Secondary Assignment Jotform Instructions

The Secondary Assignment Jotform is used for Staff, Faculty, Postdoctoral, and Adjunct Primary Employee Classes (eClasses) to set up Secondary Assignments. The Jotform is modeled after the DocuSign forms.

The Secondary Assignment Jotform is split into two sections:

1. Section I: To be Completed by the Hiring Unit HRP/HRA

2. Section II: To be Completed by the Primary Department HRP/HRA

Generally, the same user will be acting as both of these parties and will complete both Section I and Section II.

If these parties are two separate individuals, the user completing Section I will be asked to provide the email address of the Primary Department HRP/A. Upon submission of Section I (when not saving as a draft), the email address listed will receive an email instructing them to complete Section II of the submission.

Upon submission of both Section I and Section II (when not saving as a draft), the Secondary Assignment Jotform is routed through the approval workflow.

When the approval workflow is complete, the Hiring Dept Contact Email will receive a “Submission Approved” email with a PDF version of the final submission. This PDF is the Personnel Action Form. The Personnel Action must be printed into ImageNow and sent to HR Operations for processing. The Primary Department HRP/A email will also receive a notification that the submission has been approved.

• Sentbox Guide: Instructions for setting up your Sentbox (Jotform’s inbox for users to see where your submissions are in the approval workflow).

  • For Secondary Assignments, only the Hiring Dept HR Contact can see submissions in Sentbox.

• Conditional Approvers Visual Aid: A flowchart that describes how the Secondary Assignment approval workflow is structured

• Approvers Guide for Users: A guide for how approvals work for Jotform PAFs

• ePAF/PAF Processing Guidelines: A spreadsheet that details which submission method is used for specific personnel actions. 

• Secondary Assignment Policy: Defines policy and procedures for Secondary Assignments

• Payroll Processing Schedule: Please keep in mind the PAF deadlines (“PAF Received by HR” column) when submitting personnel actions for the respective pay period. Knowing the PAF deadlines is especially important to prevent overpayments.

• Be sure that your form’s fields are entered correctly before submission. You will be able to review your answers before final submission. Please take this opportunity to review your submission for accuracy.

• Any and every time the form is edited and resubmitted, the approval workflow will restart from the beginning. Any approvers listed will receive another email asking them to approve the updated submission. Please only edit your submission when absolutely necessary, as doing so will prolong the approval process.

• Do NOT list the employee’s email as the “Hiring Dept Contact Email”. This email address will receive sensitive information. It is used in the following ways:

  • As the user who will be able to see the submission in their Sentbox

  • As the email address who will receive the “Submission Confirmation” email

  • As the email address who will receive all submission approval updates (“Submission Denied”, “Submission Approved” emails)

  • As the email address who will receive the final Personnel Action Form to send to HR Operations in ImageNow

  • As the email address HR Operations might reach out to if any questions about the Personnel Action Form

• Do NOT list any approver in more than one spot.

  • In the “Approvals” section of the form, you will be asked to provide the Name and Email Address of individual approvers.

  • List each individual in the most appropriate title.

  • Listing an individual in more than one spot will BREAK the approval workflow and your submission will not be processed in a timely manner.

• Do not list any conditional approvers in the “Approvals” section of the Jotform.

  • Central HR Offices are already worked into the approval workflow for each form.

    • A list of conditional approvers for all forms can be found here. Conditional approvers for this form are listed at the bottom of this page.

  • Listing a conditional approver will cause that approver to receive duplicate approval action emails, which will break the approval workflow.

1. Answer the question “Are you saving this form as a draft?” 

   1. If you are saving the form as a draft, select “Yes”. When you are finished with your draft and hit “Submit”, you will receive an email with a link to your draft. The workflow process will not start until the draft is edited and this question is answered with “No”. 

   2. If you are not saving this form as a draft, select “No”. This will ensure that upon submission, your form is routed through the workflow process. 

2. Fill in the Employee VID and click “Auto Complete Fields”

   1. **Ensure that the “V” is capitalized for the auto-complete function to work properly**

3. Confirm the populated Employee Name matches the employee you are intending to complete the form for. 

4. Enter your email as the Hiring Dept Contact Email 

   1. All updates concerning the submission will be sent to this email address. The final Personnel Action Form will be sent to this email address. Do NOT list the employee’s email in this field. List the primary HR contact.

5. Enter the 4-to-6-digit Hiring Department Timesheet ORG number and click “Auto Complete Fields”

6. Verify that the Hiring Department Home Org #, Hiring Department Name, and Hiring School/Unit are correct.

7. Select the Action Reason. 

8. The employee’s Primary eClass should populate - confirm that this is correct. 

9. Enter the Position Number, Suffix Number, Effective Start Date, Effective End Date, and Supervisor VID for the Secondary Assignment position. 

