You can use an ad hoc pay run in Deputy Payroll (AU) to increase or decrease an employee's existing Annual Leave, Personal (Sick/Carer's) Leave or Time Off In Lieu (TOIL) balance.

This article explains when to use a $0 ad hoc pay run, how to adjust an employee's leave balance, and how to check that the adjustment has been applied correctly.

Before you read

• Target audience: This article is for users with System Administrator, Payroll Administrator and Payroll Manager access.
• Plan restrictions: This article is relevant for Australian customers using Deputy Payroll (AU).
• Important note: This article explains the available options in Deputy Payroll (AU). Leave balance adjustments can affect pay, tax, superannuation, leave accrual, and STP reporting. If you're unsure how an adjustment should be treated, check with your payroll adviser before processing it.

This article covers

• When might I adjust an employee's leave balance?
• Adjust an existing leave balance using a $0 ad hoc payrun
  • Create an ad hoc pay run
  • Make the leave adjustment
• How leave adjustments affect the balance
• FAQs

When might I adjust an employee's leave balance?

You may need to adjust an employee's existing leave balance to correct an error or account for changes to their leave.

Possible examples include:

• Annual Leave was paid, but the absence should have been recorded as Personal (Sick/Carer's) Leave.
• Personal (Sick/Carer's) Leave was paid, but the absence should have been recorded as Annual Leave.
• An employee returned to work earlier than expected, but their full leave request was already included in a pay run.
• An employee's existing leave balance needs to be corrected.

You can use a $0 ad hoc pay run to manually increase or decrease the employee's leave balance without making an additional payment, provided the adjustment is configured correctly.

Note: If you're migrating from another payroll system and need to enter or adjust an employee's opening leave balances for the first time, see How to transfer employee leave balances from a previous payroll system to Deputy Payroll (AU).

Adjust an existing balance using a $0 ad hoc payrun

Create an ad hoc pay run

1. Go to the Payroll tab.

2. Click Ad Hoc Payrun.

3. Select the appropriate Pay Cycle.

4. Select the relevant team member from the Staff dropdown.

5. Select the appropriate date range from the Run list.

6. Choose the relevant payment date, then click Payrun to create the ad hoc payrun.

Make the leave adjustment

1. Once the ad hoc payrun has been created, open the employee's payslip.

2. Select Add Leave.

3. Choose the leave type you want to adjust, such as Annual Leave,  Personal Leave or TOIL.

The Add Payment screen will appear for you to make the relevant adjustments. Here, you will need to consider the behaviour of the payment you want to correct. Refer to the STP categories and classifications for Deputy Payroll.

Below is an image of the fields you should pay particular attention to:

4. Review the available Payment Type, STP, and other payroll settings to make sure they match your intended outcome. 

You should carefully consider read of the bullet points below and make adjustments as needed:

• Title: This field is automatically set based on the leave type you selected and can't be edited. Check this is correct leave type that needs adjustment. 
• Rate: Complete the Rate field. If there is nothing to pay, you can set the rate to 0 (zero), as this does not affect the leave liability reporting.
• Hours: Enter the number of hours to adjust (for example: 20). 
  • Reminder: A positive number decreases the leave balance, and a negative number increases the leave balance. You can learn more in the How leave adjustments affect the balance section below.
• Multiplier: Check the Multiplier field and adjust if needed.
• Class: Since this is a leave balance adjustment and not an actual leave payment, consider what you are setting as the Class type. In the example above, we selected Bonus, as we have chosen not to accrue leave.
• STP:  Select the relevant STP option. If you do not want to report this ad hoc payrun to the ATO in an STP report, you can select the option to Skip STP reporting.

5. Before you finalise the Ad Hoc Pay Run, review the employee's payslip to confirm the adjustment has produced the expected result. Check that the adjustment only affects the leave balance and does not create any Payments, Tax, Super, or Leave Accrual.

Example: 

Accrual balance before adjustment	Accrual balance after adjustment

6. If you're satisfied with the payslip information, complete the payrun.

How leave adjustments affect the balance

• Positive hours decrease the employee's leave balance.
• Negative hours increase the employee's leave balance.

For example:

• 20 hours reduces the leave balance by 20 hours.
• -20 hours increases the leave balance by 20 hours.
   

FAQs

Do I always need an ad hoc pay run?

No. Use an ad hoc pay run when the correction needs to be processed immediately. Otherwise, you can make the adjustment in the next scheduled pay run.

When should I use a negative number vs a positive number?

Use a negative number to return hours to an employee’s leave balance. For example, entering -8 hours of annual leave adds 8 hours back to their annual leave balance.

Why should I use 'Add Leave' instead of adding another payment?

Using Add Leave allows Deputy Payroll to correctly identify the leave type and updates the employee's leave balance accordingly.

Will this change the employee’s pay?

It can. Make sure to review the pay lines before finalising the payrun, especially where the leave types have different rates or leave loading applies.

What if the employee returned early?

Return the unused leave hours with a negative adjustment. Review whether any pay needs to be corrected for the days the employee worked.

Will updating opening balances change previous payslips?

No. Opening leave balances are applied during the next live pay run and do not modify completed pay runs or historical payslips. 

Which Payment Type or STP option should I select?

The appropriate settings depend on your organisation's payroll requirements and reporting obligations. Review the available options in Deputy Payroll (AU) carefully and choose the settings that are appropriate for your organisation. If you're unsure, consult your payroll adviser before processing the adjustment.

How do I enter opening leave balances when migrating from another payroll system?

If you're migrating employees from another payroll system and haven't entered their opening leave balances, follow this guides instead: How to transfer employee leave balances from a previous payroll system to Deputy Payroll (AU)