hr-lifecycle-clearance-audit

name	hr-lifecycle-clearance-audit
description	Solve HR employee-lifecycle clearance/audit tasks against the remote Northwind PeopleOps read-only JSON API. Use when a task asks you to inspect leave assignments, payroll/accrual readiness, policy-case folder+notice defects, recruitment handoff, or audit closeout, and return a structured JSON answer.

HR Lifecycle Clearance/Audit Skill

When to use

Use this skill for any task that asks you to act as an HR control reviewer over the Northwind People Lifecycle Portal (remote PeopleOps console). Signals: a prompt names an employee ID (EMP-###), a policy case ID (CASE-...), a recruitment opening (REQ-...), or a candidate ID, and asks you to return structured fields like leave policy, payroll status, folder readiness, notice defects, audit event, approval closeout gate, or final control result as JSON matching a template.

Environment contract

• Web UI: <remote-env-url>/ (Northwind People Lifecycle Portal). The prompt's http://127.0.0.1:<port>/ and login [e-mail] / PeopleOps#2026 point at THIS remote host. Credentials are illustrative; no auth is needed.
• JSON API base: <remote-env-url> (read-only, no auth). Always use this base.
• Health: GET /health -> {"ok": true, ...}. Probe it first if a call hangs.
• Use curl -s --max-time 20 "<base>/api/..." and pipe through python3 -m json.tool. Do NOT save remote data to disk.

Endpoints (GET), in the order you typically need them

Endpoint	Returns	Use for
/api/manifest	module/endpoint map, file counts, seed	orientation only
/api/summary	record counts, departments	orientation only
/api/employees?q=<term>	employee records (leave_balance_days, status, department)	identity confirmation, profile-summary comparison
/api/payroll-ledgers?q=<term>	both "Leave assignment" and "Salary assignment" records (+ accrual_batch_id, base_salary, period, status)	leave precedence AND payroll/accrual readiness
/api/cases?q=<term>	case summaries	case lookup
/api/cases/<case_id>	FULL case: approvals[], attachments, comments[], audit_events[], summary	folder evidence, approval history, per-case audit
/api/documents?q=<term>	document folders: files[], required_files[], tags[], required_tags[], ready	folder readiness
/api/messages?q=<term>	formal notices: quality, defects[], status, channel	notice defect inspection
/api/notifications?q=<term>	same shape as messages	notice defect cross-check
/api/audit?case_id=<id> and /api/audit	audit events: audit_id, event, detail, actor, employee_id, case_id	audit event selection; /api/audit/<id> for one event
/api/recruitment?q=<term>	opening: candidates[], offer_register[], cost_ledger[], notice_packets[], payroll_precheck_records[]	recruitment handoff + cost sum
/api/policies and /api/policies/<id>	policy definitions	reference text (e.g. notice requirements)
/api/attachments/<attachment_id>	attachment text content	follow from case attachments if folder detail is in an attachment

Searching: ?q=<keyword> searches across fields. The same keyword (e.g. an employee ID or case ID) often hits multiple endpoints. For payroll-ledgers and audit, q= an employee ID returns that employee's records; audit?case_id= filters by case.

Overall SOP (step-by-step)

1. Parse the prompt. Identify the entity the prompt is about (employee / case / opening), the stated decision dimension (leave, payroll+accrual, folder+notice, recruitment handoff, audit), and any explicit rules ("exclude draft", "use submitted", "use the answer-template labels, not free text").
2. Identity resolution. Search /api/employees?q= (or /api/cases?q= / /api/recruitment?q=) to confirm the entity ID and name. Record employee_id / case_id / opening_id exactly.
3. Gather evidence by dimension. Call the endpoint(s) for the dimension(s) the prompt names (see decision tables below). Always fetch the FULL case detail for case-based tasks (/api/cases/<id>) because attachments/comments/audit_events live only there.
4. Apply precedence / readiness rules (below) to pick the controlling record and the excluded records. Assign the normalized enum labels, never free text.
5. Select the audit event whose event/detail matches the task's audit_scope. Exclude out-of-scope events.
6. Decide the approval closeout gate and final control result from the combined folder + notice + payroll + leave state.
7. Fill every field in the provided answer_template.json. Output strict JSON (numbers as numbers, booleans as booleans, lists as JSON arrays, enums exactly as listed).
8. Run the pre-submission checklist (below).

