July 21st, 2025
10 min read
Oracle’s quarterly updates for Fusion HCM and Payroll are essential for keeping the system current with legislative changes, security improvements, and functional enhancements. Patch 25B, released in May 2025, is no exception—particularly for UK local councils that rely on Oracle Fusion to manage complex HR and payroll operations under strict compliance requirements.
While these updates bring valuable improvements, they also introduce new challenges that can impact payroll accuracy, statutory compliance, and business continuity if not properly tested and configured. This article highlights the key issues observed in Patch 25B specific to the UK public sector and provides actionable guidance to resolve them.
1. Statutory Changes Not Fully Reflected in Configuration
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
2. Monitor Oracle Community and Support Blogs
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.
