Absence Management
Certifications: the action items that gate continued pay
How an absence certification requirement works: created with the Absence Certifications task and associated with an absence type on its Action Items tab, it triggers on demand or on the absence start date, runs through three phases that set a target status field and can reevaluate entitlements (override, recalculate, retract) — and it exists only for illness/injury and maternity absence types.
Learning objectives
- 1.State the two-step configuration of a certification requirement and the absence patterns it supports
- 2.Distinguish the Documentation and Entitlement classifications and the Authorization, Timeliness and Other update rules
- 3.Choose between the on-demand and on-absence-start-date triggers
- 4.Apply the three phases (creation, due date passed, completion) and their target status fields
- 5.Apply the entitlement reevaluation rules — override, recalculate, retract — as of absence start date or action date
Why this matters
A certification requirement is where "continued pay during leave" stops being a policy sentence and becomes a gate. The worker does not just record the absence — they must complete an action item (submit the doctor’s certificate, notify on time) to keep receiving the entitlement, and what happens when the due date passes is configured, not improvised: override to a lower percentage, recalculate, or retract entirely.
If you skip this: Configured wrong, a certification silently stops paying workers who did nothing wrong — or keeps paying one whose employment has ended. The pattern restriction (illness/injury and maternity types only) means attaching one elsewhere simply does not apply.
What it is, why it exists, what breaks
What it is
A certification requirement is an action item with five components: the requirement type (classification Documentation or Entitlement, plus update rule Authorization, Timeliness or Other), the trigger (on demand by HR, or on the absence start date), the phases and actions (on creation, on passage of due date, on completion), the status shown during absence recording (Primary Certification Authorized for authorization rules, Late Notification Override for timeliness rules), and entitlement reevaluations (override, recalculate, retract, as of absence start date or action date).
Why it exists
The gate has to live somewhere a worker can be held to it. Making it an action item on the absence record — rather than a note in a document — means HR can set its status when the worker provides the documents, and the entitlement engine can react to that status mechanically at each phase.
What breaks without it
Associating the requirement with an absence type outside the illness/injury or maternity patterns (it is simply not supported), and confusing classification with the update rule: Documentation/Entitlement says what the requirement tracks, Authorization/Timeliness/Other says what its completion gates.
Source: ABS-CERT-001, ABS-CERT-002, ABS-CERT-003, ABS-CERT-004
A certification requirement as a phase machine
The requirement fires, becomes an action item, and each phase — creation, due date passed, completion — moves the target status field and can decide the entitlement’s fate. Listed in order: Create and associate, then Trigger fires, then Phase: on creation, then Phase: on passage of due date, then Phase: on completion.
Absence certifications read as a phase machine, not a checklist. A certification requirement is an action item workers must complete to continue receiving entitlements during an absence; it is created with the Absence Certifications task in the Absences work area and associated with an absence type on the Action Items tab of the Create Absence Type page, and only absence types with the illness or injury and maternity patterns support it. The requirement triggers either on demand — HR adds the action item on the Manage Absence Records and Entitlements page — or on the absence start date, when it appears in the Edit Absence dialog box. Each of the three phases — on creation, on passage of due date, on completion — can set the certification status shown during absence recording (Primary Certification Authorized for an authorization rule, Late Notification Override for a timeliness rule) and can reevaluate entitlements as of the absence start date or the action date: Override a revised payment percentage, Recalculate per the plan’s payment rules, or Retract to stop payments. The worked Doctor’s Certificate example fires on the absence start date with a 14-calendar-day due date, sets the status True on creation and completion and False when the due date passes, and overrides the entitlement to 75% as of the action date when the due date passes unmet.
What to take from this: Read the flow as a phase machine, not a checklist: the requirement fires (on demand or on the absence start date), appears as an action item, and each of the three phases — creation, due date passed, completion — can move the target status field on the absence record and independently decide the entitlement’s fate (override, recalculate, retract).
Source: ABS-CERT-005, ABS-CERT-006, ABS-CERT-008
The long-term sickness leave that dropped to 75% on day 15
A worker on long-term sickness leave is entitled to full pay under a qualification plan. Policy requires a doctor’s certificate submitted to the manager within 14 calendar days of the absence start date; if it is not provided, the entitlement for the rest of the absence drops to 75%.
- 1.The implementer creates the Doctor’s Certificate requirement: Type Authorization, Status Active, trigger on the absence start date, due date a 14-calendar-day waiting period from the absence start date, Classification Entitlement — and associates it with the sickness absence type on the Action Items tab.
