The SAP SuccessFactors Time Management 1H 2026 release introduces targeted enhancements that strengthen accuracy, usability, compliance, and integration across time‑related processes.
SuccessFactors Time Management 1H 2026 updates help HR and payroll teams reduce manual effort, improve employee self‑service, and ensure reliable downstream payroll processing.
| Release | Preview | Production |
| 1H 2026 | April 13, 2026 | May 15–16, 2026 |
1. Access Time Statement from Time Sheet and Time Sheet Approval Center
To improve transparency and streamline time‑related reviews, SAP SuccessFactors Time Management now allows direct access to the Time Statement from both the employee Time Sheet and the Manager Time Sheet Approval Center.
What’s New
Employees and managers can open the Time Statement directly while working on time entry or approvals—without navigating away to separate pages or reports.
How It Works
- From Time Sheet (Employee Self‑Service):
Employees can open their Time Statement while reviewing or entering time, enabling quick validation of payable time, absences, and balances before submission. - From Time Sheet Approval Center (Manager Self‑Service):
Managers can access the employee’s Time Statement during approval to better understand calculated time results, exceptions, and totals before approving or rejecting entries.
Key Benefits
- Greater transparency: Real‑time visibility into processed time results
- Faster approvals: Managers no longer need to switch contexts to validate time data
- Fewer errors and rework: Issues can be identified and corrected earlier
- Improved employee confidence: Employees can verify how entered time translates into payable time
How It Looked Before
In earlier releases, Time Statement generation and access were limited and fragmented:
- Time Statements were generated only after the Time Sheet was fully approved
- Employees and managers could not view Time Statements during time entry or approval
- Access to Time Statements was restricted to:
- Admin Workbench, or
- People Profile → Time Forms section
- Managers frequently had to leave the approval flow to verify payable time details
- Employees lacked upfront visibility into how entered time translated into calculated results
Technical Details
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Reference Number | TIM‑53794 |
| Document ID | HCM‑95B5‑42CC |
| Product | Time Tracking |
| Module | Time Management |
| Feature | Time Sheet |
| Action | Info only |
| Enablement | Customer configured |
| Lifecycle | General Availability |
| Type | New |
| Major / Minor | Major |
| Business Process Variant | Hire to Retire |
| Software Version | 1H 2026 |
2. Automated Update of Labels for Temporary Time Information To‑Do Cards
SuccessFactors Time Management 1H 2026 , SAP SuccessFactors introduces automatic label updates for Temporary Time Information To‑Do cards on the Home Page. When administrators customize standard labels using Manage Languages, the updated translations are now reflected automatically—without requiring any manual job execution.
How It Looks Now
In the current version, any label changes made via Manage Languages are automatically applied to Temporary Time Information To‑Do cards.
Example:
- The label “Holiday Calendar” is updated to “Public Holiday Schedule”
- The updated label appears automatically on the Home Page To‑Do card after a short delay
- No background job or technical intervention is required
Note:
After updating labels, changes may take a few minutes to appear due to cache refresh timing.
How It Looked Before
Previously, label updates for Temporary Time Information workflow To‑Do cards did not refresh automatically:
- Administrators updated labels using Manage Languages
- The new labels did not appear immediately
- A task definition job had to be manually executed to refresh the cache
- This job execution required SAP Technical Support involvement
- If the job was not run, outdated labels remained visible, often leading to customer incidents
Example:
- Even after updating the label, “Holiday Calendar” continued to display until the manual job was completed
Business Benefits
- ✅ Eliminates manual job execution and support dependency
- ✅ Reduces incidents caused by outdated Home Page labels
- ✅ Ensures consistent and timely localization updates
- ✅ Improves administrator efficiency
- ✅ Provides a consistent experience across Time, Attendance, and Time Off To‑Do cards
Role‑Based Permission Prerequisites
To access and maintain labels using Manage Languages, the following permission is required:
- Administrator → Manage System Properties → Text Replacement
Technical Details
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Reference Number | TIM‑53197 |
| Document ID | HCM‑45E3‑B992 |
| Product | Employee Central |
| Module | Time Management |
| Feature | Time Off – Home Page |
| Action | Info only |
| Enablement | Automatically on |
| Lifecycle | General Availability |
| Type | Changed |
| Major / Minor | Minor |
| Business Process Variant | Hire to Retire |
| Software Version | 1H 2026 |
3. Get Completed Months of Time for Time Types
The SuccessFactors Time Management 1H 2026 introduces a new business rule function—Get Completed Months of Time for a Time Type—in SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central Time Off. This function enables organizations to accurately determine the number of full months an employee is continuously absent for selected absence time types, using a flexible “month of time” definition rather than strict calendar months.
