HDL Template for Benefit Participant Enrollment (Oracle Fusion HCM)

Introduction

Oracle Fusion HCM allows Benefit enrollments to be loaded in bulk using HCM Data Loader (HDL). This is especially useful during New Hire loads, Open Enrollment, Life Events, or mass corrections.

In this blog, we will walk through a complete end-to-end process to load Benefit Participant Enrollment using the ParticipantEnrollment.dat file, along with a related CompensationObject section.

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When to Use ParticipantEnrollment.dat

You should use ParticipantEnrollment.dat when you need to:

• Enroll an employee into a Benefits Program

• Assign Plans, Options, and Coverage

• Process enrollments triggered by Life Events (New Hire, Marriage, etc.)

• Perform initial benefit enrollment for new hires

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Prerequisites

Before loading the file, ensure the following:

1. Employee already exists in the system (Person record created)

2. Date of Birth (DOB) is populated for the employee - Required for age-based eligibility, dependent validation, and certain benefit plans.

3. Payroll is assigned to the employee - Payroll effective date aligns with hire/enrollment date

4. Salary is assigned - Salary record is active as of the benefit enrollment date (Required for benefit plans that calculate rates, premiums, or coverage based on salary)

5. Benefits Program, Plan, and Options are already configured

6. Life Event (e.g., New Hire) exists and is active

7. Dates align with the employee’s hire date and benefit eligibility

8. HDL access is available

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File Name

ParticipantEnrollment.dat

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HDL File Structure Overview

This file consists of two main sections:

1. ParticipantEnrollment – Defines the employee and life event

2. CompensationObject – Assigns benefit program, plan, option, and coverage

Both sections are mandatory for successful enrollment.

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Section 1: ParticipantEnrollment

Purpose

This section identifies who is being enrolled and why (Life Event).

Metadata Definition

METADATA|ParticipantEnrollment|PersonNumber|ParticipantLastName|
ParticipantFirstName|BenefitRelationship|LifeEvent|
LifeEventOccuredDate|EffectiveDate

Sample Data

MERGE|ParticipantEnrollment|7628|XXTEST|Adam|DFLT|New Hire|
2026/01/12|2026/01/12

🔹 Tip: LifeEventOccuredDate and EffectiveDate should normally match the hire date for New Hire enrollments.

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Section 2: CompensationObject

Purpose

This section assigns the Benefit Program, Plan, Option, and Coverage.

Metadata Definition

METADATA|CompensationObject|Program|OriginalEnrollmentDate|
PersonNumber|LineNumber|Plan|Option|Coverage|Rate

Sample Data

MERGE|CompensationObject|Choice Program (Core)|2026/01/12|7628|1|
Medical PPO|Participant Only|1000|

Field Explanation

🔹 Tip: Program, Plan, and Option values must exactly match the configuration in Fusion.

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Complete Sample ParticipantEnrollment.dat File

METADATA|ParticipantEnrollment|PersonNumber|ParticipantLastName|
ParticipantFirstName|BenefitRelationship|LifeEvent|
LifeEventOccuredDate|EffectiveDate
MERGE|ParticipantEnrollment|7628|XXTEST|Adam|DFLT|New Hire|
2026/01/12|2026/01/12

METADATA|CompensationObject|Program|OriginalEnrollmentDate|PersonNumber
|LineNumber|Plan|Option|Coverage|Rate
MERGE|CompensationObject|Choice Program (Core)|2026/01/12|7628|1|
Medical PPO|Participant Plus One|1000|

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HDL Load Steps

1. Navigate to Data Exchange → HCM Data Loader

2. Upload ParticipantEnrollment.dat

3. Submit the Load

4. Monitor the process:

   • Load File

   • Import and Load

   • Completion status should be Succeeded

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Validation After Load

After successful load:

1. Navigate to Benefit Administration 

2. Search for the employee

3. Verify:

   • Program enrollment

   • Plan and option selection

   • Coverage details

   • Effective dates

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Common Errors & Troubleshooting

                       Common Errors Participant Load

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Key Takeaways

• ParticipantEnrollment.dat is essential for benefit enrollments via HDL

• Both ParticipantEnrollment and CompensationObject sections are required

• Dates, names, and configurations must match Fusion setup exactly

• Always validate enrollment post-load

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Conclusion

HDL provides a powerful and efficient way to manage bulk Benefit enrollments in Oracle Fusion HCM. With a correctly structured ParticipantEnrollment.dat file, you can seamlessly enroll employees into benefit programs triggered by life events such as New Hire.

This end-to-end template can be reused and extended for other plans and options as needed.

If you want, I can also help with:

• Open Enrollment HDL

• Multiple plans in one file

• Retro or correction enrollments

• Error-handling scenarios

What’s Next in This Blog Series?

This blog covered Benefit Participant Enrollment using HDL. In the upcoming blogs, we will deep-dive into related HDL scenarios that are commonly required during Benefits and HR implementations.

1. Dependent Load for Benefits Enrollment - Click Here

2. Person Habit Load Using HDL

🔗 Related Articles & Internal Links

• Common Worker HDL Errors in Oracle Fusion HCM
  A complete guide to troubleshoot Worker.dat issues including Primary Work Relationship, GradeId, and SourceSystemOwner errors.

• How to Fix data using Worker HDL
  Step-by-step solution to load  Worker HDL loads.

• BI Publisher eText Reports – Delimiter vs Fixed Position  Learn when to use Delimiter-based vs Fixed Position-based eText templates in Oracle BI Publisher.