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Overtime Rules

Overtime Rules

Updated over a week ago

Overtime rules can be created to manage any employee's overtime requirements. This section covers simple overtime rules.

Overtime is calculated on our system by creating a different set of timesheet rows which we refer to as calculated rows. We split time up accordingly in the calculated time, and then allocate different rows of calculated time to different rate codes, which you can configure in the overtime rule setup. Therefore, if you require overtime that pays a 2 x standard rate, then you must have a pay rate code for standard time, and a pay rate code for double time. You will need to manually enter the pay rates for each, when configuring your task rates.

To access the overtime rules, click Settings > Overtime Rules > Create overtime rule group.


First, we will cover what each category means and what information is required to create an overtime rule.

Rule Group Name
The rule group name is the name of your overtime rule. You will see this name when you enter the overtime rules settings page to allow you to easily identify each overtime rule.

Rule Type
The rule type will determine the complexity of your overtime rules. For this guide, we will cover time of day rules, as these are classed as simple overtime rules. If you require a custom rule set or a complex overtime rule please contact support on 0207 993 4181.

Rule Code
A rule code is used when importing new project into Timesheet Portal that will be using your overtime rule.

Timesheet Description
The timesheet description is what will appear in an employees timesheet. It is recommended to make this name an easily identifiable name for your employees to avoid confusion about why the hours are being calculated. Remember this is the name shown in the timesheet when the employee records their time. For each overtime output, we use the timesheet description associated with the rate code which the overtime output is associated with.



Time Entry Mode
Time entry mode will determine how the employee needs to enter time into a timesheet. As time of day rules require a start and end time, you can only use time input modes which capture these. For example, Start/End/Break rate type cannot be used because if we don't know what time the break start and ends, we have no way of determining when to apply overtime which is based on the time of day. The following rate types are available:

Start/End
Start/End mean that the employee will need to enter time into the timesheet using a start time and an end time.

Start/End/Break Start/Break End
Start/End/Break Start/Break End means that the employee will need to enter time using a start time and an end time as well as entering a start and end time for their breaks.

Default Rate
The default rate is the standard rate which will determine the employees standard rate of pay (i.e. any time that does not fall into a target time band).

Public Holiday Rates
Public holiday rate is the rate which will be referenced when the employee works on a public holiday. If you do not wish to treat public holidays differently, then set this to None.

Add Target Rate
This is the section that allows you to define the different time bands, and what rate code to split up the recorded time into.

The target rate allows you to select a rate code and add it to your overtime table. You can add multiple rates by clicking the add button next to the target rate drop-down menu. If you do not have enough rates or you would like to create new rates specifically for your overtime rule, go to Settings > Rate codes & Units > Create new rate code.

Once you have added in a target rate, you can click on the rate below the overtime hours table, and then click on the quarterly hour interval boxes to colour them. By colouring the boxes here, you are specifying that any time entered between these coloured hours must be converted into the rate code for which target rate code the colour relates to.

Custom rule sets

While the above graphic represents the Time of day rule type, a Custom rule set can also be created with varying complexities.

A commonly used custom rule set is Threshold, of which there are 4 variations: Daily, Weekly, Contracted hours or Over running time period. To create a custom rule set, change the Rule Type of an overtime rule group to Custom rule set, then use the Add Rule button.

When using a threshold, the system will automatically allocate any excess time to the designated overtime rate

To setup a Daily Threshold overtime rule:

Select Threshold (daily) as the Rule Type

Enter a description for the Rule

Select which days to apply the rule to

Select the source rate used in the timesheet

Use Output to rate for the target output mode

Select the overtime target rate with reference to point 5. This will be the rate for which overtime will be outputted to

Enter the daily time threshold in hours

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