HR Network News | November 29, 2024

Welcome, HR Network members!

Bi-weekly updates for faculty and staff with HR responsibilities, including HR practitioners and administrators. The information in this newsletter aims to support you in your role at UBC. You are welcome and encouraged to share this newsletter with faculty and staff in your unit.

Job postings in HR

Please share with your networks if you know anyone who might be interested:

• Investigator, UBC Investigations Office, UBC Investigations Office — November 29
• Human Resources Coordinator, HR Projects, VP Students — November 29
• Human Resources Assistant, VP Academic & Provost (VPA) — December 3
• Director, HR, VP Finance & Operations (VPFO) — December 14

Don't forget that current UBC employees should apply as internal candidates through Workday.

If you have HR-related jobs to share, please email the HR Communications team.

Topics in Workday

View recent highlights in Workday:

Updates to Mileage Rates

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) regularly makes updates to mileage rates used to calculate travel expenses. To reflect a recent rate change, a new mileage rate is available in Workday. Any mileage expense reports that are already in progress in Workday will receive the previous rate. For instructions on how to create an expense report for mileage, see Create an Expense Report for Mileage in the Workday Knowledge Base.

New AI-Generated Recommendations for Expense Items on Credit Card Expense Reports

When reconciling a UBC credit card transaction on an Expense Report in Workday, you will now see up to five recommendations for an Expense Item to choose from. These recommendations are generated through Workday Artificial Intelligence (AI) and are based on the information included in the credit card transaction.

Get the latest Workday updates, recent changes and timely information through Workday This Week (CWL required) or visit the Workday Knowledge Base for up-to-date resources on Workday tasks and processes.

Leave of Absence approvals in Workday

To streamline the Leave of Absence approval process, Central HR has now updated how some leave transactions are reviewed and approved in Workday. Certain leave approvals will no longer route to the Central HR Partner for review, but rather will route to the administrators directly within units and departments who hold the Senior HR Partner security role in Workday.

The two types of leaves that will now go directly to Senior HR Partners for review and approval include:

• Unpaid personal leave
• Unpaid medical leave

This change affects certain staff Leave of Absence transactions at UBC Vancouver, but will not impact UBC Okanagan or student employees. This change was communicated with senior HR leaders in the summer, and has recently gone live in Workday.

View the Review/Approve Request for Leave of Absence Knowledge Base (CWL required) for more information on how to approve absence requests in Workday.

Holiday and calendar year-end deadlines 2024

As we near the end of the calendar year, please review some helpful reminders and deadlines for managers and administrators to help you wrap up the year.

Vacation carryover and sick time: Managers and HR administrators, please check 2024 vacation balances and carryover for your teams. Enter vacation, sick time, and other absence entries for 2024 by Wednesday, January 8, 2025. Managers must approve by Thursday, January 9, 2025.

Early payroll deadline: The payroll deadline to enter and submit time (both absences and hours worked) for December 9 - 23, 2024, is Friday, December 20. Managers must approve the time submitted by this date.

Job review year-end deadline: If you would like a staff job evaluation (CWL required) conducted prior to the new year, please note that it should be submitted through Workday by Wednesday, December 11.

Benefits deadlines: View year-end deadlines for your UBC benefits, including extended health, dental and HSA and PSA claim deadlines.

Winter leave: The leave available depends on employee group. Visit the Winter leave page for more information, and read the UBC Bulletin about Paid leave for staff between Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

Delegations: If you are going on vacation or will be absent for a period of time, please delegate any important tasks before you leave.

Learn more

CUPE 2950 PD fund depleted

Due to the high volume of PD fund claims submitted for the 2024/2025 fiscal year, the funding pool for the CUPE 2950 employee group has been depleted as of November 20 and is no longer available.

Staff who would like to receive funding support for their professional development can submit claims for the 2025/2026 fiscal year when the CUPE 2950 PD Fund reopens on April 1, 2025.

Learn more

New UBC Finance website and portal – timeline and user testing

As we approach the launch of the new UBC Finance Website and Finance Portal, below is a timeline of what to expect in the coming months: 

• November: Participate in testing the new navigation for the UBC Finance Portal. It takes less than 10 minutes and your feedback will help inform the navigation before launch. Take part in the user testing.
• December: Building and moving content into the sites. 
• January: Launch on January 6, 2025

As a reminder, you’ll need both VPN and CWL to access the portal, even when on campus. For more information, visit the UBC Finance website. 

Reminder to ensure worker location information is correct in Workday

A cleanup campaign is currently underway to ensure that worker location information is up-to-date and correct in Workday. If you are an HR admin who is responsible for inputting or updating worker information in Workday for new and existing staff, please ensure you review this information and the associated toolkit, and verify that the location info for your staff is correct.

Learn more

Preparing for extreme weather at UBC

As we head into December, be sure to prepare faculty and staff in your department for possible extreme weather. As you review your unit’s snow procedures, HR teams and administrators are also encouraged to be mindful of adjusting meetings and activities to accommodate for extreme weather and road conditions.

Read the UBC Bulletin

Event highlight

Learning to heal attachment trauma

Are you caught in a cycle of challenging or toxic relationships? Whether in friendships or romantic partnerships, do you find yourself struggling to understand or cope with recurring patterns? These experiences may be rooted in attachment trauma.

Join host and licensed psychotherapist Meghan Watson for an exploration of relational trauma, attachment in relationships and its connection to human growth and development.

• Wednesday, December 4
• 10-11:15 am

Register now

Tuesday, December 3 | 11 am–12 pm: Self-compassion for overachievers

View all HR events