New Hire Checklist

To Add a New Employee to the National Finance Center (NFC) Payroll/Personnel System (PPS):

  1. Determine if the employee should be paid in the automated system. Certain employees must be paid manually due to the type of appointment or other conditions such as dual or concurrent appointments or coverage in a unique retirement system. These employees are paid manually every pay period; however, their records exist on the NFC PPS in Information/Research Inquiry System (IRIS) Program 122, SF-50B Data Elements Screen, for reporting purposes. Special Employee Code 35 or 36 on the personnel action identifies manually paid employees and prevents payment in PPS when a time and attendance report (T&A) is inadvertently entered.
  2. Verify the data on the database.
  3. Before processing an action, access the applicable IRIS screens to ensure the action is not currently in PPS.

Note: If a specific field is changing, verify the data in PPS and on the action are the same.

  1. Establish the position, when applicable.
  2. Verify the status of the position in the Position Management System Online (PMSO) and the front-end entry system are the same.
  3. Ensure that new and existing positions are vacant, active, and information is current and consistent in all systems.
  4. Enter the required/optional payroll transactions, as applicable. At a minimum, the following payroll actions are required when hiring a new employee:
  • Residence address. The Wage and Tax Statement (W-2), Earnings and Leave Statement, and Personal Benefits Statement are mailed to the residence address when hard copies are generated.
  • Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer. Used for electronic salary deposits to an employee’s checking or savings account.
  • Federal/local tax. The system withholds the maximum amount when Federal and State withholding information is missing. Local taxes are based on the duty station when the duty station taxing entity is not waived.
  • Health Insurance/Life Insurance/Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). The personnel action establishes entitlements and eligibility for benefits. Employees are automatically enrolled in TSP and Federal Employees Government Life Insurance (FEGLI); however, the employee must complete the TSP and FEGLI forms and submit them to the Personnel Office Identifier (POI) for processing. The enrollments are modified based on employee elections. Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) and non-Federal life insurance documents must be completed by the employee and submitted to the POI for processing to begin FEHB premium withholdings, start TSP contributions, or waive coverage of non-Federal health and life insurance.
  • Charitable contributions. Voluntary charitable contributions are made through payroll deductions to the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) organizations by processing a CFC document. The Human Resources unit for the hiring Agency should be able to instruct new employees on how to proceed. Process a voluntary charitable contribution to continue deductions for the uncollected balance of an employee’s pledge through payroll deductions when an employee transfers from one Agency to another. 
  • Union/association membership dues. Union/association dues are collected each pay period through payroll withholdings. The Table Management (TMGT) System Table 010, Union and Association Code Address, lists the valid unions/associations in the PPS. If the organization is not listed in TMGT, refer to the TMGT procedure for instructions. The position record must include the bargaining unit status as this establishes eligibility for union withholding.
  • Transfer leave balances. Annual and sick leave accruals are based on employee eligibility and information entered in the leave related fields on the accession personnel action. Leave balances from prior service are transferred on the SF 1150, Leave Data Transfer, to prevent leave discrepancies.
  • Debt collection. For court-ordered child support and alimony payments, enter the child support and alimony document. Any outstanding debts collected through salary offset from the previous employer continue without interruption when a request is submitted in Web-based Special Payroll Processing System (SPPS Web).
  1. Enter applicable payroll documents when an employee separates and is rehired by different Agencies serviced by NFC (e.g., transfer from Department of Agriculture to Department of Justice). Other payroll-related transactions (e.g., education and professional certification, alimony deductions) may be processed, as needed.
  2. Enter year-to-date (YTD) totals. Use Document Type 030, Master File Change, to enter YTD cumulative totals, counters, and certain processing indicators in PPS for new employees who were previously paid by another payroll system to ensure balances, tax calculations, etc., are current and accurate.
  3. Verify the data processed and applied.
  4. Access the applicable IRIS screens, PMSO, EmpowHR and Agency front-end systems to ensure the personnel and payroll documents processed and applied correctly.
  5. Verify the employee/position data is consistent across the PPS and any front-end data entry system.
  6. Ensure time and attendance is reported timely. The timekeeper should transmit the T&A data for the effective pay period in the same pay period as the accession. The effective dates for both the T&A report and the accession must be the same to prevent rejection of the T&A.