Processing Details, Temporary Promotions, or Other Changes to Position Data

This processing tip is to remind Agencies of the National Finance Center (NFC) Payroll/Personnel System (PPS) processes used when:

Employees are on a detail.
Employees move from one temporary promotion to another temporary promotion.
Establishing effective dates for multiple position changes.
Changes to personnel office identifiers (POI) are required (e.g., when Position Management System Online (PMSO) key fields change).
Agencies plan mass changes to data in any PMSO fields.

Due to NFC PPS system requirements, all employees on details or temporary promotions must be returned to their encumbered (home) positions prior to processing any subsequent position changes. NFC recognizes that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has regulations that may allow Agencies to process actions differently than the instructions included in this processing tip; however, there are no OPM restrictions that prevent Agencies from following the NFC processing guidance outlined below.

To ensure the employee's personnel and position data, the detail and temporary promotion counters, and reporting to OPM are correct, Agencies must adhere to NFC guidance. Failure to process actions according to NFC guidance may result in PPS being unable to correctly process subsequent personnel actions or payroll documents, including Time and Attendance (T&A) records.

Details

A detail is a temporary assignment to a different position for a specified period when the employee is expected to return to regular duties at the end of the assignment. Employees may be detailed to classified or non-classified duties/positions.

After a personnel action that moves the employee to a detail position is processed and applied in the NFC PPS, verify that the data in Information/Research Inquiry System (IRIS) Program IR127, Detail Assign/Temporary Promotion, reflects the correct Department Code (Dept Code), Agency, POI, Master Record Number (MR No), Individual Position Number (IP No), Pay Plan, Grade, and Not-To-Exceed (NTE) Date and is displayed for both the encumbered and temporary positions. If the data is incorrect:

Roll back the action and determine the reason for the mismatch in data.
Process actions to correct the erroneous data.
Reprocess the detail.

All employees on details must be returned to their encumbered positions prior to processing any other position changes (e.g., promotions, temporary promotions, reassignments, etc.). After a personnel action ending the detail is processed and applied in the NFC PPS, verify that the detail data in IRIS Program IR127 is removed. If the data is incorrect:

Roll back the action and determine the reason for the mismatch in data.
Process actions to correct the erroneous data.
Reprocess the termination of the detail.

Note: A personnel action placing an employee on a detail, extending a detail, or terminating a detail cannot be canceled or corrected beginning the pay period after the action applies. A personnel action to end a detail cannot be inserted into an employee’s history, so it is imperative that Agencies track details and process the appropriate action to end the detail on a timely basis.

Temporary Promotions

Promotion NTE is a promotion made on a temporary basis. At the end of the temporary promotion, a change to lower grade action is processed to return the employee to a lower grade.

Per the OPM Guide to Processing Personnel Actions, Chapter 14, (Promotions; Changes to Lower Grade, Level, or Band; Reassignments; Position Changes; and Details), unless Agency instructions require that an employee who is on a temporary promotion be returned to the former position prior to receiving a permanent promotion, there is no requirement to do so.

However, due to NFC system requirements, the NFC PPS history correction process requires both Nature of Action Codes (NOAC) 703, Promotion NTE, and NOAC 713, Change to Lower Grade, to determine the encumbered and temporary positions of the employee. Therefore, all Agencies using NFC PPS should include instructions requiring that the employee be returned to the obligated position prior to receiving a permanent promotion or processing any other position change, such as a reassignment.

After a personnel action moving the employee to a position on a temporary promotion is processed, verify that IRIS Program IR127 reflects the correct Dept Code, Agency, POI, MR No, IP No, Pay Plan, Grade, and NTE Date listed on this screen for both the encumbered and temporary positions. If the data is incorrect:

Roll back the action and determine the reason for the mismatch in data.
Process actions to correct the erroneous data.
Reprocess the temporary promotion.

After a personnel action is processed that returns the employee to the encumbered position, verify the data in IRIS Program IR127 reflects the removal of the temporary promotion. If the data is incorrect:

Roll back the action and determine the reason for the mismatch in data.
Process actions to correct the erroneous data.
Reprocess the change to lower grade.

Results of Detail or Temporary Promotion Processing

The encumbered Social Security number (SSN) is system-generated in PMSO using the employee's SSN when a personnel action is processed to temporarily promote the employee from the position or to detail the employee to the position.
IRIS Program IR127 displays data for the employee's current position and detail position or temporary promotion position. The Dept Code, Agency, POI, MR No, IP No, Pay Plan, Grade, and NTE Date, are listed for both the encumbered and temporary positions.

Establishing Effective Dates

Following are the rules for processing actions and setting effective dates:

For an employee on a temporary promotion:

Process a change to lower grade action with an effective date that returns the employee to the encumbered position prior to processing any separation action.
Process a change to lower grade action with an effective date that returns the employee to the encumbered position prior to processing any position change action that moves the employee to a different position. For example, an employee on a temporary promotion is going to be reassigned; process the change to lower grade effective the day prior to the effective date of the reassignment.
Process a change to lower grade action with an effective date that returns the employee who receives a permanent promotion to the encumbered position prior to processing the promotion action. For example, an employee on a temporary promotion is going to be promoted to the position permanently; process the change to lower grade action effective the day prior to the effective date of the permanent promotion.

Note: Depending on the employee’s work schedule, processing a change to lower grade action may result in the employee receiving pay at the lower grade for the last day of the temporary promotion. Agencies should submit an SPPS Web request for any missed pay.

For an employee on a detail:

Process a termination of detail action with an effective date that returns the employee to the encumbered position prior to processing any separation action.
Process a termination of detail action with an effective date that returns the employee to the encumbered position prior to processing any position change action that moves the employee to a different position.

Changing PMSO Key Fields

The key fields at the top of each PMSO screen are used to identify a unique Master Record or Individual Position within the PMSO database. Each Master Record screen contains the first five key fields listed below, while each Position Data Record contains all six of the key fields.

Department Code (Dept-Cd)
Agency/Bureau Code (Agcy-Bur-Cd)
Personnel Office Identifier (SON)
Master Record Number (MR-No)
Grade
Individual Position Number (IP-No)

When a PMSO key field is changed in either the Master Record or Position Data Record, a new Master Record or Individual Position is created in PMSO.

When a new Master Record is created, there are no Individual Positions attached to it.
When a new Individual Position is created, the position is vacant; neither the obligated nor the encumbered employee is moved from the current position when the key field is changed.
A personnel action, such as a reassignment, must be processed to move the employee into the new position.
- Processing NOAC 790, Realignment, is not appropriate as the employee did not move from the home position and the employee’s position did not move.
- Processing NOAC 800, Change in Data Element, is not appropriate to document a change in POI as the POI did not change on the employee’s encumbered or temporary position.

Mass Changes to Data in PMSO Fields

To avoid issues with the employee's personnel and position data, the detail and temporary promotion counters, and reporting to OPM, Agencies must notify their Client Management Branch representative of anticipated mass changes to PMSO data prior to making the changes. Agencies must include in the notification:

Description of the change.
Effective date.
Number of Master Records and/or Individual Positions affected.
Method for making the change with expected end results.