Self-Service Frequently Asked Questions

Discover how Workday@Penn affects members of the university community by accessing these frequently asked questions.

Leave of Absence

What is absence?

In Workday, absence is a general term for requesting and managing both time off and leaves, paid or unpaid, as well as correcting approved requests, and viewing absence balances.

How do you request a leave of absence

Workers can request certain types of leave of absence in the Request Absence application in Workday. In the micro-calendar, workers enter details of their leave, including last day of work, the first day of leave, the estimated last day of leave, and any other relevant comments or documentation. The request is then automatically routed to the appropriate approver(s). You may also use the Self Service-Request Leave of Absence tip sheet for step-by-step instructions. Workers requesting an academic leave may use the Self Service-Request Academic Leave of Absence tip sheet.

How do you return from a leave of absence?

Workers can request a return from leave of absence from all types of leave except for disability leaves. Instructions are in the Workday tip sheets.

Time Off

Who can submit absence requests in Workday?

In Workday, absence is a general term for requesting and managing both time off and leaves, paid or unpaid, as well as correcting approved requests, and viewing absence balances.

All eligible workers submit absence requests in Workday through the Request Absence application.

See the tip sheets for step-by-step instructions: Self Service-Request Time Off and Self-Service-Request Leave of Absence.

Managers and others with the appropriate security roles may use a variety of tip sheets to manage absence. Access the catalog of manager tip sheets.

Can you view your absence balance in Workday?

Yes, you can view the current balance for each of your absence plans. In addition, Workday also has a feature which enables workers to view future absence balances. This allows workers to plan PTO and manage their time proactively. Please see the Self-Service-Request Time Off tip sheet.

How is your sick-leave balance calculated in Workday?

Staff sick leave is accrued based on a staff member's regularly scheduled hours of work. Please visit Penn HR for the sick leave policy.

How do you request an absence for PTO, sick, or vacation time or correct an approved request?

To request an absence for PTO, sick, or vacation time, use the Request Absence application. Workers can correct approved requests through the Manage Absence application. Absence requests are automatically routed to managers for approval. For step-by-step instructions, please use the Self Service-Request Time Off tip sheet.

Will you be notified when you absence request is approved or corrected?

Yes, you will receive a notification in your Workday inbox once your absence request or correction is approved by your manager. Approved absences appear as blocked time on your Workday calendar.

Health Care, Life, FSA/HSA

What benefit-related actions can you perform in Workday?

In Workday, you can enroll in benefits, declare a benefit event type, view and change beneficiaries, and view current benefit elections and associated costs. See the Self-Service-Manage, View, and Change Your Benefits tip sheet to find out how.

When can new hires elect benefits in Workday?

A benefits-eligible new hire can make self-service benefits elections 30 days before their start date if all onboarding tasks are completed. 

When will current workers be able to view or change benefits in Workday?

Open enrollment takes place in the spring. Follow these step-by-step instructions in the tip sheet, Self Service-Manage, View, and Change Your Benefits (pdf).  Benefits-eligible workers can easily access their current benefits information in Workday. Current workers may also change benefits in Workday with a qualifying event such as marriage or loss of coverage.

Can you manage dependents in Workday?

Yes, you can view and manage beneficiaries, edit an existing beneficiary, or add new beneficiaries in Workday. This includes all information about beneficiaries including their relationship to you, their age, and the benefit elections in which they are included.

Will you be able to compare prices for different benefit plans in Workday?

Yes, you can view prices of different plans and compare the plans side-by-side during enrollment or as a new hire. 

Who can answer questions about your specific health care benefits?

The benefits call center is available at 1-866-799-2329. 

Pay

When can new hires select payment elections?

If you are a new worker, you can select your pay elections (direct deposit) during onboarding. See the tip sheet Self-Service: Onboarding in Workday for New Hires.

What payment elections do you have in Workday?