Field shape reference

Templates vary per task, but the field families are stable. Populate the union the template asks for:

• Identity: employee_id | case_id | opening_id (string, exact).
• Leave: effective_leave_policy (policy_name of the winning assignment), annual_days/balance_days (integer = winning assignment's approved_leave_days), assignment_id (winning ledger_id), excluded_leave_ids (list), leave_source, leave_precedence_source, precedence_source, profile_policy_ignored (bool).
• Payroll: salary_assignment_id/payroll_assignment_id (winning ledger_id), base_salary (number), effective_date (string), excluded_assignment_id/excluded_payroll_ids, payroll_status/payroll_source_status, draft_exclusion_rule, accrual_ready (bool), accrual_batch_id.
• Folder: folder_ready (bool), missing_files (list), required_tag_present (bool), folder_required_tag_action.
• Notice: notice_quality (valid/defective), notice_defects (list of defect codes), notice_evidence_source, notice_followup_required (candidate IDs), notice_remediation_action.
• Approval: approval_authority, approval_event_id/approval_id, final_decision.
• Audit: audit_event_id, supporting_audit_event_ids, excluded_audit_event_ids, audit_scope, audit_result.
• Closeout/gate: closeout_action/next_action, approval_closeout_gate, closeout_blockers, escalation_action, records_remediation_owner, /, .

Business rules

A. Leave source precedence (tasks naming leave policy / balance)

• Endpoint: /api/payroll-ledgers?q=<EMP>, filter record_type == "Leave assignment".
• Winning record: the "Leave assignment" with status == "Approved" for the current period. If multiple Approved exist for the current period, take the one whose period matches the review period and is most recent by updated_at. (status == "Submitted" for a Leave assignment is also acceptable when no Approved exists — per policy LEAVE-SRC-001 "latest approved or submitted assignment controls".)
• Exclude any Leave assignment with status in {Draft, Superseded, Voided} — put their ledger_ids in excluded_leave_ids.
• Ignore non-assignment ledger rows: records with record_type like "HRMS leave ledger", "People Ops adjustment", "Salary assignment" are NOT leave assignments. They are decoys; never use their approved_leave_days/worksheet_leave_days as the policy figure.
• Profile conflict: the employee profile (/api/employees) has a leave_balance_days and an implied policy. When the approved assignment's policy/days differs from the profile, the approved assignment wins and the profile is stale. Set leave_source = leave_assignment_history, leave_precedence_source = approved_assignment_current_period (or precedence_source = approved_assignment_over_profile), profile_policy_ignored = true.
• audit_result for a stale profile = profile_summary_stale; next_action = update_employee_summary.
• audit_scope = leave_source_precedence_only. Only the leave-source audit event (event like leave.profile_mismatch) is supporting; a folder/tag/notice audit event on the same case is OUT of scope and goes in excluded_audit_event_ids.

B. Payroll source precedence + accrual readiness (tasks naming payroll/accrual)

• Endpoint: /api/payroll-ledgers?q=<EMP>, filter record_type == "Salary assignment".
• Winning record: the Salary assignment with status == "Submitted". (draft and superseded are excluded.)
• base_salary = winning assignment's base_salary (number). salary_assignment_id/payroll_assignment_id = its ledger_id.
• payroll_status/payroll_source_status = submitted. excluded_assignment_id/excluded_payroll_ids = the Draft (and any Superseded) salary assignment ledger_ids.
• draft_exclusion_rule = exclude_draft_assignment.
• effective_date = the winning assignment's effective date: use the period (YYYY-MM -> YYYY-MM-01) or its updated_at date portion (they agree).
• Accrual: if the winning submitted assignment carries an accrual_batch_id, then accrual_ready = true and accrual_batch_id = that value. If no accrual_batch_id is present on the submitted assignment, accrual_ready = false.
• audit_event_id = the payroll audit event for this employee (event like payroll.ready or payroll.draft_excluded). audit_scope = payroll_assignment_readiness.
• control_result: when the submitted assignment exists and accrual batch is present -> ready_with_monitoring. (If folder/notice defects also exist on the case, escalate to hold_for_folder_and_notice_defects; otherwise stay ready_with_monitoring.) Clean onboarding with submitted payroll and approved leave and clean folder/notice -> approve_closeout.

