Setting Up Attendance and Absence Types

The Time Manager’s Workplace (TMW) was developed specifically for decentralized time administrators. TMW provides a user interface to optimize the recording and maintaining of time data for these administrators. Time data is entered using intuitive time data IDs, and is stored in the applicable time infotypes.

To ensure efficient recording of various working time deviations, you must check the corresponding settings in Customizing and modify them, if necessary. You can set up deviations in time recording by completing the Customizing steps under Time Data Recording and Administration. In Customizing choose Time Management → Time Data Recording and Administration .

An employee is considered absent if the employee does not work the scheduled working hours stipulated in their personal work schedule. Absences include, for example, leave or illness, and can be classified as paid or unpaid. The Absences infotype (2001) is used to enter the times during which an employee is absent from work. Absences are further defined by an absence type, which is a subtype of the Absences infotype (2001).

The absence types depend on the personnel subarea grouping for attendances and absences. If you want to assign the same attendance and absence types to two or more personnel subareas, assign the same grouping to those personnel subareas. Multiple groupings are required if you use different attendance and absence types for each personnel subarea.

An absence catalog, with samples of absence types that you can copy and modify, is included in Customizing. To set up absence types, you need to complete the Customizing steps under Time Management → Time Data Recording and Administration → Absences .

Because the individual absence types contain different types of information, the SAP system uses a separate entry screen to record each absence in the Absences infotype (2001).

You can determine which input checks the system performs when an absence is recorded.   For example, you can set up the system to warn the user if an absence entry is recorded for a scheduled day off. You can limit the absence to a specific number of days or only part of a day Each absence is assigned a time constraint class, which is referenced during the collision check for existing time types. The absences are counted using counting rules and are valuated in Payroll or Time Evaluation.

Because the individual absence types contain different types of information, the system uses a separate entry screen to record each absence in the Absencesinfotype (2001). 

Attendances describe the employee’s work schedule or provide additional information on the employee’s time. Attendances are recorded in the Attendances infotype (2002) and are defined further by an attendance type (subtype). Using this infotype, you can store, for example, an employee’s working hours, attendance at training courses, overtime, and business trips. If you record attendances in detail, you can assign the hours worked by a particular employee to specific orders or to a cost center, including one that differs from the master cost center assigned to the employee.

If you do not use time-recording systems, you can use the Attendances infotype (2002) to record actual hours worked by an employee.

Attendances are set up in Customizing in the same way as absences. SAP delivers samples of attendance types that you can use as delivered, or copy and modify to meet your business requirements.

You set up attendance types in Customizing for Time Management under Time Data Recording and Administration → Attendances .

To set up absence quotas in Customizing, choose Time Management → Time Data Recording and Administration → Managing Time Accounts Using Attendance/Absence Quotas → Time Quota Types → Define Absence Quota Types .

To set up attendance quotas in Customizing, choose Time Management → Time Data Recording and Administration → Managing Time Accounts Using Attendance/Absence Quotas → Time Quota Types → Define Attendance Quota Types .

Attendances and absences can be deducted from quotas, but do not have to be. If attendances and absences are deducted from quotas, you must specify from which quotas the deductions must be made. If there are multiple quotas available, you must specify the order in which the quotas should be reduced.

You can manage your employee’s leave entitlements using the Leave Entitlement infotype (0005) or the Absence Quotas infotype (2006).

The Absence Quotas infotype (2006) offers more functions and flexibility for accruing, managing, and deducting from leave entitlements compared to the Leave Entitlement infotype (0005).

If you are using the Leave Entitlement infotype (0005) and would like to start using the Absence Quotas infotype (2006), you can convert existing entitlements. To simplify the conversion to quotas, you can use the RPTLEACONV report, which enables you to transfer your employees’ remaining leave from the Leave Entitlement infotype (0005) to the Absence Quotas infotype (2006).

To do so, in table T559J (Convert Leave Types to Quota Types), enter the leave types you want to transfer and the absence quota types they are to be transferred to. When setting up this transfer, consider the applicable employee subgroup groupings and personnel subarea groupings.

You maintain table T559J through the V_T559J view.

We recommend the use of absence quotas to manage employees’ leave entitlements. The Leave Entitlement infotype (0005) is available, but  will not be developed further. For more information, refer to SAP Notes 366686, 312911, and 381856.