This article gives an overview of the Contracts datagroup.
Functionality
The section contains the description of the Contracts datagroup commands. By following the guidelines, you will be well on your way to working with the datagroup.
To get started, first, log into APM. Once logged in, navigate to the Datagroups tab > Contracts:
On the left-hand side of the datagroup workspace, there is the Contract pane from which you can access contracts.
Create Contract
To create a contract, first, make sure to select the employee to be affected in the Crew List module. Once done, navigate to the Contracts datagroup:
Now, follow the steps below:
Click the Create Contract command on the toolbar. This evokes the Create Contract dialog:
In the Start Date field, specify the date when the employment contract was signed.
Select the Copy Details from previous contact option if you want to fetch data from an existing contract defined in the Source Contract field. Specify the exact data to be fetched by selecting/clearing the respective checkboxes: Details, Seniority, Payment, Personal Rates.
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In case data to be fetched to a new contract appears dimmed, it indicates that it is set up in General Codes. For more information on how to set the data up, see Datagroup Activation. |
When done, click OK to proceed.
As a result, a new contract becomes available on the left-hand side pane:
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Adding multiple active contracts is not allowed. Make sure to deactive a contract before creating another one. |
Fill in the main contract fields in the Details tab:
Type is a contract type to be selected. The selection is fetched from the contract types defined in General Codes. For more information, see Define Contract Types.
Trial Period end (enabled if predefined for the contract type) shows the date when the trial period ends.
Duration (enabled if the trial period is available for the contract type) shows the number of days/months/years the trial period lasts. For more information on how to define a trial period length, see Define Contract Types.
Start is a start date of the contract to be specified.
Current Rank is the rank of a crew member to be selected from the drop-down list.
Table is the payscale table to be selected to calculate the crew member’s salary.
Code is the payscale code to be selected to calculate the crew member’s salary.
Additional information is the field reserved for any comments.
When done, click Save on the toolbar to proceed.
Add Amendment
A contract amendment allows the parties to make a mutually agreed change to an existing contract. An amendment may be added to an existing contract by following the steps below:
On the toolbar, click the New Amendment button. This evolves the Create Amendment dialog:
Within the dialog, fill in the fields below:
Amendment Valid From. Select the date when the amendment comes into effect.
Comment. Enter the amendment name.
Select the data to be preserved in the contract amendment: Details, Seniority, Payment, Personal Rates.
When completed, click OK to save the records.
As a result, the contract amendment appears on the workspace:
Fill in the amendment fields in the Details tab:
Type is a contract type to be selected. The selection is fetched from the contract types defined in General Codes. For more information, see Define Contract Types.
Trial Period end (enabled if predefined for the contract type) shows the date when the trial period ends.
Duration (enabled if the trial period is available for the contract type) shows the number of days/months/years the trial period lasts. For more information on how to define a trial period length, see Define Contract Types.
Start is a start date of the amendment defined in the Create Amendment dialog.
Current Rank is the rank of a crew member to be selected from the drop-down list.
Comment is a name of the amendment defined in the Create Amendment dialog.
Table is the payscale table to be selected to calculate the crew member’s salary.
Code is the payscale code to be selected to calculate the crew member’s salary.
Additional information is the field reserved for any comments.
When done, click Save on the toolbar to proceed.
Create Subcontract
A subcontract stands for a temporary contract, e.g. temporary assignment to a different kind of vessel. To create a subcontract, follow the steps below:
On the toolbar, click the Create Sub Contract button. This evolves the Create Amendment dialog:
Within the dialog, fill in the fields below:
Start. Select the date when the subcontract comes into effect.
End. Select the subcontract end date.
Comment. Enter the subcontract name.
Select the data to be preserved in the subcontract: Details, Seniority, Payment, Personal Rates.
When completed, click OK to save the records.
As a result, the subcontract appears on the workspace:
Fill in the subcontract fields in the Details tab:
Type is a subcontract type to be selected. The selection is fetched from the contract types defined in General Codes. For more information, see Define Contract Types.
Trial Period end (enabled if predefined for the contract type) shows the date when the trial period ends.
Duration (enabled if the trial period is available for the contract type) shows the number of days/months/years the trial period lasts. For more information on how to define a trial period length, see Define Contract Types.
Start is a start date of the subcontract defined in the Create Sub Contract dialog.
End is an end date of the subcontract defined in the Create Sub Contract dialog.
Current Rank is the rank of a crew member to be selected from the drop-down list.
Comment is a name of the subcontract defined in the Create Sub Contract dialog.
Table is the payscale table to be selected to calculate the crew member’s salary.
Code is the payscale code to be selected to calculate the crew member’s salary.
Additional information is the field reserved for any comments.
When done, click Save on the toolbar to proceed.
Subcontract Priority Calculation
Subcontracts with the contract type set to Calculate Contract by FIFO Principle in General Codes (see Datagroup Activation) are given priority during payroll calculations. To calculate a subcontract, navigate to the Payroll module > the Manage ribbon tab and click Calculate on the ribbon.
When the calculation results are the displayed in the grid, click Save on the toolbar.
Once calculated, make sure to close the subcontract by following the steps below:
Click Close Contract on the toolbar. This opens the Close Contract dialog where you can select the subcontract you want to close.
In the dialog, click Close Contract to finalize the process.