Workday gives you the flexibility to easily add up to three financial institutions for direct deposit accounts. See the tip sheet, Self-Service: Manage Pay Elections for step-by-step information. Once you have added two (or three) accounts, you can update your payment election information. Workday enables you to choose a primary, balance account and up to two secondary accounts. You can select the amount of money from each paycheck, or the percentage of each paycheck, that you would like sent to the second and/or third account.

Can you view your payslip in Workday?

You can view your current pay slip, and historical payslips in Workday from July 1, 2019 onward. The payslip is formatted to easily see gross and net pay, pre-tax deductions, taxable wages, and employer-paid benefits. You can download your payslip into a PDF format. See the tip sheet Self Service-Understand Your Payslip.

Are payslips before July 1, 2019 available in Workday?

No. Workday will only have payslips from July 1, 2019 onward. Please contact the Penn Employee Solution Center for pay advices for pay dates prior to July 12, 2019.

What compensation is available in Workday?

Detailed compensation information for staff and academic workers includes a breakdown of total rewards, including benefits and allowance. See this Self-Service-Manage Your Payroll and Compensation Information tip sheet.

Payroll Tax

How can you view relevant tax information?

From the Workday homepage, find the Benefits, Comp and Pay Hub. From this page, under the pay column, you can click on withholding elections, tax documents, or BSI Tax Withholding Form.

Learn how to view your tax elections in this Self-Service-Manage Your Payroll and Compensation Information tip sheet or access the BSI Tax Withholding Form in Workday and complete various tax forms including the W-4 in the Self-Service-Access to W-2, W-4, and State Reciprocal Forms tip sheet.

What is Workday Learning?

The University of Pennsylvania launched Workday Learning in March 2023. Workday Learning is an administrative learning management system (LMS), replacing the University's prior LMS, called Knowledge Link. Workday Learning connects University faculty, postdocs, staff, students and other workers with their required job-related training and other learning opportunities directly from Workday, the University’s human capital management platform.

More information is available on the Guide to Workday Learning.

How do you access Workday Learning?

Direct access to Workday Learning is possible or, when Workday users log in to Workday, they can click on the Learning application. In addition, when you are assigned training in Workday, you receive Workday notifications and reminders that link directly to your required courses.

Some Penn community learners may need to activate their Workday Learning account as a first step.

Can you access Knowledge Link used by the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS)?

Only University users with UPHS affiliations (known as dual users) have access to UPHS courses in Knowledge Link. Ten years of Knowledge Link learning history and assignments, prior to the migration from Knowledge Link to Workday Learning in March 2024, were migrated to individual Workday records.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) continues to use Knowledge Link. The University and UPHS work together to enable a seamless user experience, and efficient training content and data sharing, including compliance reporting. A learning portal provides secure, one-stop access to both Workday Learning and Knowledge Link for those who have training required by both institutions. 

Read more about the changes on the UPHS website.

Can faculty, students, and others, who do not have worker records in Workday, take Workday Learning courses?

Yes, these individuals are known as extended enterprise learners and may need to complete Workday Learning training because of a University position. They are provided access to Workday Learning as long as they have a PennKey.

Do you need training in Workday Learning?

Workday Learning is easy to use. A variety of self-service, online, and live support can assist you. These resources are available in Workday Learning and on the Guide to Workday Learning.

Those with robust security roles in Workday Learning and instructors undergo instructor-led training. Security role training is augmented by ongoing live support by the IT Learning Solutions team and the Penn Employee Solution Center.

How is training assigned?

A multifaceted learning assignment model, appropriate to a complex university environment, helps identify training required by federal and state laws and regulations, granting agencies, and University policy.

