Oracle Payroll Interview Questions & Answers

Question 1. Can You Call Pl/sql Package Functions From Within A Fast Formula?

Answer :

Yes, It is done through Define Function screen in HR. In this screen we can register the pl/sql as “External Function” and reference it in Fast formula definition

Question 2. If We Want To Pass A Parameter Payroll Id To This External Pl/sql Function, How Can We Do It?

Answer :

The “Define Function” screen has a button named “Context Usage”. It contains all those context variables that are available for that formula type; you can refer these variables in pl/sql package function as a parameter

All context variables registered in function need to be in the same order as are defined in pl/sql package function. While calling this function in fast formula, we don’t pass context parameters

Question 3. How Can We Debug A Fast Formula?

Answer :

You can create a message variable in Fast Formula. This message variable must also be registered as a Formula Result ( In “Formula Result Rule” window)

Question 4. What Are The Various Levels Where You Can Set Up Payroll Costing Accounts?

Answer :

• Element Entry: Highest
• Assignment: Second Highest
• Organization: Third Highest
• Element Link: Fourth Highest
• Payroll: Fifth Highest

Question 5. Can We Make Employee Number Generation Automated Based On Business Rule?

Answer :

There is a Fast Formula where we can configure the logic to generate the employee number

Question 6. If Personalization Is At Both Function Level And Responsibility Level, Which Personalization Has Higher Precedence?

Answer :

Responsibility level will override function level personalizations

Question 7. Can We Delete A Created Employee?

Answer :

To delete all records of a person:

• Query the person in the Delete Person window and choose the Delete Person button.
• If there is a contact for the person you are deleting, there are two possibilities:
• If the only information held about the contact is the basic person details entered in the Contacts window, then the record of the contact is deleted
• If there is other information held about the contact (for example, assignment or applicant information), the contact is not deleted. However, the record of their relationship to the person you are removing from the system is deleted

Question 8. How To Rehire A Terminated Employee After A Certain Time Period?

Answer :

Set your effective date to the new hire date and query the ex-employee in the People window. In the Type field, select Employee. The Hire Date field displays your effective date. Save your work

Question 9. What Is Date Track Concept In Oracle Hrms?

Answer :

Oracle HRMS has a date track feature which enables to maintain past, present and future state of data. It enables to maintain the record history by creating a new record when the date track mode is UPDATE and override on the existing record when the Data track mode is CORRECTION

All date tracked tables end with _F. In data tracked tables, Oracle identifies the validity of record with ‘effective date’ columns (effective_start_date and effective_end_date)

Question 10. What Are Date Track Modes Available In Oracle Hrms?

Answer :

To maintain employee data effectively Oracle HCM is using a mechanism called date tracking. The main motive behind the date track mode is to maintain past, present and future data effectively.

Update Date Track Modes:

The various update date track modes are:

CORRECTION: Over writes the data. No history will maintain.

UPDATE: Keeps the history and new change will affect as of effective date

UPDATE_CHANGE_INSERT: Inserts the record and preserves the future

UPDATE_OVERRIDE: Inserts the record and overrides the future

Delete Date Track Modes:

The various delete date track modes are:

PURGE: wipes all records

DELETE: Deletes current record

FUTURE_CHANGE: Deletes current and future changes.

DELETE_NEXT_CHANGE: Deletes next change

Options appearing on Application Level:

When you actually execute a scenario and try to delete a record, following options appear on screen

• End Date
• Remove Next Change
• Remove All Schedules Changes
• Purge

Question 11. What Is A Payroll Element?

Answer :

Elements are components of salary e.g. basic salary, housing allowance, loan to deduct, provident fund etc. There are different types of elements like earning, deduction, information etc. In Payroll, elements are processed to prepare an employee’s payroll amount

Question 12. How Can We Add A New Input Value To An Existing Element?

Answer :

We can add an additional input values to an existing Element if the element has not been processed in a Payroll run and the Effective data is the same date of creation of the Element

Question 13. What Are Termination Rules Of An Element?

Answer :

Termination Rules of an Element:

Actual Termination:  For a non recurring element, select Actual Termination if you want the entries to close down at the end of the pay period in which the employee leaves

Final Close: if you want the entries to stay open beyond the employee’s leaving date so that you can continue to pay the employee

The Last Standard Process date defaults to the last day of the pay period in which the employee is terminated, but you can set it to a later period when you terminate an employee

Question 14. What Is The Difference Between A Job And A Position?

Answer :

Job is a general role whereas position is specific responsibility of that role. For example, there could be several people in our company working on the job of manager but every manager would have unique position and role to perform. Persons with job Manager will be working on different positions like accounts manager, finance manager, audit manager etc.

Question 15. What Are Important Key Flex-fields (kffs) In Oracle Hrms?

Answer :

• Job
• Grade
• Position
• People Group
• Cost Allocation
• Competence

Question 16. Can A Job Have Multiple Positions?

Answer :

Yes a job can have multiple positions. For example, there could be several people in our company working on the job of manager but every manager would have unique position and role to perform

Question 17. What Is Costing?

Answer :

Costing is a way to calculate how much we are incurring for an employee with respect to any project/ organization or department. There are five different levels where we can configure costing in oracle HRMS. Using Oracle Payroll, we can calculate and transfer costing information to general ledger and into systems for project management or labour distribution

Question 18. What Is The Difference Between Extra Information Type (eit) And Special Information Type (sit)?