C. Folder readiness (tasks naming folder / records)

• Endpoint: /api/documents?q=<case-or-emp>. Also read the case's attachments[] content text on /api/cases/<id> (folder checklists often describe missing files / tags in plain text).
• folder_ready = the document record's ready boolean (AND confirm against attachments: a checklist attachment saying "Missing X" overrides a stale ready:true).
• missing_files = required_files minus files (set difference). List each missing filename exactly.
• required_tag_present = true iff every tag in required_tags appears in tags.
• folder_required_tag_action: no_tag_action if the required tag(s) are present; add_required_tag if any required tag is missing.
• closeout_blockers gains missing_required_files (any missing file) and/or missing_required_tags (any missing required tag).

D. Notice defect detection (tasks naming notice / formal notice)

• Endpoint: /api/messages?q=<case> (and /api/notifications?q=<case> as cross-check). The recruitment notice_packets[] array is the equivalent for candidate notices.
• notice_quality = the message's quality field (valid / defective).
• notice_defects = the message's defects[] array. Defect code vocabulary (exactly these tokens):
  • missing_ack_deadline — no acknowledgement deadline in the notice body/subject.
  • missing_appeal_instructions — no appeal instructions.
  • missing_waitlist_status — a waitlist notice that fails to state waitlist status.
  • missing_correct_policy — notice cites a wrong/stale policy.
• Do not invent defect codes beyond these four. If the audit detail text describes a defect, map it to the closest code only if a message/notice packet actually carries that defect; the message/notice-packet defects[] is authoritative.
• notice_evidence_source = notice_packet_inspection (when you read message/notice-packet defects) — preferred over message_notice_inspection/case_summary_only.
• notice_remediation_action: reissue_defective_notices when any defect present; no_notice_action when valid.
• A defective notice adds defective_formal_notice to closeout_blockers and drives next_action = block_close_and_reissue_notice.

E. Approval closeout gate + final control result

• Read approvals from the FULL case (/api/cases/<id> -> approvals[]). approval_authority = the final approver; approval_event_id = its approval_id; final_decision derived from decision/note (Approved + "with conditions" -> approved_with_conditions).
• approval_closeout_gate = approval_sufficient_when_records_clean when folder is ready, all required tags present, and notice is valid. approval_closeout_gate = approval_not_sufficient_when_folder_or_notice_defective when ANY of: missing required file, missing required tag, or defective notice. Approval alone never closes a defective folder/notice.
• final_control_result (the master enum, reuse for control_result):
  • approve_closeout — folder ready, tags present, notice valid, payroll submitted, leave approved.
  • hold_for_folder_and_notice_defects — any folder/notice defect.
  • ready_with_monitoring — payroll submitted + accrual ready, monitored cases where no blocking defect but QA flagged monitoring.
• next_action / closeout_action:
  • block_close_and_reissue_notice — notice defective.
  • open_records_remediation — missing files/tags.
  • approve_onboarding_close — fully clean.
  • update_employee_summary — leave stale-profile case.
• escalation_action / records_remediation_owner: folder/records defects -> owner Records; cross-module/notice package -> People Ops Compliance; payroll-only -> Payroll QA.

F. Audit event selection

• For each task, audit_scope is determined by the decision dimension:
  • leave tasks -> leave_source_precedence_only
  • payroll/accrual tasks -> payroll_assignment_readiness
  • folder/notice tasks -> document_notice_findings_only
• audit_event_id = the single audit event whose event/detail matches the scope for this entity/case (e.g. leave.profile_mismatch, payroll.ready, payroll.draft_excluded, notice.defect, case.close_blocked). Prefer the event whose employee_id/case_id matches the task entity.
• supporting_audit_event_ids = all in-scope events (usually just the one). excluded_audit_event_ids = audit events on the same case that belong to a DIFFERENT scope (e.g. a folder.tag_missing event on a leave-scope task). Cross-module "escalation package" events (cross_module.escalation_package) are umbrella events — list their referenced child event IDs only if the task is explicitly cross-module; otherwise exclude the umbrella.
• audit_result for leave-stale = profile_summary_stale; payroll-ready = ready_with_monitoring; folder/notice block = block_close.

