With UCPath soon taking over payroll, here's what you can expect on the next paydays (Oct. 1 for employees who are paid monthly and Oct. 2 for employees who are paid biweekly) and what your options will be for subsequent paydays:

●︎ If you are already signed up for direct deposit, nothing changes — your pay will be deposited just like before into the single financial institution you have designated. However, UCPath offers the option of depositing portions of your pay into two or three financial institutions instead of just one. Note: You can change your deposit preferences in UCPath once it goes live Sept. 27, but your changes will not take effect in time for your Oct. 1 or 2 paychecks.

●︎ If you are not signed up for direct deposit, your checks will no longer be available for pickup on campus. Instead, they will be sent by U.S. mail from the UCPath Center, and they won’t go in the mail until payday — meaning you could be waiting up to five or more days to receive your checks at home. You can avoid the delay by signing up for direct deposit when UCPath goes live. Note: The earliest you can sign up is Sept. 27, but that will be too late to keep your Oct. 1 or 2 checks from going in the U.S. mail.

●︎ Still don’t want direct deposit but don’t want to wait for your checks in the mail? If you are a nonrepresented employee, or belong to a participating union, you can sign up for new UC Pay Card; it’s a debit card that you can get without establishing a bank account. The UCPath Center will load your earnings onto your card every payday — with funds available that day — and you can use your card anywhere Visa cards are accepted.

The ADP payroll services company will issue personalized UC Pay Cards at no charge to the employee. And, there will be no fees to use the cards at in-network locations.

“We think the personalized pay card is an excellent alternative option for any employee who doesn’t want to sign up for direct deposit,” said Kathy Sandhu, payroll services director for UC Davis. “It’s secure and avoids the delays that come with paper paychecks now being sent through U.S. mail.”

The earliest you can sign up is Sept. 27, in UCPath. You’ll need to complete a consent form and provide a social security number. Your cards will not be available for the Oct. 1 and 2 paydays.

Note: Anyone can sign up for a UC Pay Card, and, if you wish, you can direct only a portion of your pay to your card (this would count as one of your three direct deposit options).

Learn more about UC Pay Cards.

Other payroll notes

• Earnings statements — They will be available in UCPath, generally one day before each payday. Learn how to read your new paycheck.
• Pay calculations and deductions — UCPath uses industry-standard, automated calculations for payroll deductions and withholdings. Deductions may have different names or appear in a different order. There also may be minor differences in calculations for taxes and voluntary deductions.
• Vacation and sick leave balances — These will no longer be shown on paychecks. You can view leave balances on UCPath online and your timekeeping system.
• Credit unions — Payroll deductions will end for regular deposits to credit union accounts. Instead, you will make such deposits by direct deposit. (This does not apply to deductions that you authorize for loan payments to a credit union, which will automatically convert to UCPath. If you have already designated a credit union for direct deposit, that arrangement also will continue automatically in UCPath.)
• W-2 forms — You will get two W-2s for 2019, one available through At Your Service Online for earnings prior to UCPath’s go-live date and the other available through UCPath for earnings after the go-live date.
• ID numbers — All employees will receive new employee identification numbers (EMPL ID), generated from the UCPath PeopleSoft platform. On your earnings statement this new number will replace the current Payroll Processing System (PPS) ID; a cross reference will be maintained to historical PPS IDs for access when required.
• Troubleshooting — Paycheck issues? Consult with your department or UCPath Service Channel.

Down time

●︎ AggieTravel — Officials said they expect their system to be unavailable after 6 p.m. Wednesday (Sept. 18) and all day Thursday (Sept. 19), to ensure a smooth transition of new ID numbers into AggieTravel. Access is expected to resume by the start of business on Friday (Sept. 20). 

●︎ Job listings — No UC Davis or UC Davis Health staff jobs will be posted from 5 p.m. Sept. 26 to 8 a.m. Oct. 1. In fact, the entire job application system will be offline.

Prior to the job listings going offline, none will have a closing date later than Sept. 25. Come Oct. 1, job postings will return to the UC Davis-UC Davis Health careers website. External applicants will need to register in UCPath’s new Talent Acquisition Management job application and applicant tracking system, while current employees can simply apply for jobs through the UCPath portal.

Because the existing job application system will be unavailable after Sept. 25, the UCPath team advises staff to back up any job applicant information they don’t have saved elsewhere, like resumes and employment history. 

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