Results for “pay_time_definitions”

AI-generated from documented ETRM metadata — verify critical details on the linked pages.

Overview

The PAY_TIME_DEFINITIONS table, owned by the HR schema and part of the PAY (Payroll) product module in Oracle EBS 12.1.1 / 12.2.2, stores the definition of periods of time used throughout Oracle Payroll and related modules. Each row describes a reusable time construct — for example, a calendar week, a payroll period, a fiscal quarter, or a dynamic period anchored to a date — that payroll processing, element eligibility, and period resolution logic can reference. Because many downstream payroll and HR objects attach a TIME_DEFINITION_ID, this table functions as a central reference point for how the application interprets time spans.

From the documented foreign-key structure, which shows numerous tables pointing back to PAY_TIME_DEFINITIONS through the TIME_DEFINITION_ID column, the Data Vault classification is heuristically hub-leaning. As a modeling suggestion, this indicates the table behaves primarily as a hub of time-definition business keys, with associated reference attributes that in a strict Data Vault model might be separated into a satellite.

Key Information Stored

The table contains 17 documented columns. The most significant are:

• TIME_DEFINITION_ID — the surrogate primary key (PAY_TIME_DEFINITIONS_PK), uniquely identifying each time definition.
• DEFINITION_NAME and SHORT_NAME — the descriptive name and abbreviated name presented to users.
• BUSINESS_GROUP_ID and LEGISLATION_CODE — with DEFINITION_NAME, these form the unique business key (PAY_TIME_DEFINITIONS_UK1), scoping each definition to a business group and legislation.
• PERIOD_TYPE and PERIOD_UNIT — the type of period (for example, calendar or fiscal) and the unit of measure (day, week, month, year).
• DEFINITION_TYPE — categorises whether the definition is calendar-based or dynamic.
• DYNAMIC_CODE — the rule used to derive dates for dynamic time definitions.
• DAY_ADJUSTMENT — the offset applied to calculated boundaries.
• NUMBER_OF_YEARS — the span in years for certain generated periods.
• START_DATE — the effective start of the definition.
• PERIOD_TIME_DEFINITION_ID — a self-referencing link to a parent definition where period hierarchies exist.
• OBJECT_VERSION_NUMBER — supports optimistic locking, and ZD_EDITION_NAME participates in the 12.2.2 editioning key columns.

Common Use Cases and Queries

Typical reporting and diagnostic scenarios resolve payroll or HR records to their underlying time definition, or list the definitions available within a business group and legislation. A common join resolves a payroll period to its definition:

• SELECT r.RUN_RESULT_ID, t.DEFINITION_NAME, t.PERIOD_TYPE, t.PERIOD_UNIT FROM PAY_RUN_RESULTS r JOIN PAY_TIME_DEFINITIONS t ON r.TIME_DEFINITION_ID = t.TIME_DEFINITION_ID;
• Listing definitions by scope: SELECT TIME_DEFINITION_ID, DEFINITION_NAME FROM PAY_TIME_DEFINITIONS WHERE BUSINESS_GROUP_ID = :bg AND LEGISLATION_CODE = :leg;
• Identifying dynamic definitions: SELECT DEFINITION_NAME, DYNAMIC_CODE FROM PAY_TIME_DEFINITIONS WHERE DEFINITION_TYPE = 'D';

These queries underpin audits of how payroll runs, element types, and period calendars are configured for a given legislative context.

Related Objects

The following significant objects reference PAY_TIME_DEFINITIONS via TIME_DEFINITION_ID, or are otherwise closely coupled:

• PAY_EVENT_GROUPS — references TIME_DEFINITION_ID, linking event groups to a time definition.
• PAY_ELEMENT_TYPES_F — attaches element types to a time definition for processing frequency.
• PAY_EVENT_PROCEDURES — ties event procedures to a definition.
• PAY_ENTRY_PROCESS_DETAILS — resolves entry processing to a definition.
• PER_TIME_PERIODS — the core period table, referencing TIME_DEFINITION_ID.
• HR_S_ELEMENT_TYPES_F — the HR shadow of element types carrying the same reference.
• PAY_ORG_PAYMENT_METHODS_F — payment methods referencing a definition.
• PAY_RUN_BALANCES and PAY_RUN_RESULTS — payroll run outputs tied to a time definition.