Release variable compensation

What this achieves

Variable compensation is held back from each pay run and settled at the end of a period against what the employee actually achieved. Releasing a pool is the step that decides how much of what was withheld is paid and how much is forfeited.

Required role: Administrator.

How hold-and-release works

An enrolled employee’s pay is split between a base portion, paid normally, and a variable portion, withheld each run into a pool. At the end of their settlement period the pool is released against an achievement percentage rather than paid automatically.

Example: an HC Corp UK Ltd employee on a base and variable split accumulates the withheld amount across the period. Nothing of that pool reaches them until it is settled.

Steps

Go to Payroll → Variable Comp.
Review Settlements due for the date shown.
On the employee’s row, select Enter %.
Enter the Achievement %.
Check the preview of what will be released and what will be forfeited.
Select Save.

What the columns tell you

Option	Description
Held so far	What has accumulated in the pool to date.
Projected total	What the pool is expected to reach.
Accumulated	The total withheld across the period.
Released	What has been paid out of the pool.
Forfeited	What was not earned and will not be paid.
Withheld	What is currently being held.

The preview is the check

Before saving, Humavera states plainly what the percentage you entered will do — how much is released and how much is forfeited. Read that line rather than the percentage, because the consequence is what the employee experiences.

Example: entering an achievement percentage against a held pool shows the resulting release and forfeit amounts before anything is committed. If the forfeit looks wrong, the percentage is wrong.

The unearned remainder is forfeited, not carried forward. That is the design of hold-and-release, and it is worth being certain of the achievement figure before saving.

When nothing is due

If no enrolled employee has a settlement period ending on the date shown, there is nothing to settle. That is the normal state between period ends rather than a problem.

The employee’s view

Employees on this arrangement see their own base and variable split and their settlement period, so the mechanism is visible to them rather than being an unexplained deduction.

What happens next

A released amount reaches the employee through payroll. Forfeited amounts are recorded rather than paid, and the ledger keeps the accumulated, released, and forfeited figures so a later question about a period has an answer.