Absence - Process Element as Absence Vs Standard Earnings???

Summary

Best Practice for Absence Payroll Processing

Content

We went live with HR, Benefits, Payroll & Absence January 16'.  Of recent, I have been tasked to build a new absence accrual called PTO aka Paid Time Off.  We already have an existing Vacation absence accrual and will be moving away from Vacation to PTO.

Besides the Absence Plan I also built a new element, PTO.  It provide the base element and a number of other elements.  I marked and linked the Absence Plan, PTO, to the new absence type element, PTO.

While testing I discovered something interesting and trying to understand why the vendor who implemented did what the did.  As I mentioned, we currently have a Vacation absence plan.  We also have an element called Vacation of element type of Absence.  On top of that I have another element called Vacation Payment defined as a Standard Earnings.  I have found that the absence element Vacation Entitlement seems to indirectly pass values to the Vacation Payment standard earnings element.  The Vacation Entitlement does not seem to be the element that is A) Costed or B)Appear in Person Results, Payroll Activity Report,