Kronos Incorporated, which UKG says grew from electronic time clocks to cloud-based workforce management and merged with Ultimate Software in 2020, also sold software that customers ran themselves.[4] UKG’s policies call this the on-premise deployment. UKG still publishes support policies for that estate on a page titled “Support Policies and Services”, which has a SaaS section, a “Workforce Central Policies” section for on-premise software and an equipment section.[1] Today’s SaaS products, including UKG Pro Workforce Management (formerly UKG Dimensions), are governed by different terms, described in UKG Pro Workforce Management and UKG Ready licensing.[6]
Products under the on-premise policies
The policy names these groups:
| Product group | Release support policy |
|---|---|
| UKG Workforce Central suite | Service releases for a minimum of five years after a major service release |
| UKG Workforce Payroll | Quarterly legislative updates end with the last quarter before end of engineering |
| UKG Workforce Analytics | Supported components include the Workforce Analytics databases, objects, reports and analysis cubes |
| UKG TeleStaff and Workforce Planner | Service packs for the current release and the two prior releases |
| UKG iSeries Central | Service packs for the current release and the two prior releases |
| UKG Virtual Roster | Service packs for the current major release only |
| Timekeeper Central | Defect repairs for the current release only |
The table reflects the Workforce Central Policies section.[1] UKG TeleStaff also exists as a cloud subscription, and the cloud service is listed in the Pro Workforce Management Services Description, so a TeleStaff entitlement may be either an on-premise licence under these policies or a subscription.[6]
Version, release and service release
UKG defines a Version as an upgrade with major new features, a Release as an upgrade with minor new features, and a Service Release as a bundle of defect repairs. Service releases are cumulative, and the hierarchy is Version.Release.Service Release.[1]
End of engineering
For the Workforce Central suite UKG “will provide service releases for a minimum of five years after a major service release, unless foundational underlying third-party technologies are deprecated”. UKG gives notice of the date it ends engineering for released versions, “typically eighteen months or more prior to the end of engineering date”.[1] For Workforce Payroll products, quarterly legislative updates stop concurrently with the last calendar quarter before the end of engineering date, or in that quarter if the date falls on its last day.[1]
The policy therefore ties support lifetime to the release, not to a calendar date per product, and it allows earlier termination when underlying third-party technology such as an operating system or database is deprecated. Customers must read the current Supported Product List on the UKG Community, which requires login.[1]
Support service types
UKG offers four on-premise support levels.[1]
| Plan | Hours | Response targets (High / Medium / Low) | Extras |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | Local business hours, Monday to Friday | 2 hours / 4 hours / 8 hours | Community access, knowledge base, service releases, remote support |
| Gold Plus | As Gold | As Gold | Technical Account Manager during business hours; two named contacts |
| Platinum | 24x7x365 | 1 hour / 4 hours / 8 hours (or 1 business day for Low in the plan description) | Senior support engineers |
| Platinum Plus | As Platinum | As Platinum | Technical Account Manager 24x7; five named contacts; one on-site visit a year |
The policy states that all response times are business hours and are guidelines that may be modified by agreement for an incident.[1] Support entitles customers “to the latest available product version upgrades, updates and enhancements, and documentation released during the agreement period”, downloadable from the UKG Community.[1] An active support agreement is therefore the mechanism that delivers new releases, which makes lapsing support a version-currency decision as well as a cost decision.
Uniformity rule
“For each installation, Customers must purchase the same software support service type for all software and must purchase the same equipment support service type for all equipment of the same type.”[1] A customer cannot keep only a subset of modules on support. When reducing scope at renewal, the installation must be considered as a whole.
Reinstatement and discontinuance
If a customer lets software or equipment support lapse, or never bought it, reinstatement requires payment of “(i) the support services fees at list price for such lapsed or unprocured time period … and (ii) the annual support services at the then current list price for the applicable product(s), plus twenty per cent (20%) of the support services fees”.[1] Dropping support for a year and later returning is therefore more expensive than staying on support.
UKG may discontinue support for the software “upon 30 days written notice to Customer, or at the anniversary date of the relevant Agreement, whichever is longer”, and applicable credits remain on the account for future invoices.[1] The notice period is far shorter than the 18-month engineering notice for released versions, and customers should read the two together: engineering can end on long notice, while support under an agreement can end at the next anniversary date.
Migration to a new platform
Customers that “elect to undergo a major platform upgrade migration (i.e. from Timekeeper Central to Workforce Central suite) are required to purchase the licenses to the new version at the applicable license fees”.[1] A move from one legacy product family to another is not an upgrade entitled by support. The policy does not discuss the move to a cloud subscription, which UKG sells under the Master Services Agreement and the Services Descriptions of the SaaS products.[3]
What support does not cover
Besides the SaaS exclusions, the on-premise policy excludes service caused by improper use, unauthorised repair or modification, use of unapproved accessories, operating-system malfunctions, conversions from products not supplied by UKG, reconfiguration or database rebuilding, external causes such as fire or flood, and an unsuitable installation environment.[1] The policy also lists services charged at UKG’s service rates, including configuration changes, new programming of work rules and pay rules, terminal programming, data integration interfaces, custom reports, installing or moving applications, database administration, performance tuning, disaster recovery, setting up a non-production environment, and troubleshooting operating system, network, firewall, single sign-on or load-balancing issues.[1]
Customers without a support agreement on active product, or who need help outside their coverage period, are charged per event at the current UKG hourly rate, with minimum billable hours that vary by time of day, such as two hours on weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and eight hours from Friday evening to Monday morning.[1]
Equipment Terms
Time clocks and other UKG equipment are covered by the Equipment Terms, which apply to the purchase or rental of equipment and equipment support services and prevail over the master services agreement for those items. UKG lists regional versions for the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific, with an archive of earlier versions.[2][5]
- Fees and term. Purchased equipment and the first year of support are invoiced on shipment. Rented equipment and support are invoiced from the Billing Start Date, may increase at each renewal with at least 30 days’ notice, and renew automatically. Payment obligations are non-cancellable.[2]
- Return. Rented equipment must be returned within 30 days of term end, and unreturned units are charged at the then-current list price.[2]
- Restrictions. The customer may not reverse engineer equipment or its firmware, probe it for vulnerabilities or remove proprietary notices.[2]
- Support options. Device Software Maintenance (firmware support and service packs), Depot Exchange (advance replacement, included with rentals), Depot Repair and Per-Event Repair. “All Equipment, including spare Equipment, must be covered by the same Equipment Support Services option.”[2]
- Firmware entitlement. UKG “may verify whether Customer has downloaded any firmware for the Equipment to which Customer is not entitled”, and the customer must then pay at UKG’s then-current fees.[2] This is the one published verification right in UKG’s documents that targets downloads rather than headcount.
Practical points
- Build an inventory of installed Workforce Central, TeleStaff, iSeries and Timekeeper Central components with versions, and compare it with the Supported Product List on the UKG Community.
- Confirm that every module in an installation sits on the same support type.
- Price a lapse against the reinstatement formula before cancelling support.
- Treat firmware downloads for time clocks as entitled content, available only to customers with Device Software Maintenance.
- Keep the signed on-premise licence and support agreements. UKG’s public documents do not reproduce them.