Maintain Parameter Sets {MSBOP-21}

A “Parameter Set” is used to instruct the Budget Calculation Program {MSBOP-2} regarding anticipated general increases, how to handle different categories of posts and various personnel situations, and which earnings/deductions to include in the budget (based on the STATS Table 4.07 Row Codes).

The creation of several different parameter sets allows the user to perform “What-if” analysis for a particular budget.

This program allows the user to create and update Parameter Sets

The following definitions are important when this option is used:

Active Post

A Post {PACS-4} for which at least one Service Record {PBOP-2} exists during (a portion of) the budget year.
Note that an Active Post could be unfilled once or more during a year.

Vacant Post

A Post {PACS-4} for which no Service Records {PBOP-2} exist during the budget year.

Discontinued Post

A Post {PACS-4} with an Expiry Date during the budget year.
Note that the Budget Calculation {MSBOP-2} will process Service Records {PBOP-2} which, extend beyond such an Expiry Date, as the Full Salary Calculation {FPRN-2} and the Single Salary Calculation {FPRN-3} do not check whether a post has expired. It will, in fact, pay a person who is appointed to such a post if he/she remains in service beyond the expiry date.

Proposed Post

A Post {PACS-4} that has not yet been approved by council; its “Post Status” indicator will be set to “P”.
Note that no Service Records {MSBOP-2} may exist for a proposed post, and that the system will in fact ignore any such service records.

Claims Post

A a post that is filled only by a person or persons with an Appointment Type {PACS-1} of which the “Paid by” indicator is “(C)laim”.
Such a post will, by definition, be linked to a zero default salary scale, and such people will have zero notches. These posts have to be handled in a special way (Refer to Calculate Budget Values {MSBOP-2}).

General Information

Parameter sets cannot be deleted here via the <DELETE RECORD> command. The program Delete Parameter Sets {MSBMT-1} has been provided for that purpose.

Fields in the option:

Block 1: Parameters For Posts And Personnel

On page 1 of this Block, the Parameters for Posts are set as follows:

Field	Type & Length	Description
Parameter Set	A4	A unique four-character code must be provided to identify this parameter set, e.g. K192.
Description	A30	A description must be entered, thirty characters maximum.
Date of Calculation	DD-MON-YYYY	The date of the most recent budget calculation for this parameter set for a particular year is displayed here.
Percentage of General Increase (on Basic) Foreseen	N3.2	Should a general increase in basic salaries be foreseen during the budget year, such a percentage can be specified here to two decimal places, e.g. 15, 7.5, etc. The increase will be applied to the Salary Notch used for each personnel member (Or post in the case of a vacant post) If no general increase is to be budgeted for, this field is left blank. In the case of a re-calculation of the Budget for this Parameter Set, this increase may also be applied to existing Budget Records - refer to the explanation of the field "% INCREASE OF P-TRN" in the "Parameters for STATS 4.07 Row" Tab below.
Fixed Amount of General Increase (on Basic) Foreseen	N6	Should a general increase in the form of a fixed amount be foreseen during the budget year, such a fixed amount can be specified here. The fixed amount is an annual figure, which is added to the calculated notch. If no fixed amount increase is to be budgeted for, this field is left blank. NOTE: If this field as well as the previous field are both entered, the percentage increase is calculated first after which the fixed amount is added.
From which Cycle is Increase Active	YYYYMM	This field should be entered if the field "Percentage of General Increase (on Basic) Foreseen" is entered, otherwise it should be left blank.
Should Posts with Expiry Dates be Calculated for Whole Year or Portion	A1	(P)ortion or (Y)early If the answer is (P)ortion, the months beyond the Expiry Date will be ignored for budgetary purposes. If the answer is (Y)es, the system will treat a Discontinued Active post as Vacant for the balance of the budgeting period, applying the value in the Percentage field below. Discontinued Inactive and Proposed posts will be treated as per the fields below. The system default is (P)ortion.
Active Posts	A1	(Y)es or (N)o Should the budget calculation include Active Posts. The system default is (Y)es.
Percentage	N3.2	If the answer to the previous field is (Y)es, this field will determine how the Calculate Budget Values program will handle Active Posts that are unfilled during a portion of the Budgeting Period: The Calculation of Budget Values will derive the Salary Notch (for the unfilled period) from the Salary Scales {FPRG-2} linked to the default Rank {PACS-2} that is indicated on the Post {PACS-4}. For a percentage less than 100%, the system will calculate the range between the top and bottom notches of the default scale(s) of the post, multiply this range with the given percentage, and add the result to the bottom notch. E.g. if the scale(s) attached to a post run(s) from R 200,000 to R 360,000 and the percentage is specified as “50”, The system will calculate 50% of (360,000-200,000), the result is 80,000 Add 80,000 to 200,000 which gives 280,000. The system will then search for a notch of 280,000; if no such notch is found, it will select the next higher notch as the budget notch. For a percentage bigger than 100%, thus going beyond the maximum of the scale, the system will multiply the top of the scale with the given percentage and use this result as the budget notch. E.g. if 120% was specified for the above post, the budget notch would be 120% of R 360,000 resulting in R 432,000. A base-level budget is performed by specifying the percentage as “0”. E.g if 0% was specified for the above post, the budget notch would be the bottom notch which is R 200,000 Provision can be made for fringe benefits by adapting the percentage. A zero budget is performed by leaving this field blank, i.e. specifying a “null” percentage. In this case the unfilled period will not be budgeted for.
Vacant	(Yes/No)	(Y)es or (N)o Should the budget calculation include Vacant Posts. The system default is (N)o.
Percentage	N3.2	If the answer to the previous field is (Y)es, this field should be completed, rules are similar to the Percentage field above.
From Cycle	YYYYMM	If the answer to the "Vacant" field is (Y)es, this field should be completed. The cycle from which budgeting should be performed for vacant posts. Months prior to this cycle will be ignored for budgetary purposes.
Using Personnel Number	N9	If company contributions are to be taken into account for vacant posts, a personnel number may to be entered in this field. The budgeting process will use this personnel number, checking for membership of funds when performing salary calculations. The personnel number does not have to be included as part of the parameter set, but the person should be in service for the full budgeting period. If no personnel number is specified the budget amount will be obtained as usual using the default scale of the rank associated with the post. When a personnel number is specified, the sequence of events is as follows: The calculation program verifies that the person specified is in service during the budget period. If the person specified is not in service during the budget period, the budget calculation will fail. The notch is obtained using the rank associated with the post. The percentage specified for vacant posts is applied to the notch only. Budgeting is done using the personnel number specified and the notch obtained in above. Only global records {FPRG-7} are read using the appointment code for the personnel number specified. No increases will occur during the budgeting process. The budgeted amounts will be recorded against a 0 (zero) personnel number but will be flagged with a V (Vacant) indicator in the include/exclude column, {MSBOP-1}. This method of calculating budgets is not recommended when a full calculation of all posts is to be done. Membership of funds and global records may vary for different appointment types, leading to inaccurate budget calculations, e.g. where the personnel number specified belongs to an appointment code for permanent personnel and vacant posts are calculated for contract appointment codes.
Proposed	A1	(Y)es or (N)o Should the budget calculation include Proposed Posts. The system default is (N)o.
Percentage	N3.2	If the answer to the previous field is (Y)es, this field should be completed, rules are similar to the Percentage field above. NOTE: If "Active Posts", "Vacant" and "Proposed" are all set to (N)o, the Calculate Budget Values program will not generate any budget.

Example:

Page 2:

Field	Type & Length	Description
Should Budget for Staff with Barrier Notches be restricted to the Barrier Notch?	A1	(Y)es or (N)o If the answer is (Y)es, no increase will be given beyond the barrier notch. If the answer is (N)o, a normal increase will be given, thus assuming that the person will meet the necessary requirements to lift the barrier notch. (Note that any general increase specified above will be applied to the barrier notch).
Suppress Automatic Notch Increases ?	A1	(Y)es or (N)o If the answer is (Y)es, automatic notch increases will not be included in the calculations. If the answer is (N)o, automatic notch increases will be included in the calculations.
Should Budget for Staff with “Stop Payment” periods be restricted to the paid months ?	A1	(Y)es or (N)o If the answer is (Y)es, the months during which the pay is stopped will be ignored for budgetary purposes If the answer is (N)o, the normal compensation package for the person will be applied during this period, thus budgeting for a substitute during the period of unpaid absence. This will apply unless an Expiry Date for the post exists beyond the pension date, in which case the rules for Discontinued posts in "Should Posts with Expiry Dates be Calculated for Whole Year or Portion" above will apply to the rest of the year The user can specify in the "Parameters per STATS 4.07 Row" Tab if this “Stop Payment” should be ignored for specific earnings/deductions.
Should budget for Staff To-be-pensioned within the year be restricted to the paid months?	A1	(Y)es or (N)o If the answer is (Y)es, the balance of the year will be ignored for budgetary purposes Iif the answer is (N)o, the normal compensation package for the person will be applied to the end of the year as though the person will remain in service. This will apply unless an Expiry Date for the post exists beyond the pension date, in which case the rules for Discontinued posts in "Should Posts with Expiry Dates be Calculated for Whole Year or Portion" above will apply to the rest of the year.
Start Date for Budget Adjustments	DD-MON-YYYY	If this field is entered, budget adjustments through "Maintain Budget Values" {MSBOP-1} for this parameter set will only be allowed after the date entered here
End Date for Budget Adjustments	DD-MON-YYYY	If this field is entered, budget adjustments through "Maintain Budget Values" {MSBOP-1} for this parameter set will only be allowed before the date entered here
Should Budget Adjustments be validated against posted values	A1	(Y)es or (N)o If set to (Y)es, the screen "Maintain Budget Values" {MSBOP-1} will validate that the total salary budget does not exceed the total amount posted to posts when manual adjustments are made. This validation is sensitive to the posts to which the user has access through user restrictions "PDEP" and "PCAM" entered with "Maintain User Restrictions" {PAMT-1}

Example:

Block 2: Parameters Per Stats 4.07 ROW

When a new parameter set is created, the user should first save the values in the first two Tabs before navigating to this Block. This action will automatically create the records in this Tab.

This Tab will not allow the creation of new records or the deletion of existing records

To display the records in this Tab, the "Execute Query" command should be issued.

Even though a parameter set has been defined in the Tabs above, no earning or deduction will be included in the budget unless explicitly indicated in Block 2.

Field	Type & Length	Description
STATS Row Code	A10	This field is not updateable. The STATS 4.07 Row Code is indicated on the definition of the Earning/Deduction Types {FPRG-6}
INCLUDE IN CALC	A1	(Y)es or (N)o If set to (Y)es, Earnings and Deductions linked to the STATS Row Code as in the previous field are included in the budget.
% INCREASE OF P-TRN	A1	(Y)es (N)o In the case of posts paid by “Claim”, no default scales exist and the system therefore cannot calculate any budget amount. It may, however, create a “zero” record which, the user can update with a fixed budget amount with Maintain Budget Values {MSBOP-1} The user can then use the Calculation Indicator Field (Calc Ind) in Maintain Budget Values {MSBOP-1} to indicate whether, for subsequent budget calculations, the amount should be Recalculated (Value C or, any letter of the alphabet except “X, Y and Z”) Left as is (Value P) This indicator only affects the (P)ermanent amounts, and if specified as (Y)es, the system will apply the General Percentage Increase in the "Maintain Parameter Set" Tab to all transactions marked with (P)ermanent in the Calculation Indicator field. This indicator can be set to (Y)es even if the parameter “Include in Calc” is set to (N)o.
IGNORE STOP PAY	A1	(Y)es or (N)o The Payroll System allows for a person’s pay to be “stopped” for a specified period. (Refer to Fixed Salary Detail {FPRI-1}. In some instances the agreement with the employer will be that he/she will receive no salary but that the institution will keep on paying his/her pension fund or medical aid fund. In such cases the user will set this indicator to (Y)es, and the system will calculate for this Row Code when the person’s payment is stopped. It is obvious that this parameter will only be considered if the parameter “INCLUDE IN CALC” is set to (Y)es. The fact that a budget can be calculated for a subset of the STATS Rows, enables “What-if” budget analysis to be performed for e.g. Basic Salary only, Pension Contribution only, etc. It is possible to query on the STATS Row Code and the three parameters in this screen.

Example:

Processing Rules
	No special processing rules

Date	System Version	By Whom	Job	Description
15-Dec-2006	v01.0.0.0	Charlene van der Schyff	t135455	New manual format.
07-Apr-2008	v01.0.0.0	Frans Pelser	T148035	Modify System to be used in decentralized fashion