How It Looks Now
Administrators can now use the Get Completed Months of Time for a Time Type rule function within accrual or entitlement transfer rules to:
- Identify the number of completed months of continuous absence
- Use flexible month definitions (for example, May 14 – June 13) instead of fixed calendar months
- Automate reduction or proration of accruals, such as vacation or paid time off
- Support country‑, region‑, or industry‑specific collective labor agreements requiring full‑month absence logic
This logic improves precision when calculating accrual impacts for extended absences such as leave without pay or long‑term leave scenarios.
How It Looked Before
- There was no dedicated rule function to calculate completed months of absence
- Administrators had to rely on:
- Custom logic
- Calendar‑month approximations
- Manual calculations
- These approaches often failed to meet legal or collective agreement requirements, especially where absence periods started or ended mid‑month
How the Rule Function Works
- A month of time is calculated as a continuous period that:
- Starts on any day of the month
- Ends the day before the same day in the subsequent month (for example, 26 Sept – 25 Oct)
- Only absence time types are supported
- Gaps between absences break continuity
- Partial‑day absences do not count toward a completed month
- Mixed or overlapping time types are evaluated separately
- The maximum evaluation period is 24 months; exceeding this raises an exception
Business Benefits
- ✅ Accurate compliance with collective labor agreements
- ✅ Automated accrual reduction and proration logic
- ✅ Elimination of manual month calculations
- ✅ Greater consistency across time off rules
- ✅ Reduced risk of over‑ or under‑accruals
Configuration Requirements
- Employee Central Time Off must be enabled
- Rule function can be used in:
- Accrual rules
- Entitled‑as‑transferred scenarios
- Applicable only to absence‑category time types
Example Use Case
An organization needs to reduce annual vacation accrual after an employee completes three full months of Leave Without Pay (LWOP).
Using the new rule function, the system automatically counts only completed absence months, even if the leave begins or ends mid‑month, ensuring correct proration.
Technical Details
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Reference Number | TIM‑52241 |
| Document ID | HCM‑BD03‑9E9A |
| Product | Employee Central Platform |
| Module | Time Management |
| Feature | Time Off – Business Rules |
| Action | Info only |
| Enablement | Customer configured |
| Lifecycle | General Availability |
| Type | New |
| Major / Minor | Major |
| Software Version | 1H 2026 |
4. Replication Activation Switch for Third‑Party Payroll
With the 1H 2026 release, SAP SuccessFactors introduces a Replication Activation Switch for Third‑Party Payroll. This new switch enables customers to explicitly activate time data replication from SAP SuccessFactors Time Management to third‑party payroll systems using a simplified, centralized configuration in Manage Employee Central Settings.
The enhancement provides clearer control over when and how time data is replicated, improving governance, reducing configuration complexity, and supporting global payroll integration scenarios.
Business Benefits
- ✅ Explicit control over third‑party payroll replication
- ✅ Simplified and safer payroll integration setup
- ✅ Reduced risk of unintended data replication
- ✅ Support for customers without Employee Central Payroll
- ✅ Improved handling of retroactive time changes
- ✅ Better readiness for global and hybrid payroll landscapes
Technical Details
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Product | Employee Central |
| Module | Time Management |
| Feature | Time Data Replication |
| Action | Info only |
| Enablement | Customer configured |
| Lifecycle | General Availability |
| Type | New |
| Business Process Variant | Hire to Retire |
| Software Version | 1H 2026 |
5. New Parameter for Absence Counting Rules
With the 1H 2026 release, SAP SuccessFactors introduces a new parameter in Absence Counting Rules called Planned Hours Excluding Holidays.