- 2.On the absence start date the requirement fires as an action item; the Primary Certification Authorized target field is set True on creation.
- 3.Day 15 arrives with no certificate. The on-passage-of-due-date phase runs: the target field is set False and the entitlement reevaluation overrides the payment to 75% as of the action date.
- 4.When the worker later submits the certificate and HR marks the action item complete, the on-completion phase sets the field True again and the entitlement can be recalculated from the absence start date or the completion date.
Takeaway: The certificate is not paperwork — it is the switch. Each phase of the requirement moves both the status the worker sees and the money the plan pays, which is why the phase actions and the reevaluation rules must be configured together, not separately.
Source: ABS-CERT-009, ABS-CERT-007, ABS-CERT-008
Configuration model
Navigation paths
Absences work area > Tasks panel > Absence Certifications > CreateABS-CERT-010Absences work area > Absence Types > Create Absence Type > Action Items tab — associate the certification requirement with the absence typeABS-CERT-001Manage Absence Records and Entitlements > Edit Absence dialog box — the action item appears here when the trigger is the absence start dateABS-CERT-005
Objects
Certification requirement
The action item definition: Name, Type (Authorization / Timeliness / Other), Status (Active), Trigger, Due Date Rule (waiting period, start date, duration, UOM), Classification (Documentation / Entitlement), and per-phase actions.
Risk if wrong: A due date rule anchored to the wrong start date (not the absence start date) shifts the whole enforcement window; an inactive status makes the requirement a no-op.
Trigger
When the requirement takes effect: on demand (HR adds the action item when recording the absence) or on the absence start date (appears in the Edit Absence dialog box).
Risk if wrong: On-demand means a worker who is never given the action item is never gated — the entitlement continues with no requirement ever firing.
Target status field
The absence-recording status each phase sets: Primary Certification Authorized for an authorization requirement, Late Notification Override for a timeliness requirement.
Risk if wrong: Setting the wrong field means the status the worker sees never reflects the requirement, and downstream rules reading that field misfire.
Entitlement reevaluation rule
Per phase: Override (entered revised payment percentage wins over the plan’s payment rules), Recalculate (plan payment rules apply), or Retract (payments stop), as of the absence start date or the action date.
Risk if wrong: Retract where Override was meant stops pay entirely; recalculating as of the wrong date (action date instead of absence start date) moves money for the wrong period.
Constraints
- Certifications are supported only for absence types with the illness or injury and maternity absence patterns.
- Two-step configuration: create with the Absence Certifications task, then associate with the absence type on the Action Items tab of the Create Absence Type page; when workers schedule the absence, they are subject to the requirement.
- Classification is Documentation or Entitlement; the Absence Record Update Rule is Authorization, Timeliness or Other.
- Trigger is on demand (HR adds the action item on Manage Absence Records and Entitlements) or on the absence start date (action item in the Edit Absence dialog box).
- Phases are on creation, on passage of due date, and on completion; each can set the certification status during absence recording and reevaluate entitlements.
- Authorization requirements target Primary Certification Authorized; timeliness requirements target Late Notification Override.
- Entitlement reevaluation rules are Override, Recalculate and Retract, evaluated as of the absence start date or the action date.
Source: ABS-CERT-001, ABS-CERT-005, ABS-CERT-006, ABS-CERT-007, ABS-CERT-008, ABS-CERT-010
Common mistakes
Wrong: Associating a certification requirement with a vacation or generic absence type.
Symptom: The requirement never appears as an action item; the type is outside the supported patterns, so the gate silently does not exist.
Fix: Certifications are supported only for absence types with the illness or injury and maternity patterns.
Wrong: Setting the trigger to on demand and never actually adding the action item.
Symptom: The worker is never asked for documents and the entitlement continues unchallenged.
Fix: On demand requires HR to add the action item on the Manage Absence Records and Entitlements page when recording the absence; on the absence start date it fires automatically in the Edit Absence dialog box.
Wrong: Configuring the phases but leaving entitlement reevaluation unset.
Symptom: The status field flips (e.g. Primary Certification Authorized goes False) but the payment never changes, so the gate has no teeth.
Fix: Each phase can reevaluate entitlements — Override, Recalculate or Retract, as of the absence start date or the action date. Configure the money rule in the same phase as the status rule.
