How do reward points expire in Xoxoday Empuls?

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Default points expiry behaviour

Empuls assigns every reward point an expiry date at the moment of issuance. Out of the box, that window is 12 months. An employee who receives 500 recognition points in July 2025 must redeem them before July 2026 — after which the points are automatically forfeited and removed from their wallet. This default keeps your rewards programme commercially predictable and encourages employees to engage with the catalogue rather than indefinitely accumulating unused balances.

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Configuring a custom expiry window

Empuls gives administrators full control over the expiry duration. From Platform Settings → Points Configuration, you can extend the window to 18 months, 24 months, or any period that fits your recognition calendar. You can also shorten it — a 6-month window is common for programmes tied to quarterly performance cycles. Changes apply to points issued after the new rule is saved. Existing balances retain the expiry date assigned at the time of issuance, protecting employees from retroactive forfeiture.

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Why expiry rules matter for programme design

A well-chosen expiry window does three things. It creates a healthy sense of urgency that drives redemption rates up. It prevents liability from accumulating across financial years, keeping your rewards budget easier to reconcile in tools like Workday or SAP SuccessFactors. And it reinforces the behaviours you want to reward — when employees know points are perishable, they pay closer attention to recognition moments and act on them sooner. Organisations using Darwinbox or similar HRMS platforms often align their expiry window with the annual appraisal cycle, so points awarded for a performance year naturally expire when the next cycle opens.

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Bill-on-redemption pricing

Empuls operates on a bill-on-redemption model: your organisation is charged only when an employee actually redeems points, not when they are issued. Combined with points expiry, this means forfeited points carry no cost. Budget is consumed only for genuine engagement — a commercially efficient arrangement for large, distributed teams.

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Notifications and transparency

Before points expire, Empuls sends automated reminder notifications to employees on a schedule the administrator configures. These reminders surface inside the Empuls feed and, when your workspace is connected, as direct messages in Slack or Microsoft Teams. This keeps the expiry mechanism motivating rather than punitive, giving employees ample opportunity to redeem before the deadline. Learn more: Empuls Help Centre — Configuration