   1. **If assistance is need in determining the next available suffix please email PAFS@vcu.edu or utilize the Employment History Report in the PAF folder of the Reporting Center**

   2. For Salary Non-Benefited Secondary Assignment position types (AJ, EX) - the effective start and end dates should align with Pay Period Start and End Dates to ensure employee receives full contract pay amount. (Pay Period for Online Entry Dates)

10. Enter the FTE; relevant resources for calculating this field can be found at the links above this field. 

11. Enter the Pays (number of pay periods encompassed by the start and end effective dates.) **For Hourly positions; 24 pays must be entered**

12. Enter the Hourly Pay Rate or Total Compensation amount for the amount to be paid to the employee between the start and end dates of the Secondary Assignment. 

13. Enter all needed Labor Distribution to include the Index and Percentage of each index. 

    1. Account code should default and is based on the eClass of the Secondary Assignment* 

    2. Total must equal 100%

14. Enter Description and Purpose of Secondary Assignment field and attach any relevant files needed for review with approval

    1. Files uploaded on the Jotform will be sent as email attachments to approvers and to the user in the “Submission Approved” email.  

15. Answer the question: “Are you also the Primary Department HR Professional or Associate?” 

    1. If answered “Yes”, proceed with Section II (instructions in next section, Step 4)

    2. If answered “No”, please provide the contact email address for the primary department contact. Hit "Review Answers" and confirm information listed is correct before submission. An email will be sent to that contact to complete Section II and submit for approval. 

1. If you answered the question “Are you also the Primary Department HR Professional or Associate?” with YES, continue to Step 4.

2. If you have been listed as the Primary Department HRP/HRA by the user who completed Section I (Hiring Unit HRP/HRA), you will have received an email titled “Complete Section II: PAF Secondary Assignment {Employee Name} {Employee VID}.

   1. Click on the edit link provided in the email.

   2. You will be directed to a new window that is the Secondary Assignment Jotform.

      1. Section I will have already been completed by the Hiring Unit HRP/HRA. These fields are disabled for you.

      2. Scroll down to SECTION II.

3. Answer the question “Are you saving this form as a draft?” (You will not see this question if completed Section I.) 

   1. If you are saving the form as a draft, select “Yes”. When you are finished with your draft and hit “Submit”, you will receive an email with a link to your draft. The approval process will not start until the draft is edited and this question is answered with “No”. 

   2. If you are not saving this form as a draft, select “No”. This will ensure that upon submission, your form is routed through the approval process. 

4. Answer question regarding IBS funding - see provided resources to determine the answer if necessary

5. If the employee’s Primary eClass is Faculty:

   1. Select your workflow: Monroe Park Campus or MCV Campus

   2. This field will be hidden if the previously answered form fields negate the necessity of this question.

6. For Faculty Primary eClasses:

   1. Review and answer the conditional questions - if the answer to ANY of the three questions is “Yes” the Secondary Assignment will be routed to the appropriate VP for approval. 

   2. If any portion of the Secondary Assignment is funded with Grant Funding - select “Yes” so the request is sent to the Grants and Contracts office for approval.

7. For Staff Primary eClasses:

   1. Review and answer the conditional questions - if the answer to ANY of the three questions is “Yes” the Secondary Assignment will be routed to the appropriate VP for approval. 

   2. Is the employee’s primary job FLSA “exempt” and benefits-eligible? Answering “No” will send the form to VCU HR for approval.

      1. NOTE: If an employee's primary position is full-time and non-exempt, the majority (if not all) hours worked will be paid at an overtime rate.  If FLSA is non-exempt, the secondary assignment must be hourly.

   3. If any portion of the Secondary Assignment is funded with Grant Funding - select “Yes” so the request is sent to the Grants and Contracts office for approval.

8. Review and sign the attestations

9. Provide contact information for the necessary approvers - **NOTE: A name can only be submitted once - if the contact for a given role is the same person, select the most appropriate title and submit their name ONLY once. 

10. Once all approvals have been entered click “Review Answers” and confirm information listed is correct before submission. 

Conditional approvers are built in to the approval workflow. These conditional approvers are Central HR Offices that are required to see Personnel Action Form submissions if the submission meets certain requirements (conditions).

For Secondary Assignment submissions, conditional approvers are based on Primary eClass, Position Number for Secondary Assignment, and Section II questions.

Visual aids for the Secondary Assignment workflow, including conditional approvers, can be found here.