Date Type

A date type is a kind of date you want on file against a person: joining, confirmation, last working day, medical due, visa expiry. You list the kinds here, and Employee Dates then records the actual dates against each employee.

Where

People Directory › Setup › Date Type

Who uses it

The implementation consultant, once at setup

When

Before any dates are recorded on employee records

Needs first

Nothing

What it is for

An employee record has a handful of dates built into it and a long tail of dates that vary by client. The gratuity eligibility date, the medical check due date, the date the safety training expires, the date the gate pass was issued. Rather than adding a field for each one, you declare the kinds of date you care about here and record them per employee on Employee Dates.

The second field on the screen is the one worth understanding. A date type can be flagged as one of six known milestones, which is how the system recognises that your date type called "Confirmed On" is in fact the confirmation date, and not just another date somebody keeps. A date type set to General is a date you simply want on file.

Every field, in plain words

Date Type

Field	What it means	What to put in it	Notes
Date Type	The name of the date, as HR would say it. It is both the code and the label, so write it to be read.	MEDICAL-DUE	Required. Must be unique.
Predefined Types	Which known milestone this date is, if it is one.	G - General, for most of them	Pick one of the six values below.
Required Details	Whether a note must be captured alongside the date.	Tick it when the date is meaningless without a detail, for example a suspension date without a reason.	Leave it clear for a plain date.

Predefined Types - what kind of milestone the date is:

• G General - an ordinary date you want on file. This is the right answer for most date types you create: medical due, gate pass issued, uniform issued, training expiry.
• J Joining - the date the person joined.
• C Confirmation - the date probation ended and the person was confirmed.
• S Suspend - the date a suspension starts.
• R Resign - the date a resignation takes effect.
• T Termination - the date employment was ended by the company.

Create at most one date type for each of the five named milestones. Creating two confirmation dates leaves nobody able to say which is the real one.

How to configure it

1. List the dates HR currently keeps in a spreadsheet beside the HR system. That list is what this screen is for.
2. Create one date type per kind of date. Name it the way HR says it, because the name is what they will see.
3. Set Predefined Types to G for an ordinary date. Use one of the five named milestones only for the date that genuinely is that milestone.
4. Tick Required Details only where a bare date would be unusable.
5. Save, then record the dates themselves per employee on Employee Dates.

Scenario

We track medical fitness certificates that expire every year

Create a date type named for it, set to G General. Record each employee's expiry on Employee Dates. The list of people whose certificate is about to expire is then a report over that date type, rather than a spreadsheet the safety officer keeps on his own machine.

What it is connected to

• Nothing has to exist before this screen.
• Employee Dates records the actual dates per employee, choosing from the types created here. That is the consumer.
• The milestone flag is how the system recognises a joining, confirmation, suspension, resignation or termination date among the dates you keep.

If something looks wrong

• "The date type list is empty on the employee" - no date types have been created yet.
• "Two date types both claim to be the confirmation date" - only one should. Change the others to General.
• "It will not save" - the date type name is required and must be unique.