2026.1 Employee Management: New Time-Off Permission and 401(k) Employer Match Pay Code

NetSuite 2026.1 ships two distinct Employee Management changes that require admin action: a new Time-Off permission that decouples time-off access from broader employee permissions, and a new 401(k) Employer Match pay code in SuitePeople U.S. Payroll for jurisdictions that require employer contributions to be included in taxable wages. A third item, SuitePeople Workforce Management Enhancements, is listed in the source but not detailed — verify in the WFM-specific release notes.

New Time-Off Permission

A dedicated Time-Off permission now governs access to Time-Off Request records and the Time-Off portlet in the Employee Center. Previously these were gated by broader HR/employee permissions; this change gives admins explicit control per role.

Access levels:

• None — User cannot create, view, cancel, or access Time-Off Request records or the portlet. This level is only assignable to Employee Center roles.
• View — Read-only access to Time-Off Request records and the portlet. CPO, HRG, and supervisor roles at this level can view but cannot approve or reject requests.
• Edit — Users can create and cancel their own future-dated requests from the record or portlet. CPO, HRG, and supervisor roles at this level can approve and reject requests.

The source does not publish the internal permission ID. Verify the new permission name in Setup > Users/Roles > Manage Roles and cross-reference the Permission Names and IDs reference for the exact PERM* identifier before scripting role assignments via SuiteScript or SOAP/REST.

Impact on custom roles and SuiteScript

• Existing custom roles will need the Time-Off permission explicitly set — do not assume defaults match prior behavior. Audit every custom role used by HR personnel, supervisors, and Employee Center users.
• If you provision roles programmatically (via N/record on the Role record or via SuiteBundler), update your provisioning logic to include the new permission line.
• Approval workflows that rely on supervisor or HRG access to Time-Off Requests will silently break if the role is left at View or None.

Support for Employer Match Reporting (SuitePeople U.S. Payroll)

SuitePeople U.S. Payroll adds a new 401(k) Employer Match pay code on the Payroll Item record. Unlike the standard non-taxable employer match, this pay code is taxable and reportable for jurisdictions that require employer contributions to be included in taxable wages.

Currently in scope (subject to change by legislation):

• Oregon: Canby Area Transit Tax, Lane County Transit Tax, Sandy Transit Tax, South Clackamas Transit Tax, Tri-Met Tax, Wilsonville Transit Tax
• Arkansas Unemployment Tax
• Illinois Unemployment Tax

The setup requires two payroll items working together: the new taxable 401(k) Employer Match pay code, plus a Nontaxable Fringe Benefit pay code to offset it so net pay is unaffected. The detailed help topic Setting Up Taxable Employer Match Contributions is not available until March 17, 2026 per the source.

What to do

Time-Off permission rollout

1. Inventory all custom roles, especially Employee Center roles, HR roles (CPO, HRG variants), and supervisor roles.
2. For each role, set the Time-Off permission to the appropriate level (None, View, or Edit) under Setup > Users/Roles > Manage Roles.
3. Test in a sandbox before 2026.1 hits production: confirm Employee Center users can still submit requests, supervisors can still approve, and restricted roles are blocked as intended.
4. Update any SDF/SuiteBundle role definitions and re-deploy. Look up the new permission's internal ID in your account and add it to permissions/permission entries in the role XML.
5. If you have SuiteScript that programmatically assigns roles or audits permissions (e.g., via N/record on the role record type), add handling for the new permission line.

401(k) Employer Match payroll item

1. Confirm whether your company operates in any of the listed jurisdictions. If not, no action is required — but monitor the list, since it changes with legislation.
2. Go to Lists > Employees > Payroll Items > New.
3. Set Item Type to Earning:Addition, set Pay Code to 401(k) Employer Match, and enter the amount.
4. Create a second payroll item using the Nontaxable Fringe Benefit pay code to offset the taxable match so it does not affect net pay.
5. Assign both items to affected employees and validate against a test payroll run before going live.
6. Re-check the help topic Setting Up Taxable Employer Match Contributions after March 17, 2026 for any field-level details Oracle has not yet published.

What is unclear from the source

• The internal permission ID and SDF XML element name for the new Time-Off permission are not given.
• Whether the new permission is auto-applied at any default level on existing custom roles during the 2026.1 upgrade is not stated — assume None and audit explicitly.
• The SuitePeople Workforce Management Enhancements bullet is referenced but not described on this page; check the WFM release notes section.