Understanding Oracle Fusion HCM And Payroll Patch 25B: Key Issues And Solutions For UK Local Councils

1. Statutory Changes Not Fully Reflected in Configuration

• Patch 25B includes HMRC changes around National Insurance thresholds and reporting of benefits via RTI (Real Time Information).
• Some councils reported that pre-patch configurations failed to inherit updates, especially when custom rates or override elements were in use.
  

Resolution:
Perform a full legislative data validation post-patch. Use seeded diagnostic reports to compare NI threshholds and PAYE bands. Reapply statutory elements if overridden previously.

• The retroactive pay process encountered calculation inconsistencies, especially where multiple retro entries (e.g., overtime + backdated contract changes) occurred in the same period.

Resolution:
Rerun the “Recalculate Payroll for Retroactive Changes” process manually for affected assignments. Oracle recommends patching the issue via bug fix ID [Bug# 35319823], available via SR.

• In some council implementations using UK auto-enrolment features, incorrect eligibility status was flagged during the monthly process due to changes in assessment logic in 25B.

Resolution:
Review your auto-enrolment eligibility rules. If you're using custom fast formulas for pension assessment, validate them against Oracle’s updated seeded logic.

• Some users reported absence balances (e.g., annual leave entitlement) not updating or displaying in the Employee Self Service portal.

Resolution:
Clear the Absence Data Cache under Absence Administration. Oracle confirmed this is a UI rendering bug and provided a fix in June’s off-cycle patch.

• For councils using the new Redwood Payroll dashboards introduced in 25B, some experienced UI crashes or delays due to missing privileges or misaligned roles.

Resolution:
Reassign the updated Payroll Manager and Payroll Administrator roles post-patch. Use Oracle’s delivered Role Comparison tool to identify discrepancies.

1. Use a Patch Testing Tool like Patchguard

• Retro pay scenarios
• Statutory deductions
• Absence accruals
• Payroll costing

2. Monitor Oracle Community and Support Blogs

• Legislative values validation
• Payslip verification
• Role/privilege mapping
• Reports (RTI, GL costing, BACS)

4. Raise SRs Quickly

Patch 25B offers valuable enhancements, especially in Redwood UX and statutory compliance. But for UK local councils, careful validation is critical. Automated testing, targeted post-patch checks, and leveraging community knowledge will ensure your HCM and Payroll systems remain robust and compliant.

Need help validating Patch 25B?

Contact www.firstcron.com for a demo of Patchguard—our automated testing tool tailored for UK public sector Oracle Fusion users.