SAP SF Employee Central key terms

A shared, usually effective-dated data object that describes the organization rather than a single person, such as Legal Entity, Business Unit, Division, Department, Location, Job Code or Cost Center. Employee records point to foundation objects to obtain their organizational structure.

A customer-defined object created in the Metadata Framework for a business need that standard objects do not cover, such as a certification type or equipment record. Generic objects behave like foundation objects and can be associated with employee data.

The configuration layer that defines objects, fields, data types, associations and validations in Employee Central. Foundation objects, generic objects and MDF-based employee data all run on this framework, which administrators extend through configuration rather than code.

An administrator tool where object definitions are created and changed: fields, data types, labels, associations, visibility and required flags. It is the usual starting point before any generic object can hold data or any foundation object can be extended.

A field type that links one object definition to another, for example tying a Department to its parent Division or a Job Classification to a Pay Grade. Associations drive the picklists users see on employee records.

A record design where each row stores a start date and an optional end date, so earlier values remain as history and future-dated changes apply automatically on their date. Job, compensation and organizational data in Employee Central rely on it.

An administrator tool for creating and editing foundation and generic object records one at a time, including future-dated values. It is the manual counterpart to a bulk CSV import of object data.

The portlet holding an employee's assignment details: position, job classification, department, location, manager, pay grade, employment type and FTE. Each change creates a new effective-dated record, preserving the prior values as history.

A specific slot in the organizational structure that can be filled by an employee. When position management is active, headcount, incumbent and vacant status live on the position, and Job Information references it.

A foundation object describing the type of work performed, such as Senior Accountant or Warehouse Operator. It is referenced from Job Information and often carries default attributes like pay grade or working hours.

A foundation object defining a salary band with minimum, midpoint and maximum values that applies to a job or an employee. It supports compensation planning and can validate proposed salaries against the band.

A code explaining why an employee data change happened, such as Hire, Promotion, Transfer or Termination. Event reasons frequently determine which workflow is triggered and which notifications are sent.

The portlet storing employment-level facts such as original start date, seniority date, probation end date and employment type. It complements Job Information, which holds the assignment rather than the employment relationship.

The portlet where pay components such as base salary, allowances and recurring bonuses are assigned to an employee with effective dates, amounts, currency and frequency. It supplies payroll and compensation planning with the employee's pay data.

A configured element of pay, such as base salary, car allowance or annual bonus, that can be assigned to employees and mapped to payroll. Pay components define calculation behaviour, frequency and whether amounts are recurring.

A number expressing working time as a proportion of a full-time schedule, for example 0.5 for half-time employment. It drives proration of salary, leave accrual and benefits eligibility.

The Employee Central module for recording absences, attendance and balances. It uses time types, time accounts and accrual rules to capture requests, calculate entitlements and route them for approval.

A configuration object describing a category of absence or attendance, such as annual leave or sick leave. It sets whether the time is counted in days or hours, who approves it, and which rules apply.

A template defining how time accounts behave: how entitlement accrues, when balances expire, how bookings are validated and whether leftover balance is paid out. Individual employee accounts are generated from it.

An employee-specific balance record created from a time account type, holding accrued, used and available entitlement, for example 120 hours of annual leave. Bookings and accrual postings update the balance over time.

Configuration determining how much entitlement an employee earns and when, for example 1.75 days per month, optionally scaled by service length, age or FTE. Accruals post to time accounts on a defined schedule.

A definition of which days and how many hours an employee is expected to work, such as Monday to Friday, eight hours per day. It supports time valuation, accrual proration and holiday handling.

A list of public holidays assigned to a location or group of employees. It stops holidays from being counted as absence and can add paid hours during time valuation.

Rules that convert recorded time into payable or balance-relevant results, for example paying overtime at a premium or excluding unpaid breaks. Valuation runs when time is recorded or through a scheduled job.

A configuration object that evaluates conditions and then performs actions such as raising an error, setting a field value, or starting a workflow. Rules are attached to defined scenarios and require no custom code.

The context or event in which a business rule executes, such as on save of Job Information, during hire, or in a time account accrual run. The scenario determines which objects and fields the rule can read or change.

A configurable approval process that routes an employee data change to one or more approvers before it is saved. Workflows can be triggered by event reasons or rule conditions and can use dynamic approvers such as the manager.

The security model granting access through permission roles attached to permission groups. It controls which objects, fields and actions a user can access, and which population of employees those permissions apply to.

A bundle combining a permission role, a target population and optional restrictions, assigned to one or more users. It determines both what a user may do and whose records they may act upon.

A defined set of employees, based on filters, organizational units or hierarchy relationships, that a permission group applies to. It ensures, for example, that a manager only sees and edits their own team.

A grouping of employees who are processed together in the same payroll run, typically reflecting a shared pay date, period and frequency. Payroll areas drive which employees a given run selects.

The recurring frequency and calendar on which payroll is processed, such as monthly or weekly, including period start and end dates and the pay date. Payroll areas are tied to a payroll cycle.

The SAP-hosted payroll engine that receives employee and pay data replicated from Employee Central and executes payroll calculations. It consumes pay components, payroll areas and cycles defined in the core system.

A tool for building inbound and outbound integrations without code, using scheduled or triggered jobs that read and write objects and employee data in CSV, OData or SOAP formats. Often used for data loads and third-party feeds.

A REST-based interface that exposes Employee Central objects and employee data for external systems to query and update. It supports filtering, paging and metadata queries and is commonly used by integrations and reporting tools.

The scheduled or triggered transfer of employee master and pay data from Employee Central to the payroll system so both stay aligned. It monitors replication status and highlights records that failed to transfer.

The area where users build and run self-service reports such as table, canvas and list-view reports over Employee Central data. Reports can be shared, scheduled and restricted through role-based permissions.