3808082 - Effective date of first MDF record changes to today when effectivestartdate is hidden on People Profile

• When the effectiveStartDate field is configured as Not Visible on an effective-dated MDF object, what date is used when saving a new record?
• Why does the effective start date always appear to be today's date after creating a new MDF record, even though no date was entered?
• Is there a difference in behavior between Create (first record) and Insert (new effective-dated version) when the effectiveStartDate field is hidden?

SAP SuccessFactors HCM Suite

1. Open a user’s People Profile.
2. Navigate to the custom MDF portlet on the profile.
3. Ensure the Effective Start Date (effectivestartdate) field is hidden on the UI.
4. Add the first record with a past or future effective date and save.
5. Observe that the saved effective date is set to today instead of the entered date.
6. Add a second record with a past or future effective date and save.
7. Observe that the second record respects the entered effective date.

The effectiveStartDate field behaves differently depending on the operation type when it is hidden:

• Create (first record): Since no date input is presented to the user and no default value is configured, the system automatically assigns today's date as the effective start date at the time of saving.
• Insert (new version of existing record): The system still presents a date selection dialog for the user to specify the effective start date of the new version — this prompt is independent of the field's visibility setting on the object definition.

This is consistent across all MDF UIs, including Manage Data, People Profile, and custom-embedded portlets.

Note: Setting effectiveStartDate to Not Visible on an effective-dated MDF object is not a supported configuration.

See:

• KBA 2784965 - Hide "Effective Start Date" and "Eligibility Valid Till" in Eligibility of Advances portlet
• KBA 2646360 - The behavior of effectiveStartDate field label in custom MDF objects.

The behavior described here is a consequence of that unsupported configuration, not a product defect.

This is working as designed given the constraints of the unsupported configuration.

Recommended actions:

1. Do not hide effectiveStartDate on effective-dated MDF objects. The field is mandatory for the effective dating mechanism and must remain visible.
2. If the business requirement is to default the effective start date without user input, use a Business Rule (onChange or onSave) to programmatically set the effectiveStartDate value rather than hiding the field.
3. If the requirement is to hide the field from specific roles, use Role-Based Permissions (RBP) to restrict visibility at the permission level rather than at the object definition level.

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