University departments and training content owners, which are responsible for assigning, managing, maintaining, and reporting on training, have collaborated to help develop processes available in Workday, the University's human capital management (HCM) platform. The current, six-point model includes:

1. Learner Groups: Workday can trigger assignments based on the selection of learner groups within Workday by learners themselves (self-selection) or by their managers. This method provides flexibility and can be used when community members’ training needs are ad-hoc. Training providers who opted into using learning groups have arranged for options in animal care and use, finance, human subjects research, radiation, research administration, and shipping (list as of this date).
2. Automatic from Job Profiles: Workday can automatically trigger assignments on job roles and responsibilities based on the worker’s record in Workday HCM. Those in Core Human Resources or training providers must partner with IT Learning Solutions by submitting learning assignment criteria to the Penn Employee Solution Center.
3. Automatic from Enterprise: Workday can automatically trigger assignments for those individuals who are not workers (i.e., paid by the University through a Workday record) but need access to training. These individuals are referred to as Extended Enterprise Learners (EELs). EELs include students who are not employed by the University as student workers, academic affiliates who are not paid by the University, service providers, and other non-Penn individuals.
4. Mass Assignments: Workday learning leads, typically training provider managers and leaders, hold a Workday security role. Learning leads have extensive LMS administrative capabilities in Workday on behalf of the training content owners they represent. They partner with the Workday Operations team to make mass learning assignments in Workday.
5. Manager or Learning Security Roles: Some defined roles can assign required training to a single worker or group of workers within their areas. These include managers of people (as defined in a Workday supervisory organization) who can assign and manage training for their direct reports, and the Workday Learning roles of affiliation managers and learning partners.
6. Training Provider Custom Solutions: Some Workday learning leads and training content owners have developed alternate ways to assign, manage, maintain, and report on training requirements.

How does the staff performance process work?

The staff performance review cycle includes a mid-year review in the fall and annual review in the spring. When the review period begins, staff receive Workday notifications, and follow-up reminders, to enter information for a self-evaluation. The manager then receives notifications to submit the manager’s evaluation. After a conversation outside of Workday, the staff member and manager each acknowledge they have discussed the review content. More information and resources are available on the Guide to Performance Management and on the Penn HR website.

Who enters goals and how are they defined and tracked.

Goals for individuals and organizations are managed both inside and outside the performance review cycle. Staff or manager may enter a new goal or edit existing goals at any point in the cycle. For more information, use the Goals and Check-Ins tip sheet or access a short video on how to enter goals in Workday.

Who is eligible for Workday performance management?

All staff workers are eligible for performance management in Workday with the exception of those staff under collective bargaining agreements, Penn Medicine clinicians, residents, interns, new staff hires and internal hires who are in the middle of or recently completed their introductory periods, and anyone who is on long-term disability as of the start of the review period.

What are competencies?

Competencies are observable and measurable skills and behaviors that contribute to workplace effectiveness and career success.  More information on the competencies framework is available on the HR website. 

How do you document ongoing conversations?

Workday offers a check-in feature to support performance objectives. Check-ins enable staff to document one-on-one continuous conversations. Managers can use check-ins and check-in topics for informal coaching and career conversations with their direct reports. Check-ins are optional but highly recommended to use between the mid-year and annual performance review periods. Step-by-step information is available on the Goals and Check-ins tip sheet.

What personal information is in Workday?

In Workday, you will find the following information: home address, email address, mobile phone number, and emergency contact information. Workday enables you to change your home contact information, emergency contact information, and preferred/legal name at any time. See Self Service-Modify Your Personal Information tip sheet for step-by-step instructions.

Are your job details in Workday?

Yes, Workday has detailed job information include your location, manager, employee ID, organization, position, and business title. If your job details require a change, please contact your manager or business administrator (known in Workday as a person with the  security role of HR analyst). Only those with the appropriate security roles in Workday are able to change job details.

Who is required to enter hours worked in Workday?

All non-exempt, weekly paid workers are required to enter time in Workday. Access the Guide to Time Tracking for more information.

How often are you required to enter time into Workday?

Timesheets are submitted weekly by non-exempt workers. This leaves you the flexibility to enter time daily, every two days, or once a week – as long as your timesheet is submitted weekly. However, it is strongly encouraged to enter your time daily. 

If you record your time manually onsite, do you also enter your time in Workday?

No. Some workers use timeclocks to capture in and out punches for hours that are automatically sent to Workday. Workday will automatically submit hours on behalf of the worker, and managers will approve the workers’ timesheets.  For step-by-step instructions, use this Self-Service-Time Entry Timeclocks tip sheet. 

