Compensation steps in Workday are designed to support structured, automatic pay progression based on time, service, or measurable criteria. To meet the requirement in this scenario, the configuration must enforce two separate conditions before the employee progresses to the next step: completion of 12 months of duration and accumulation of 400 worked hours.

In Workday, duration defines the minimum amount of time an employee must remain on a compensation step before becoming eligible for progression. Setting the duration to 12 months ensures the employee cannot advance earlier than one year of service. However, duration alone is insufficient when additional criteria—such as hours worked—must also be met.

This is where step progression rules are used. A step progression rule allows administrators to define measurable thresholds, such as hours worked, that must be satisfied before progression occurs. By configuring a rule that counts 400 hours worked, Workday ensures that employees who do not meet the hours requirement will not advance, even if they have completed 12 months.

Options A and B only configure one condition and do not satisfy the full requirement. Option C applies to initial step assignment, not progression eligibility.

Therefore, combining a 12-month duration with a step progression rule based on hours worked is the correct and Workday-supported configuration, making option D the correct answer.