Set the planning rate for a position or a shared job code. An active position-specific rate takes priority over the job code rate. Labor budget rates do not change employee pay.

Before you begin

Activity Permission and scope required
Review rates, applied adjustments, and calculated results View labor budgets for every included department
Add or maintain a position rate Manage labor budgets for the position’s department
Add or maintain a shared job code rate Manage labor budgets for All departments
Create or change a pay adjustment rule The setup permissions listed in Pay adjustment rules

Choose the right base rate

Choose between two rate sources:

Rate source Use it when Priority
Job code budget rate Positions with the same job code share one planning rate Used when no active position rate applies
Position budget rate One position needs a documented exception Takes priority over the job code rate

A position uses at most one base rate on a selected date. FTE Tree does not add the position rate and job code rate together.

Example: shared rate with an exception

The Analyst job code has a $70,000 annual rate. Position A has no position rate, so it uses $70,000. Position B has a $76,000 position rate for the same date, so it uses $76,000.

If position B’s exception stops on October 1, enter October 1 as the position rate’s end date. The shared Analyst rate can apply to position B beginning October 1.

Choose hourly or annual basis

An annual rate is already a full-time annual planning amount. An hourly rate must be annualized using annual hours per FTE.

Annualized hourly rate = Hourly rate × Annual hours per FTE

The resulting full-time rate is then multiplied by the FTE used for the capacity or assigned calculation.

Hourly pay-rate adjustments are calculated and rounded to four decimal places before annualization. For example, $27.1234 increased by 10% becomes $29.8357 per hour. At 2,080 annual hours per FTE, that is $62,058.26 before applying FTE. See Pay adjustment rules for rounding and reduction examples.

Example: annual basis

A position has an $84,000 annual rate and 0.7500 approved FTE.

$84,000 × 0.7500 = $63,000 budget capacity

Example: hourly basis

A position has a $32 hourly rate, and the organization uses 2,080 annual hours per FTE.

$32 × 2,080 = $66,560 full-time annualized rate

At 0.7500 approved FTE:

$66,560 × 0.7500 = $49,920 budget capacity

If annual hours are not set for the selected date, the hourly rate cannot be calculated. Complete the annual-hours work item rather than replacing the hourly rate with a guessed annual amount.

Add a rate

  1. Open Labor budget > Positions for a position-specific rate, or Labor budget > Job code rates for a shared rate.
  2. Open Actions, then select Add position rate or Add job code rate. You can also use Actions > Add position rate from a budget calculation when it is using a job code rate or needs a rate. The form fills in the position and budget date and returns you to the page where you started after you save. When you open the form from Labor budget > Job code rates, its budget date is already filled in as Starts on.
  3. Select the position or job code. A job code selected from a Needs budget setup row is already filled in.
  4. Enter the rate and choose Hourly or Annual.
  5. Enter Starts on, which is the first budget date the rate applies.
  6. Save the rate.
  7. Wait for the labor budget result to update.
  8. Open the saved rate and confirm its planning summary and timeline. On a job code rate, use Position usage to search by position number or name, narrow the list by department, or review rates on another effective date.

The start date matters as much as the amount. A correct amount with the wrong date can change past or future planning results.

Rate periods for the same position or job code cannot overlap. End the earlier rate when the new rate begins, or record the later change through the action provided by the rate page.

Review a position rate

The position rate page is the home for one position’s labor budget planning rates. Choose a budget date to compare the position rate with the shared job code rate. Applied planning rate identifies the rate that wins on that date and shows its effective period. The timeline below it includes ended, active, and scheduled position rates.

A position rate is a planning assumption. It does not represent an employee’s or assignment’s compensation, and changing it does not change employee pay. Saving a position rate also does not create a position approval request.

Use View position summary when you need approved position structure or staffing. Use the position rate page and its row Actions menus when you need to maintain the planning rate.

Maintain the rate timeline

The position rate and job code rate pages show every ended, active, and scheduled rate period for their record. The position timeline status reflects the selected budget date. The job code timeline status reflects today. On a job code rate, Position usage shows the positions, departments, rate sources, and base rates for the required effective date. If you have access to a position, select it to open its details.

Use the Actions menu on a timeline row to maintain that rate period. Corrections and removals remain available in Activity history without appearing as separate dated rate periods.

Use the action that matches what happened:

Action Use it when
Schedule rate change The existing rate is valid and a different approved rate begins later
Correct rate The amount, rate type, start date, or end date was entered incorrectly
End rate The rate was valid and stops on a known date without a replacement rate
Remove incorrect rate The rate should never have applied

Ends before is the first budget date the rate no longer applies.

Example: valid rate increase

A $70,000 rate is valid through December 31, and an approved $74,000 rate begins January 1. Use Schedule rate change with January 1 in Starts on. FTE Tree ends the existing rate when the new rate begins.

Example: recorded amount was wrong

A rate entered as $74,000 should have been $72,000 from its original start date. Use Correct rate to fix the entry while retaining its activity history. Do not schedule a new business change merely to offset an entry mistake.

Example: exception ends

A position-specific $78,000 exception is valid through September 30. Use End rate with October 1 in Ends before. If the job code has an active shared rate on October 1, that shared rate becomes the position’s base.

Do not use a zero rate to stop an old rate unless zero is the deliberate approved plan.

Verify the saved rate

Choose the rate’s first budget date and open an affected position calculation. Confirm the rate, basis, FTE, and annual hours when needed. If a job code rate changed, review both an inheriting position and any position-specific exception. Wait for the updated calculation before running a new report.

Apply a separate adjustment

For premiums, allowances, reductions, or other policies on top of the rate, use Apply labor budget adjustments. Keep the base rate and the reusable adjustment rule separate.