Unpaid Break Rule Entry

Description

In the Rates and Rules module it is possible to configure a pay agreement to automatically apply an unpaid break after a payee has worked a certain number of hours. For example, a pay agreement may stipulate that a payee is eligible for a 30-minute unpaid break after having worked 5 consecutive hours on any given day. The duration of the unpaid break is then subtracted from the total hours for the corresponding shift, so the correct hours are paid.

Currently, if the entire break duration does not fit within the duration of the shift, the system does not apply the break. For example, if the entire duration of a shift is 5 hours and 15 minutes and the agreement stipulates a 30-minute break after 5 hours, the system does not apply the break and the entire 5 hours and 15 minutes of the shift are treated as paid working hours.

Therefore, the system does not cater for the condition where if the payee has qualified for a break per the applicable unpaid break rule, the entire break duration must be deducted from the duration of the shift - even if the shift ends part way into what is effectively the unpaid break time. So, in the last scenario described above, a 30-minute unpaid break must be deducted from the 5 hour and 15-minute shift duration to give a total of 4 hours and 45 minutes of paid time.

An enhancement has been completed in the 11.37 release to support this type of condition.

To determine if and how an unpaid break should be applied if the duration of a shift is insufficient to apply the break in its entirety, a new field labelled Insufficient Shift Duration Condition has been added to the Rates and Rules > Pay Agreements > Edit Pay Agreement > Primary Interpretation > Unpaid Break Rule Entry > After X Hours.

The Insufficient Shift Duration Condition field allows the selection of one of the following options:

• Apply Partial Break – if a shift ends part way through an unpaid break, only that portion of the break that fits between the break start time and the shift end time will be applied and the duration of the partial break will be subtracted from the total hours worked

• Apply Full Break – if a shift ends part way through an unpaid break, the entire duration of the break will be applied up until the shift end time and the entire duration of the break will be subtracted from the total hours worked

• Don't Apply Break – if a shift ends part way through an unpaid break, the break will not be applied and the break duration will not be subtracted from the total hours worked. This will be the default option for all new and existing agreements and will work as per current functionality.

The Insufficient Shift Duration Condition field is highlighted in the example below.

The Insufficient Shift Duration Condition field will be locked down when the Primary Interpretation header, to which the unpaid break rule is linked, has been used to interpret a timesheet.

Benefits

This enhancement provides greater flexibility in determining how unpaid breaks are handled within an agreement, and will assist Agencies to support these types of conditions where required.

Configuration

Unpaid break rules are configured in Rates and Rules > Pay Agreements > Edit Pay Agreement > Primary Interpretation > Unpaid Break Rule Entry > After X Hours. To apply condition where the break duration may not fit within the duration of a shift, select the option required from the drop-down list next to Insufficient Shift Duration Condition:

• Apply Partial Break

• Apply Full Break

• Don't Apply Break

The table below shows examples of the difference in outcomes that an unpaid break rule will achieve depending on the option selected. In each case, the unpaid break rule is configured to apply one 30-minute break after 5 hours.

An unpaid break rule can be configured to apply multiple breaks during a shift. The table below shows examples of the differences in outcomes depending on the option selected in the Insufficient Shift Duration Condition field when the unpaid break rule is configured to apply a maximum of two breaks during a shift. In each case, it is assumed the rule is configured to apply one 30-minute break after 3.5 hours. In each case, it is assumed that the unpaid break rule is configured such that the second break begins 3.5 hours after the end of the first break (i.e. the Exclude Break Duration option applies).

Note also that unpaid breaks can be applied based on the unpaid break rule, a break keyed on a timesheet or both.

If there is no unpaid break keyed against the timesheet, the break is applied based on the unpaid break rule on the pay agreement. If there is a break keyed against the timesheet, the Interpreter checks if the timesheet break occurred within the variance (number of minutes) defined by the unpaid break rule. If the timesheet break occurred within the variance, the break is derived from the timesheet instead of from the unpaid break rule. If the timesheet break occurred outside of the variance, the unpaid break rule and the timesheet break are applied.

The option that is selected in the Insufficient Shift Duration Condition field on the unpaid break rule must be applied to the actual break that would be applied in each case, regardless of whether that break is derived from the unpaid break rule or the timesheet.

For example, consider a scenario where an unpaid break rule is configured to apply one 30-minute break after 4 hours and the variance is set to 15 minutes. The table below shows the difference in outcomes that an unpaid break rule will achieve depending on the option selected in the Insufficient Shift Duration Condition field and whether a break is applied from the unpaid break rule or the timesheet.