HDL Template to Change Hire Date of Worker

✅ HDL Template to Change Hire Date of Worker in Oracle Fusion HCM (Worker.dat)

Changing an employee’s Hire Date (Start Date) is a common requirement in Oracle Fusion HCM, especially when correcting wrong employee joining dates loaded from legacy systems or during data migration.

In this blog, you will learn how to change Hire Date of a worker using HDL (HCM Data Loader) with Worker.dat file.

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🔥 What is Hire Date in Oracle Fusion HCM?

In Oracle Fusion HCM, the hire date is stored at the Work Relationship level.
That’s why to change Hire Date using HDL, you must update the WorkRelationship component inside Worker.dat.

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📌 HDL File Used

✅ Worker.dat

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⚠️ Important Note Before Updating Hire Date

Before you change hire date, ensure:

• Worker already exists in Fusion HCM

• You know correct identifiers like PersonId or PersonNumber

• Hire date change may impact:

  • Payroll

  • Absence

  • Seniority

  • Benefits eligibility

  • Assignment start dates

So always validate in lower environment first.

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✅ HDL Template to Change Hire Date of Worker (Worker.dat)

Use below template exactly:

SET PURGE_FUTURE_CHANGES N

METADATA|WorkRelationship|SourceSystemOwner|SourceSystemId|
PersonId(SourceSystemId)|LegalEmployerName|NewStartDate
MERGE|WorkRelationship|XXTEST|XXTEST_HIREDATE1|100009|India Legal Entity|
2002/02/10

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🧾 Explanation of Fields (Worker.dat)

Column	Meaning
SourceSystemOwner	Your source system name (ex: XXTEST)
SourceSystemId	Unique record identifier for this HDL row
PersonId(SourceSystemId)	PersonId of the worker (can be PersonNumber too in other templates)
LegalEmployerName	Must match worker’s legal employer
NewStartDate	The corrected hire date you want to set

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⭐ Why We Use SET PURGE_FUTURE_CHANGES N

This line controls whether future-dated changes should be purged.

✅ Recommended:

SET PURGE_FUTURE_CHANGES N

Because:

• It keeps future-dated transactions safe

• Prevents accidental loss of future assignment updates

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🧭 Step-by-Step: How to Load HDL to Change Hire Date

Step 1: Prepare Worker.dat file

• Copy the template

• Replace with your employee values

Step 2: Create ZIP

Zip the file as:

Worker.zip
  └── Worker.dat

Step 3: Upload in HCM Data Loader

Navigation:

My Client Groups → Data Exchange → HCM Data Loader

1. Click Import and Load

2. Upload the ZIP file

3. Submit the process

Step 4: Validate Results

After load:

• Check Import and Load Status

• Review logs if errors occur

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✅ How to Verify Hire Date is Updated

Go to:

Person Management → Search Worker → Employment → Work Relationship

Check:

• Start Date / Hire Date updated correctly

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❗ Common Errors and Fixes

1) Legal Employer Name Invalid

Error: LegalEmployerName not found
✅ Fix: Use exact legal employer name from Fusion setup.

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2) PersonId Incorrect

Error: PersonId(SourceSystemId) not found
✅ Fix:

• Use correct PersonId

• Or use PersonNumber based mapping (if your environment supports)

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3) Future Changes Conflict

Error: Cannot update because of future-dated changes
✅ Fix:

• Review future-dated transactions

• Keep SET PURGE_FUTURE_CHANGES N

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🔗 Internal Links 

• HDL Template to Load Worker Data (Worker.dat)

• HDL Template to Update Assignment Supervisor

• HDL Template to Update Salary using Salary.dat

• HDL Template for Personal Payment Method

• HDL Template for Element Entry

• HCM Extract Changes Only Mode