Answer :

EIT and SIT Both are provided by Oracle to Capture Extra Information.

Following are the main differences:

EIT is based on DFF whereas SIT is based on KFF of Person Analysis

EIT is stored in PER_EXTRA_INFO tables where as SIT is store in PER_PERSON_ANALYSES and PER_ANALYSIS_CRITERIA tables

SIT is date tracked where EIT not date tracked

SIT is stored at Person Level through ‘Special Information’ button on main employee screen named ‘Enter and Maintain’. Whereas EIT can be defined at PERSON, ASSIGNMENT, CONTACT, ELEMENT, LOCATION and JOB LEVEL

Question 19. What Are Different Validation Types While Creating The Value Set?

Answer :

• Dependent
• Independent
• None
• Pair
• Special
• Table

Question 20. What Are The Various Payroll Costing Types?

Answer :

• Fixed Costed
• Costed
• Distributed

Question 21. What Is Soft Coded Key Flexfield?

Answer :

This key flexfield holds legislation-specific information. The legislation of your Business Group determines the flexfield structure that you see. Each localization team defines a flexfield structure and uses qualifiers to define the level at which each segment is visible. Therefore,

you may be able to enter information specific to your legislation at one or more of the following level: 

• Business Group – Organization window
• Payroll – Payroll window
• Employee Assignment – Assignment window

Question 22. What Are Protected Key Fields And Does Oracle Hrms Contains Any Such Key Flexfield?

Answer :

Protected flexfield are those flexfield which are configured or need to be configured as per legislation.

Oracle HRMS supplies two key flexfields and six descriptive flexfields that are predefined and protected. Your localization team defines these flexfields to meet the specific legislative and reporting needs of your country. The protected key flexfields are the Soft Coded Legislation key flexfield and the Bank Details key flexfield. Your localization team determines which of these flexfields are required for your legislation, and what segments they should contain. Ensure that you select the appropriate legislation code when you define your Business Group so that you can see these flexfields.

Question 23. How Many Types Of Fast Formulas Are There In Hrms?

Answer :

There is long list of fast formula types available, but their usage depends on relevant module. e.g. 

• Oracle Payroll is used for payroll calculation,
• Element Skip for skipping the element based on some criteria,
• Appraisal line scoring for calculation Appraisal line score for each competency,
• User Table Validation for validation of table values while entered.

Question 24. What Is Retro Pay In Oracle Payroll? How Many Types Of Retro Pays Are Available?

Answer :

RetroPay is a payment made for an event of past. Retro Pay stands for some old Payment due for the employee. This is used for Back Dated Salary Increments. There are four ways.

• RetroPay by Run
• RetroPay by Aggregate
• RetroPay by Element
• Enhanced RetroPay

Question 25. What Are The Key Flexfields Present In Oracle Hrms?

Answer :

• Job
• Position
• Grade
• People Group
• Cost Allocation
• Competence
• Bank Details
• Soft Coded
• Personal Analysis criteria
• Collective Agreement

Question 26. What Is Difference Between Flexfield Qualifier And Segment Qualifier?

Answer :

Flexfield qualifies identifies the segment of a key flexfield (like any segment in accounting key flexfield can be natural account) whereas segment qualifier identifies the values for a segment (like posting allowed, budgeted allowed is segment qualifier for a segment in accounting flexfield).

Question 27. Can A Person Have Multiple Secondary Assignments?

Answer :

At one time, only one assignment can be a primary assignment all other assignments will be secondary assignments

Question 28. What Is The Process To Reverse A Termination Of Employee?

Answer :

You reverse a termination in order to make an employee active again.

Navigation: HR Responsibility >> Enter & Maintain >> Others >> End Employment

Search for the separated employee record  and click on ‘Reverse Termination’ button to undo the termination of an employee. As a result the person will become active employee again.

Question 29. What Is The Process To Rehire An Ex-employee?

Answer :

In order to rehire, you don’t need to reverse the termination, you will go to date at which you need to rehire an ex-employee. Find the person in Enter & Maintain screen and from ‘Action Type’ drop down on upper right corner of page, selection the ‘Employee’ option and click save, it will make the employee active again.

Question 30. What Is The Difference Between Re-hire And Reverse-termination?

Answer :

In case of reverse termination, there is no gap between employee’s service history whereas when we re-hire, it does not cancels the termination record so we can get the service gap in employee’s employment history.

Assignment Number and Employee Number are always same for an employee who joined first time e.g. For an employee number 1234, assignment number will be same as 1234. But when you rehire a person, Oracle adds a number in its assignment number e.g. For an ex-employee 1234, assignment number after rehire will become 1234-2.

Question 31. How We Can Create Employee Number In Any Specific Format?

Answer :

Through fast formula we can do. When we create business group, we configure the employee number generation method. Normally it is kept as automatic but if we want, we can select the Manual method and can write code in fast formula of the type ‘Person Number Generation’.

Question 32. What Are Different Ways Of Correction Of Mistakes In Payroll Run?

Answer :

• Rollback
• Retry
• Reversal

Question 33. What Are The Different Element Termination Rules In Payroll?

Answer :

Actual Termination: For a nonrecurring element, select Actual Termination if you want the entries to close down at the end of the pay period in which the employee leaves

Final Close: if you want the entries to stay open beyond the employee’s leaving date so that you can continue to pay the employee

The Last Standard Process date: defaults to the last day of the pay period in which the employee is terminated, but you can set it to a later period when you terminate an employee