As a result, the calculated and closed subcontracts are then highlighted in the grid, making them easily identifiable:
You can select the preferred highlighting color by following these steps:
Click Options on the toolbar.
When the Options dialog appears, navigate to Entries > the Color tab > the Contract Closed field.
Pick your desired color from the palette.
Click OK to save your selection and apply the highlighting.
Reverting Payroll Close
On closing contracts via the Payroll module, you can cancel closed contracts:
Select the contract closed in Payroll. This enables the Undo Payroll Close button on the ribbon.
Click Undo Payroll Close. The system then asks to confirm the action:
Click OK to confirm the action.
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When using the Undo Payroll Close button in the Contracts module, the sequence to revert the statuses of contracts and subcontracts is as follows:
In case there are multiple main contracts, they will be subsequently unlocked starting from the most recently closed contract. |
Terminate Contract
To terminate a contract, follow the steps below:
Select the contract to be affected.
On the toolbar, click the Terminate button. This evolves the Terminate Contract dialog:
Within the dialog, proceed as described below:
Set Termination reason to any of the reasons in the drop-down list.
Define Termination date by selecting it in the calendar picker.In the table, select all the records, if any. The records may contain the current activity of a crew member or available payroll transactions for the period that falls within the contract termination.
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Termination reasons are fetched from General Codes. For more information on how to define termination reasons, see Define Termination Reasons. |
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Termination of the main contract leads to terminating all relevant subcontracts. |
When completed, click
OK to confirm termination. The system then suggests terminating the employment by selecting Terminate the employment with the termination of the contract.
As a result, the terminated contract moves to the History folder on the left-hand side pane:
Undo Contract Termination
In case you need to reactivate a historical contract, follow the steps below:
On the left-hand side pane under the History folder, select the contract to be affected:
On the toolbar, click the Undo Terminate button. This evolves the Warning dialog:
Click Yes to confirm.
As a result, the contract and its subcontract are moved to the Current folder on the left-hand side pane:
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In case an active contract is available, the Undo Terminate command is disabled. |
Housekeeping
When first launched, the module requires a one-time setup. This section provides step-by-step instructions on how to get everything set up.
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To activate the Contracts datagroup, navigate to Setup > Global Options > Datagroups > Contracts and select the Register Contracts using Contracts Datagroup option:
Creating a contract allows you to fetch data from an existing contract. To do this, simply select the Copy Details from previous contract option and specify the data to be fetched:
Details
Seniority
Payment
Personal Rates
In addition, you can define read/write access rights for each option by selecting/clearing the Allow to change checkbox respectively.
In the Payroll Vessel field, select a vessel to be considered when calculating the payroll.
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To define a contract type, follow the steps below:
Switch to the Setup ribbon tab and click the General Codes button.
On the Structure pane, click the Contracts code category to expand it and select Contract Type.
Click the New button in the Actions group of the Manage ribbon tab. The General Code Editor (Contract Type) dialog appears:
Enter a Code (mandatory field), a unique alphanumeric APM code.
In the Text field, indicate the contract type name and its alternative name, if needed, in the Alternative field.
In the Sort field, define the order number of a record (where 0 means the first record in the list).
In the Is Passive field, specify whether the code is to be active or passive. Passive codes appear as disabled.
In the Options tab, proceed with the following parameters:
Default Contract Length. Set the length of the contact. For this, enter a number and select the measurement of time that refers to Year, Month, Days.
Valid for. Define whether the current contract type may be used for Main Contracts, Amendments, Subcontracts.
Calculation Rule. Select the Calculate Contract by FIFO Principle checkbox if you want to prioritize calculating payroll entry codes for a subcontract (with the respective contract type).
Trial Period. Select it if you want to enable the contract trial period. On selecting, specify the length of the trial period by entering a numeric value and and the measurement of time that refers to Years, Months, Days.
User can overwrite trial period end. Select the option to allow a user to modify the end date of the trial period.
Click OK to proceed.
As a result, a new contract type is added to the list of contract types:
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To define a termination reason, follow the steps below:
Switch to the Setup ribbon tab and click the General Codes button.
On the Structure pane, click the Personal Details code category to expand it and select Termination Reason.
Click the New button in the Actions group of the Manage ribbon tab. The General Code Editor (Termination Reason) dialog appears:
In the dialog, fill in the following fields:
Enter a Code (mandatory field), a unique alphanumeric APM code.
In the Text field, indicate the contract type name and its alternative name, if needed, in the Alternative field.
In the Sort field, define the order number of a record (where 0 means the first record in the list).
In the Is Passive field, specify whether the code is to be active or passive. Passive codes appear as disabled.
Click OK to proceed.
As a result, a new termination reason is added to the list of reasons:
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To enable automatic assignment of Payscale Table and Code in the Contracts datagroup:
Navigate to the Module ribbon tab > Payroll. When the Payroll contextual ribbon tab becomes active, go to Payroll ribbon tab > Payscales and select the payscale code to be affected.
In the Payscale Table Properties dialog, select the Fetch Payscale by option and set your preference between Position or Rank.
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This option also impacts the automatic assignment of Payscale Codes in Activities based on the Activity Position or Rank https://adonishr.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/KB/pages/3218505846/Payscale+Code+by+Position |
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Make sure the affected payscale code is linked to a rank:  It is possible to link a Payscale Code to multiple Ranks if required, but you should not link multiple Payscale Codes to one Rank as the auto-assignment will not work properly. |