How do I end a primary job retroactively when Switch Primary Job is blocked on the date I need?
For employees with multiple jobs, payroll needs to identify which job is primary for accurate payroll calculations. When payroll runs for a given pay period (monthly or semi-monthly), the primary job is locked in for that period and cannot be changed. Attempting a Switch Primary Job with an effective date within a locked pay period will generate this error message.
“Effective date of the primary job switch is prior to worker's last completed pay calculation result. The earliest possible date is [DATE].”
Ending that job with the correct effective date will not be possible. The best workaround is to simulate the job as being ended by “zeroing out” the job during the blocked period. This is done by reducing the scheduled weekly hours to zero. The zero hours reflects that the employee did not work during that period. Follow these steps:
- The Switch Primary Job should be completed, with the earliest possible date the system will allow (refer to the Workday error message).
- Process a Change Job, on the job to be ended, with an effective date one day after their last date of work:
- Decrease Schedule Weekly Hours to 0 (zero)
- Update the Employee Type to be Non Benefits Eligible
- Once the Change Job is completed, process an End Job transaction with the effective date the day before the Switch Primary Job effective date.
Example:
Today is 5/3. You realize that this worker’s primary job should have ended 3/31. Monthly payroll has completed for April. What can you do?
Worker has two jobs
- Primary Job (Job A) dates 1/1 – 3/31
- Additional Job (Job B) dates 4/1—5/31
Step 1: Processes a Switch Primary Job with effective date 5/1 to make Job B primary
Step 2: Process a Change Job on Job A with effective date of 4/1 to change SWH to 0, employee type non benefits eligible, EED 4/30, etc.
Step 3: Process the End Job with effective date 4/30 (one day before the Switch Primary Job effective date)
- Last Day Worked = 3/31 (actual last date of work)
- Pay Through Date = 4/30 (allow the default date to remain)
- Notify By = 4/30 (allow the default date to remain)
If you are unsure this is the correct solution or if you need help completing these steps,
contact askUS.