Wrong: Classifying the requirement as Documentation when the intent is to change pay.
Symptom: Documents are tracked but payment percentages for the qualification plan never update.
Fix: Entitlement classification exists for payment updates; Documentation only tracks the documents.
Wrong: Anchoring the due date waiting period to something other than the absence start date.
Symptom: The 14-day clock starts at the wrong moment and the override fires early or late for every worker.
Fix: In the worked example the waiting period start date is the absence start date, duration in calendar days, UOM calendar days.
Diagnosing it
Symptom: A worker on sickness leave keeps being paid in full although the certification due date has passed, and the requirement shows a False status.
Category: configuration
- 1.
Is the requirement associated with the absence type on the Action Items tab of the Create Absence Type page?
If no: The type is not subject to the requirement at all — association is the second configuration step and the one most often skipped.
Evidence to capture: The Action Items tab of the absence type
- 2.
Is the absence type’s pattern illness or injury, or maternity?
If no: Certifications are supported only for those two patterns; on any other type the requirement does not apply.
Evidence to capture: The absence pattern selected on the type
- 3.
For the on-passage-of-due-date phase, is an entitlement reevaluation rule configured (Override, Recalculate or Retract) and with which as-of date?
If no: The status field changes but the payment does not — the phase needs both a target field update and a reevaluation rule.
Evidence to capture: The On Passage of Due Date section of the requirement
- 4.
Is the target field the right one for the rule — Primary Certification Authorized for authorization, Late Notification Override for timeliness?
If no: The status updates a field nothing reads; the worker sees no change and downstream rules misfire.
Evidence to capture: The Actions section target field versus the requirement rule
- 5.
Did the requirement actually trigger — on the absence start date automatically, or did HR add the on-demand action item?
If no: An on-demand requirement that was never added is a gate that never closed.
Evidence to capture: The action items on the absence record in Manage Absence Records and Entitlements
Confirm: Verify in order: association on the type, supported pattern, trigger actually fired, then the due-date phase’s reevaluation rule and target field — the status flipping without a payment change means the reevaluation rule is the missing half.
Recall
What is an absence certification requirement, which absence types support it, and what can each of its three phases do?
Answer shape: An action item workers must complete to continue receiving entitlements during an absence, created with the Absence Certifications task and associated with an absence type on the Action Items tab — supported only for illness/injury and maternity patterns. Classification is Documentation or Entitlement; the update rule is Authorization (gates the entitlement on the action item), Timeliness (reacts to late notification) or Other. It triggers on demand by HR or on the absence start date. Its three phases — on creation, on passage of due date, on completion — each set the target status field (Primary Certification Authorized for authorization, Late Notification Override for timeliness) and can reevaluate entitlements as of the absence start date or action date using Override, Recalculate or Retract.
Memory hook: Two steps: certify, then associate. Three phases: created, overdue, completed — each moves the status and may move the pay. Illness and maternity only.
Source evidence
Chapter 14 of the Implementing Absence Management book (faiam) was read directly on 2026-11-07: the certification requirement options and pattern restriction, the classification and update-rule tables, the trigger options, the phase/action model with target status fields and entitlement reevaluation rules, and the worked Doctor’s Certificate creation example.
- source-faiam-cert-options
- source-faiam-cert-types
- source-faiam-cert-triggers
- source-faiam-cert-actions
- source-faiam-cert-create
Release scope: FA Latest
Recorded gaps
- The pages describe the requirement model and one worked example; the full field list of the Create Absence Certification page beyond the example’s table is not enumerated, so fields outside the example are not asserted.
- How the Evaluate Certification Updates process interacts with action item statuses is named in the processes chapter (15), not the pages read here, and is not asserted.
- The example’s trigger wording differs between the decisions table (on the absence start date) and the field table (On initial absence entry); this lesson records both wordings rather than choosing one.
Related concepts
- Absence typedepends on
The certification attaches to the absence type on its Action Items tab, and only illness/injury and maternity patterns support it — the type’s pattern decides whether a certification can exist at all.
- Absence approval and processing rulesextends
The processing-rules lesson covers what happens between submission and entitlement; a certification requirement is the conditional gate on top of that entitlement, reevaluating it at each phase.
- The accrual plan, configuredreferenced by
Entitlement-classified requirements change payment percentages for qualification plans; the plan’s payment rules are what the Override rule overrides.
Self-check
An auto-graded assessment is attached to this lesson: assessment-absence-certifications
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