This enhancement further extends Absence Counting Rules 2.0, giving organizations greater precision and flexibility in how absence hours and deduction quantities are calculated—especially in scenarios involving public holidays.
How It Looks Now
A new parameter, Planned Hours Excluding Holidays, is available within Absence Counting Rules. When enabled:
- Absence calculation is based on original planned working hours, excluding public holidays
- Public holidays are ignored when determining planned hours for absence deduction logic
- Organizations can comply more accurately with:
- Legal requirements
- Collective bargaining agreements
- Company‑specific absence policies
This parameter is particularly useful when absence deductions must reflect true working time, rather than default schedule‑based hours that include holidays.
How It Looked Before
- Absence counting relied on planned working hours, which could include holidays depending on configuration
- Organizations had limited control when:
- Absences spanned public holidays
- Deduction rules required excluding holidays from the calculation
- Administrators often had to build complex workaround logic or accept less accurate results
The introduction of this parameter removes ambiguity and significantly improves policy accuracy.
Where This Fits: Absence Counting Rules 2.0
Absence Counting Rules 2.0—introduced earlier to provide rule‑based, intelligent absence calculations—are now further enhanced with this parameter.
Absence Counting Rules can already:
- Treat holidays and non‑working days differently
- Apply deduction factors by weekday
- Count absences independent of work schedules
The new Planned Hours Excluding Holidays parameter strengthens these capabilities by adding holiday‑aware hour precision to the calculation logic.
Business Benefits
- ✅ Accurate absence calculations across public holidays
- ✅ Stronger compliance with statutory and union agreements
- ✅ Reduced manual adjustments and exceptions
- ✅ Improved consistency in deduction quantities
- ✅ Greater flexibility for complex working patterns
Example Use Case
An employee is on leave across a period that includes a public holiday.
- Before 1H 2026:
Absence hours may have been calculated including planned hours on the holiday, depending on the work schedule. - With the new parameter:
Absence counting excludes holiday hours, ensuring deductions reflect only actual working time—fully aligned with policy.
Configuration Considerations
- Available in Absence Counting Rules configuration
- Works with Absence Counting Configuration assigned to Time Types
- Requires appropriate Time Management object permissions to configure rules
For detailed configuration steps, see the Absence Counting Rules and configuration documentation.
Technical Context
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Product | Employee Central |
| Module | Time Management |
| Feature | Time Off – Absence Counting Rules |
| Enhancement Type | Parameter addition |
| Enablement | Customer configured |
| Lifecycle | General Availability |
| Type | Changed |
| Major / Minor | Minor |
| Business Process Variant | Hire to Retire |
| Software Version | 1H 2026 |
Key Takeaways
- The SuccessFactors Time Management 1H 2026 release enhances accuracy, usability, and compliance across time‑related processes.
- Key features include direct access to time statements from employee time sheets and faster approvals for managers.
- Automated label updates for Temporary Time Information To-Do cards eliminate manual job execution.
- A new business rule function allows tracking completed months of absence, improving compliance with labor agreements.
- The replication activation switch simplifies time data management for third-party payroll integration.
Thanks & Regards,
Anipe Abraham
Sr. #SAP #SuccessFactors Consultant | Employee Central | Employee Central Payroll | Recruitment Management l Onboarding | PMGM | Sap Hcm | Corporate Trainer.
The blogs on my personal website are designed to support consultants and students eager to expand their knowledge. Writing these posts is driven by my personal interest, and my hope is that they serve as helpful learning resources. I focus on sharing the most up-to-date content in SAP SuccessFactors to ensure readers get accurate, valuable insights. By Anipe Abraham.
