Updating Public Holidays on Tensor.NET
This article provides instructions on the best practice for adding Public Holidays into the Tensor.NET system by bulk, using versions 3.8.0.X or above.
Handling Public Holidays
In Tensor.NET, special days, such as public holidays, can be planned into the system in advance. Additionally, each public holiday can automatically book employees on to a specific absence code, if they were expected to be at work on that day.
Normally, a separate absence code is created for this situation however there are two methods in assigning the correct Absence code for the day.
- Using the ‘Holiday’ absence code – When staff have a total entitlement which includes their Public Holiday days. (i.e 28 days total = 20 days plus 8 Public Holidays)
- Using a ‘Public Holiday’ absence code – When staff have a total entitlement which does not include their Public Holiday. (i.e 20 days total)
Creating a Public Holiday Absence Code
For those users wishing to assign a ‘Public Holiday’ absence code can do so by creating one (if not already there).
Click on Attendance Absence Codes to display the standard summary list view of absence reasons. Right click and choose ‘Add new’ to open a new record. You can also select ‘New’ from the System toolbar.
The first screen displayed is the ‘Organisational Units’ Add in the Absence Code and the description details. Assign a category from the drop down list.
Payband - Choose from either the Holiday or Basic Payband in which you want hours to credit too.
The second half of the screen allows you to assign the absence code to the relevant Company and Site. (Only applies in the ‘Enterprise’ edition, all other editions will default the site so no further action is needed)
Click on the General option. The settings shown to the left are displayed. Enter the colour settings where you can choose the text and the background colour for the Absence Code. Choose either the drop down or use the colour picker from the ‘Custom’ option.
For a full explanation, please refer to the systems user manual.
Bulk Assigning Public Holidays
There are three methods available to users who wish to bulk add public Holiday
Method 1 – System Calendar. When using the System Calendar option, system dates and absences will be added to every employee, including new starters and cannot be removed for individuals.
Method 2 – Absence Planner, Adding absence through the planner directly. Public Holiday dates are added individually and multiple employees are selected. Dates can be removed for individuals if required.
Method 3 - Absence Planner, Using the Bulk Add feature. All Public Holiday dates can be added in one go and multiple employees are selected. Dates can be removed for individuals if required.
Method 1 – Users can add bank holidays through the System calendar, entries added here cannot be removed for individual employees.
Christmas shutdowns and other common holidays are often examples when the whole business may be closed down. In this case, a date can added to the calendar without having to add an absence for an individual.
Click on Attendance System Calendar to display an entry screen.
Choose at least one company / site combination to activate the greyed out buttons. Information can only be entered for selected Sites. Next click on the System Calendar option to display the list view of entered public holidays.
Set the calendar year and company / site filters and then click on the button. The New System Calendar entry dialog is displayed.
Enter the required date entries and choose the absence code to be applied as shown here.
Select the ‘Ok’ to save the entry and repeat to add other dates.
For full instructions, please refer to the systems manual.
Method 2 – Bulk adding absence directly through the planner. Click on Attendance Absence Planner to display a calendar screen. An overview of Absence Planner screen components is shown below.
Select your grouping level from the employee summary filter on the left. Change your grouping option by right clicking and choosing the ‘Set Groupings’ option and select an appropriate group. Next, right click the group and choose the ‘Add to list’ option to add the employee details to the planner.
Double click the bank holiday square you intend on booking, when the edit screen opens, choose the ‘All employees’ option. This will apply the absence to all selected employees.
Method 3 – The third method is to use the ‘Bulk Add’ feature.
The Bulk Add option (indicted above) allows you to allocate absence periods to a wide range of employees, chosen from a variety of selection criteria. Furthermore, absence can be booked for single or multiple days.
Click on the bulk add icon in the Planner toolbar to display the dialogue shown here.
Choose the Public Holiday or Holiday absence code you wish to apply, the example shows a bulk add of Public Holiday.
Select the Absence code to be booked from the drop down list.
Choose the type of absence as a Full Day.
Choose the Start Date and End Date. If using single days, enter the same start and end date. Insert any notes. Click ‘Add’ to add the dates to the ‘Selected Date’ view pane. Use the ‘Clear’ button to remove the dates selected.
Once you have made the selections required, click on the Employees tab to choose who will be booked on to this absence. Use the standard employee selection list to choose which groups or individuals are to be booked as absent. Right click and choose ‘Add list’ from the pop up menu or drag and drop groups onto the right hand pane.
Tick the Include All Employees box to add all personnel to the right hand pane. Use the Remove or Remove All buttons to remove unwanted entries.
When all entries have been selected, click Preview to display the absence scheduled to be booked on the Preview Results tab.
Browse the Result column to detect any scheduled bookings that may be in error, such as the minimum staffing booking above. Individual days can be deselected by unticking the box in their Selection column. The Select All or Deselect All buttons can be used to bulk change the selection entries. The Delete and Delete All buttons will remove scheduled bookings.
The Overwrite will ignore the warnings and book anyway, use caution with this setting.
When the previewed results are correct click Book Absences to actually book the listed absences. Once complete, the screen will return to the Absence details screen.
Help & Support
Further help and support is available, you can access the full Administrator manuals by going to your start menu ‘Program Files’ Tensor plc’ ‘Tensor.NET ‘PDF Manuals’
You can also use the help functions within the software. These are found on the system toolbar ‘Help’ Selecting the ‘Contents’ from this menu will allow you to navigate a FAQ section.
Further help and support can be obtained by emailing or telephoning the Tensor Helpdesk. Tensor provides a support line for all queries relating to the Tensor System, and they can be contacted on 01480 215530. Or emailed on helpdesk@tensor.co.uk.
