Simplifying job changes and submitting hours

Ask the USC Connect chatbot (at the bottom right) about these projects

York University is making it easier to manage casual employees¹ by moving the Employee Transaction Form (ETF) online and expanding the Time Reporting Tool (TRT). These changes let staff enter hours worked and job updates directly in HR Self Serve, cutting out extra forms, manual calculations, and duplicate entries for a faster, more secure and accurate process.

QUICK LINKS

Need Help? Click the USC Connect chatbot icon at the bottom-right to open the Virtual Assistant to get answers to your questions about the automated ETF tool, ETFs in general and causal time entry in the Time Reporting Tool

PROCESS IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

Click on the process improvement project below to learn more about the benefits of this change

Current: At present, hiring or changing an unaffiliated casual assignment requires emailing an approved Word-based Employee Transaction Form (ETF). The process involves multiple steps conducted by email or on paper: the employee provides their personal information including banking details, a department staff member completes the form, another may review it, and then a manager approves it. Finally, the ETF is emailed to the Payroll and Records team who manually enters the information into the HR information system.

Improvement: The new automated ETF allows department staff complete the form in the HR Self-Serve portal, pulling employee details from existing job records to reduce data entry. Once submitted, the form goes directly to the manager or cost centre owner for approval. Approved changes update the HR information system automatically, eliminating duplicate entry and errors.

The automated ETF will support:

Hiring, rehiring, and extending casual assignments
Updating cost centre information
Changing hourly pay rates
Ending assignments early

When employees hired or rehired, they will automatically receive an email with their employee number and instructions to set up their employee Passport York account, their payroll direct deposit, and complete required training.

This improvement will roll out in phases, starting with unaffiliated casual assignments, and later expanding to other employee groups.

Current: At present, unaffiliated casual employees must fill out a record of hours and a timesheet with details like name, employee ID, social insurance number, pay rate, cost centre information, and hours worked. The timesheet is reviewed by department staff, who may calculate holiday pay, then sent to the manager for approval and submission to Payroll and Records. Payroll then manually enters the information into payroll system.

Improvement: York’s Time Reporting Tool (TRT) in HR Self-Serve is already used by most hourly employees. Expanding it to unaffiliated casual assignments lets employees enter hours directly into the system, which pre-populates most fields and calculates holiday pay. The record of hours form is no longer needed (unless required locally). Entries can be sent by the system to a reviewer before approval. Once approved, payment is processed on the next pay date. The TRT reduces errors, saves time, and gives managers better visibility into costs.

SCOPE

The employees within scope of these projects – listed below – submit hours worked on an Excel timesheet emailed to Payroll (not in the Time Reporting Tool – TRT) and are paid bi-weekly.

Typically report into a faculty member and paid from research funds (fund 400 and 500)

Salary Plans	Wage account examples ^²
Casual Research Assistant York Student (CRY)	192000, 192100, 192200, 192300
Casual Research Assistant Non-York Student (CRN)	165400, 191000, 191100, 191200, 191300
Work Study RAY (WSR)	163600

Typically report into a CPM manager and paid from operating funds (fund 200). Examples: invigilators, Glendon Athletic Club fitness instructors, models for art classes.

Salary Plans	Wage account examples ²
Casual Hourly Paid York Student (CHY) Formerly: Casual Clerical York Student (CCY)Casual Non-Clerical York Student (CNY)	163000, 165000, 165500
Casual Hourly Paid Not a York Student (CHN) Formerly: Casual Clerical Non-York Student (CCN)Casual Non-Clerical Non-York Student (CNN)	163100, 165100, 165500

Note: The automated ETF does NOT apply to:

Salaried employees, such as, full- and part-time Research Assistants and Research Associates, Post-doctoral Visitors and Fellows
Employees currently using the TRT, such as Work Study Student (WSS), Work Study Lead (WSL), Summer Student, YUSA-2, Confidential Temporary Casual (CTC)
Flat rate paid (not hourly), such as Honorarium recipients and Residence dons
One-off payments, such as an employee a single shift once in a term

For all these employee groups and transaction types, continue to use the ETFs available on YU Link > Employee Resources > Forms and Documents > Compensation and Payroll.

TIMELINE

YOUR ROLE IN THE CHANGE

Your participation is needed to support the success of this project. Click on your role to see how you will contribute and how this change will affect you.

Employee in an Unaffiliated Casual Assignment
ETF Preparer
ETF & TRT Approver (Manager or PI) or Reviewer

If you were hired or rehired after the automated ETF launched (December 8, 2025), you will have received an email with your employee number and instructions to set up your employee Passport York account, your payroll direct deposit, and complete required training.
In preparation for the launch of the Time Reporting Tool (TRT) on March 1, you will need to make sure your Employee Passport York account is set up and your personal information is up to date.
Once available, you will need to review the training resources to understand how to use the TRT.
Once launched, you will be using the TRT to enter your hours each day worked to be paid every two weeks. The TRT will make your time entry easy by displaying information about the assignments you hold, such as the rate of pay and budget details. The TRT allows you to add comments for your hours worked, such as a description of the work performed. You will no longer need to complete a record of hours, unless requested by your department.
Ongoing, you will have flexibility to update your personal information and banking details as required though HR Self Serve.

Review the Using the Automated Employee Transaction Form learning package on YU Learn to understand how to use the automated ETF. And join one of the instructor-led sessions in December 2025 or January 2026 to ask questions.
Search for a casual employee on the automated ETF using their social insurance number and date of birth. If the system finds a match, you can review and update their personal information. Once completed, the form will be sent directly to the approver (or an optional reviewer). Note: based on guidance from Internal Audit, the system will require that the person preparing the ETF be different from the person approving the ETF.
You will be prompted to add attachments to the ETF so all records are kept in one place, such as contracts for hires/rehire and supporting documentation for pay rate changes and early termination.
For casual employees who are not on the automated ETF (e.g., for flat rate payments, single shifts, etc.), please use the updated Employee Transaction Form (ETF) (Note: The form will download when the link is clicked).

Email us at askUSC@yorku.ca to let us know who currently supports the preparation and review of ETFs and timesheets for casual employees on your team.
Review the Using the Automated Employee Transaction Form learning package on YU Learn to understand how to use the automated ETF. And join one of the instructor-led sessions in December 2025 or January 2026 to ask questions.
In the automated ETF, you can review and approve ETFs directly on HR Self Serve. Note: based on guidance from Internal Audit, the system will require that the person preparing the ETF be different from the person approving the ETF.
In advance of the launch of the Time Reporting Tool (TRT), you will need to ensure all members of your team have set up their Employee Passport York account and updated their personal information. They will need an active Employee Passport York account to enter their hours worked in the TRT once it is launched.
Once the TRT is launched, you will use it to review and approve reported hours for unaffiliated casual employees in your area. You will be able to push entries back for correction or correct them directly in the system, such as changing the number of hours worked. If needed, you will also be able to enter time on behalf of workers on casual assignment. After you approve, the hours will be automatically submitted for payment on the next pay date. Vacation and public holiday pay is automatically calculated and issued. No need to manually calculate and submit holiday pay.

Contact Us

Please email us at askUSC@yorku.ca if you have any questions.

¹ Employee refers to all users whose payroll and records are administered by York University, including those working for principal investigators and third-party organizations

²These examples of wage accounts are indicative, not exhaustive or prescriptive. Please review the Chart of Accounts and consult your Finance Officer and Research Accounting for guidance.