G. Recruitment handoff + cost (tasks naming opening/candidates)

• Endpoint: /api/recruitment?q=<opening>.
• Candidate outcome — reconstruct from candidates[] + offer_register[]:
  • selected_candidate = the candidate with committee_decision == "Selected" whose offer in offer_register has status == "accepted".
  • waitlisted_candidates = committee_decision == "Waitlisted".
  • rejected_candidates = committee_decision == "Rejected".
  • candidate_status_source = interview_feedback_and_offer; candidate_outcome_control = committee_decision_with_offer_confirmation; selected_offer_status = the offer's status (accepted / draft / withdrawn / none).
• Cost: recruitment_cost_total = sum of every cost_ledger[].amount. cost_source = recruitment_cost_ledger. Do not use case-summary cost figures.
• Notice followup: for each entry in notice_packets[] with status == "not_sent", add its candidate_id to notice_followup_required. waitlisted_followup_action = the waitlist packet's required_action (e.g. send_waitlist_notice); rejected_followup_action = the rejection packet's required_action (e.g. send_rejection_notice). notice_quality_source = notice_packet_inspection.
• Payroll handoff: a payroll assignment must be created for the accepted candidate only. payroll_handoff_gate = accepted_offer_only; payroll_assignment_status_required = submitted_after_acceptance; draft_payroll_allowed = false. offer_exclusion_reason_for_waitlisted = no_accepted_status_or_offer (waitlisted/rejected candidates get no submitted assignment).
• onboarding_handoff: if is empty and the selected offer is accepted -> (or when a submitted assignment must follow acceptance; pick per the template's wording — the controlling rule is the offer must be accepted before any assignment). only when no accepted offer exists.

Common misjudgments and exclusion rules

• Selecting a Draft or Superseded leave/payroll assignment as controlling. Always exclude Draft and Superseded from the controlling record; still list them in the excluded_* fields.
• Treating "HRMS leave ledger" / "People Ops adjustment" rows as leave assignments. Only record_type == "Leave assignment" defines the policy. Other rows are decoys.
• Trusting the employee profile leave_balance_days over the approved assignment. The approved assignment wins; the profile is "stale" when they conflict.
• Trusting the case summary text for defects. The summary is a hint; the authoritative defects are in /api/messages defects[] (or notice_packets[].required_action for recruitment). Inspect the packet, don't infer from prose.
• Closing out on approval alone when the folder or notice is defective. Approval is NEVER sufficient when a required file is missing, a required tag is missing, or the notice is defective.
• Including out-of-scope audit events as supporting. A folder event on a leave-scope task goes to excluded_audit_event_ids, not supporting.
• Counting the cross-module umbrella audit event as a single entity's finding. It references child events; assign the child event to the relevant entity.
• Free-text enum values. Use the exact normalized labels from the answer template (e.g. ready_with_monitoring, hold_for_folder_and_notice_defects, exclude_draft_assignment, leave_assignment_history). No spaces, no capitalization variants.
• Recruitment cost from a case summary. Always sum the cost_ledger amounts; do not rely on any summary number.
• Offering a payroll handoff to waitlisted/rejected candidates. Only the accepted selected candidate gets the submitted-after-acceptance assignment.
• Missing the FULL case detail. /api/cases (list) does NOT include attachments/comments/per-case audit_events; you must call /api/cases/<case_id>.

Pre-submission checklist

• Every field in the provided answer_template.json is present and uses the exact enum token / type from the template.
• Identity (employee_id/case_id/opening_id) matches the prompt and the API record.
• Controlling leave assignment = Approved (current period) "Leave assignment" record; Draft/Superseded and non-assignment rows are in excluded_* and NOT used for figures.
• Controlling payroll = Submitted "Salary assignment"; Draft/Superseded excluded.
• missing_files = required_files minus files; required_tag_present reflects every required tag.
• notice_defects come from the message/notification/notice-packet defects[], mapped to the four codes only.
• approval_closeout_gate is ...not_sufficient... if any folder or notice defect exists, regardless of approval.
• final_control_result/control_result consistent with the gate: defects -> hold_for_folder_and_notice_defects; clean -> approve_closeout; submitted-payroll+accrual monitor -> ready_with_monitoring.
• audit_scope matches the task dimension; excluded_audit_event_ids lists same-case out-of-scope events.
• recruitment_cost_total = sum of cost_ledger amounts (number, not string).
• Booleans are true/false; lists are JSON arrays; numbers are unquoted.
• Output is strict JSON parseable by python3 -m json.tool; no trailing commas, no comments.