE: The use of VB Studio to extend these pages is limited to the variables to set up Nudges and Guided Journeys at this time. If you have Guided Journey’s configured you will need to reconfigure them, if you are using the new Redwood pages. Refer to the following on setting up Nudges and Guided Journeys in this:

• • 23B HCM Common What’s New - Enable Guided Journeys for the Rebuilt Redwood Pages

  • 23B HCM Common What’s New -  Nudge Users to Complete Tasks

The use of VB Studio to extend the Donations page is limited to the variables listed below, as well as the constants defined for Nudges and Guided Journeys.

Type	Variable Name	Variable Description	Level
Constant	renderNudges	This variable controls the rendering of the nudges on this page. Set it to on/off to render and hide nudges respectively.
Constant	journeyCode	This property represents the guided journey code which can help find unique guided journey information.	Page
Constant	task code	List of task codes whose information is supposed to be rendered. If this list is empty/null/undefined the component will render information of all the tasks related to the guided journey.	Page

Key Resources

For a listing of all profile options for the recreated pages across applications, see the following document in My Oracle Support: HCM Redwood Pages with Profile Options - DOC ID 2922407.1

Redwood Experience for Donations and Cash Disbursements

The Redwood pages for Cash Disbursements and Donations have been further enhanced to display a status badge that helps you easily identify different transactions.

Furthermore, the transactions in the Cash Disbursements page appear in the order of the date, newest to oldest. Similarly, in the Donations page, the transactions appear by the recipient’s name that are sorted by the date, newest to oldest.

Status badges in Donations Redwood page

Status badges in Cash Disbursements Redwood page

New status badges on the Cash Disbursements and Donations Redwood pages makes sorting through the information easier.

Steps to Enable

These pages are turned off by default. If you want to enable them, you will need to do so in the Profile Options. Here are the steps for changing the delivered Profile Options:

1. Navigate to the Setup and Maintenance work area.
2. Search for and click the Manage Administrator Profile Values task.
3. Search for and select the profile option ORA_ANC_DONATIONS__VBCS_UI_ENABLED.
4. Search for and select the profile option ORA_CASH_DISBURSEMENTS__VBCS_UI_ENABLED.
5. Select the Level as Site.
6. Enter a Y in the Profile Value field.
7. Click Save and Close.

NOTE: The use of VB Studio to extend this page is limited to the variables to set up Nudges and Guided Journeys at this time. If you have Guided Journey’s configured you will need to reconfigure them, if you are using the new Redwood page. Refer to the following on setting up Nudges and Guided Journeys:

• 23B HCM Common What’s New - Enable Guided Journeys for the Rebuilt Redwood Pages
• 23B HCM Common What’s New - Nudge Users to Complete Tasks

The use of VB Studio to extend the Donations page is limited to the variables listed below, as well as the constants defined for Nudges and Guided Journeys.

Type	Variable Name	Variable Description	Level
Constant	renderNudges	This variable controls the rendering of the nudges on this page. Set it to on/off to render and hide nudges respectively.
Constant	journeyCode	This property represents the guided journey code which can help find unique guided journey information.	Page
Constant	task code	List of task codes whose information is supposed to be rendered. If this list is empty/null/undefined the component will render information of all the tasks related to the guided journey.	Page

Key Resources

For a listing of all profile options for the recreated pages across applications, see the following document in My Oracle Support: HCM Redwood Pages with Profile Options - DOC ID 2922407.1

IMPORTANT Actions and Considerations for Absences

REPLACED OR REMOVED FEATURES

From time to time, Oracle replaces existing Cloud service features with new features or removes existing features. When a feature is replaced the older version may be removed immediately or at a future time. As a best practice, you should use the newer version of a replaced feature as soon as the newer version is available.

Product	Removed Feature	Target Removal	Replacement Feature	Replaced In	Additional Information
	Nothing at this time.

_________________________

KNOWN ISSUES / MAINTENANCE PACK SPREADSHEETS

Oracle publishes a Known Issues document for every Update to make customers are aware of potential problems they could run into and the document provides workarounds if they are available.

Oracle also publishes Maintenance Pack and Statutory Maintenance Pack documentation of bugs that are fixed in the monthly or statutory patching.

To review these documents you must have access to My Oracle Support:

Oracle Human Capital Management Cloud Functional Known Issues and Maintenance Packs (Document ID 1554838.1)