When is your weekly timesheet due in Workday?

Your timesheet is due every Monday at 10:00 am ET. Departments may have interim deadlines to allow managers and timekeepers to review and approve timesheets.

What do you do if you forgot to submit your timesheet in Workday?

If you forget to submit your timesheet, contact your manager as soon as possible. Your manager will work with you to enter your time. 

Do all workers require training?

No. Penn workers who only use Workday as a self-service platform, do not supervise others, and do not have a more robust HR/payroll/training provider role do not have required training.

Workers have access to self-service tip sheets for step-by-step instructions to perform a variety of activities: learn how to enroll in learning, monitor their own information, declare life events, manage beneficiaries, enter direct deposit information, access tax documents, enter and correct time, view time off balances, request time off and leaves of absence, view their academic appointment information, and more. 

In addition, any Penn community member can view the Workday Training Catalog, which will link you to the Workday Learning courses.  

Who is assigned a Workday security role?

If you are a human resources, payroll, faculty affairs or business administrator, training provider or instructor, your position may have a security role that requires training to accomplish your responsibilities. Learn more about the security roles.

How and when is Workday training assigned for a security role?

Workday Learning automatically notifies individuals about appropriate training when they:

1. Are newly hired or promoted into positions with assigned Workday security roles, or
2. Have new security roles assigned to their positions through the Workday Security Request process.

Access the Workday Training Assignments for more detail.

What are tip sheets?

Tip sheets describe in step-by-step fashion how to initiate and step through many different business processes in Workday. 

Do managers have required training?

Managers have important responsibilities for Workday tasks performed on behalf of their direct reports. On-demand videos guide managers through many Workday key tasks. Streamlined and easy to follow, these step-by-step tutorials of 2-3 minutes help managers confidently navigate Workday processes for their teams. Workday training is not required, but completion of the online modules is recommended for those seeking to develop their Workday skills. Any school or center can require that training.

Do students have required training?

Student workers do not have required training to use Workday. They have access to two online videos: One shows the self-service features of Workday, and one walks through time entry.  Students may also use tip sheets in the self-service category.

If a student worker supervises other student workers, we can provide them access to Workday time tracking training. If you have any student workers in that category, please contact the Penn Employee Solution Center. 

Can I get one-on-one help?

Office Hours provide those with security roles the opportunity to work through live scenarios in Workday with a member of the Workday@Penn team. You will work directly with real data and automatic approval flows.

What do you do if you have been assigned a course you do not need?

You may have been assigned required Workday courses based on your security role(s) or other factors. Follow the procedures in Workday Learning to request removal of the course.

How does Workday help develop a career at Penn?

With Workday, members of the Penn community can take advantage of developing their current and prospective skills and competencies, identifying opportunities where workers with similar job positions have advanced, and easily applying to staff positions as internal candidates. Workers should maintain a current and robust career profile in Workday to take advantage of these features and consult the Guide to Career Development for more information.

How do you apply for a job as an internal candidate?

Use the tip sheet Self Service: Apply for a Staff Job as an Internal Candidate, which provides users with step-by-step instructions on searching and applying for a job as an internal candidate in Workday. The tip sheet also describes how to receive automatic notifications when jobs that may be of interest are posted. 
 

Penn students can use the tip sheet Self Service-Apply for a Student Job in Workday, which provides instructions on how to search and apply for student positions posted in Workday.

Penn faculty should consult the resources provided by the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty.

Is your personal information safe?

Workday uses a number of approaches to protect the security of client data. Details on Workday privacy can be found on the Workday website.

In addition, Penn's Office of Audit, Compliance and Privacy (OACP) functions in partnership with University and Penn Medicine management to anticipate and aggressively manage operational, financial, compliance, strategic and reputational risks; ensure the integrity of Penn's systems of internal control; and ensure strong stewardship and management accountability at all levels.

Learn how you can contribute to protecting your data, including policies, guidance, tips, assessment procedures, tools and more on the OACP website and ISC's Office of Information Security.