New AF civilian pay process comes to Lakenheath

  • Published
  • By 48th Comptroller Squadron
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  The Air Force is transitioning from a paper-based general schedule employee payroll, Time and Attendance process, to an Automated Time Attendance and Production System. RAF Lakenheath is scheduled to transition to the new system Oct. 21 with the implementation date being the first day of the GS civilian personnel pay period ending Nov. 3.

The transition comes in the wake of the Secretary of Defense mandating the Statement of Budgetary Resources must be auditable by 2014. The Time and Attendance processes, both manual and automated, were considered labor intensive and not auditable, and the system's inefficiencies cost the Air Force $10.5 million of work effort each year.

The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Operations concluded ATAAPS is the system best suited to meet Air Force needs.

ATAAPS is a new system for the Air Force and will require effort from all levels to fulfill training mandates and ensure a smooth transition to this automated system.

The final phase of implementation is training and will include a session for certifiers and GS civilian employees.

Certifiers training for supervisors, certifiers, timecard managers and approvers will be held at the Strike Eagle Complex from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Oct. 4.

Employee training for GS civilian employees will be held at the Strike Eagle Complex from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Oct. 5.

ATAAPS features:

-Timecards will pre-populate each pay period based on the employee's normal duty schedule.

-Mandatory certification: A timecard certifier is an accountable official, as they provide information in support of the disbursement of civilian pay. As such, per DoDFMR Volume 5, Paragraph 020201B, certifiers are required to be appointed and terminated on a DD 577 Appointment/Termination Record, with an authorized signature.

-Email functions: This capability allows for better communication between certifiers and employees by sending email notifications to the certifier when an employee submits their leave requests, compensatory time, overtime and holiday premium pay requests.

For more information regarding civilian pay and ATAAPS training, call the 48th Comptroller Squadron at DSN 226-1355.