Pay Code Rules

Pay codes rules define the attributes associated with processing of a payment. Pay code rules are defined within an agreement to determine sets of conditions, actions and action limits that apply to pay codes.

Conditions define a set of circumstances to which a specific rule applies. It is possible for a rule to have no conditions, in which case the rule always applies so long as the agreement is valid.

Actions define what happens if the condition(s) of a rule apply. There can be multiple actions for each rule.

Action limits define limits for actions of a condition. An action limit can define a minimum or maximum limit for a condition. It is not mandatory for an action to have any limits.

To understand how conditions, actions and action limits work, consider the example pay code rule in the table below.

In this example, there is one condition which stipulates that the rule applies if the day type of a shift is one of Week Day. That is, in order for the condition to be met, a shift must fall on a week day (Monday - Friday).

The first action of the condition stipulates that if the condition applies, time worked between the hours of 6:00 and 19:00 will be paid at a rate corresponding to the pay code ORD (ordinary time). However, there is a limit on the action stipulating that a maximum of eight hours per day can be paid at the ORD rate only. This means that if the shift began at 6:00 and finished at 19:00, there is an additional five hours remaining to which the ORD rate does not apply.

The second action of the condition stipulates that any unallocated time remaining after applying the first action, the remainder of the time will be paid at the pay rate corresponding to the pay code TAH (time-and-a-half). However, there is also a limit on this action stipulating that a maximum of two hours per day can be paid at the TAH rate only. This leaves a remainder of three hours of the shift to which the ORD and TAH rates do not apply.

The third action of the condition stipulates that any hours remaining after the second action has been applied should be paid at the pay rate corresponding to the pay code DT (double time). This action has no limits and therefore the entire three hours remaining after applying the TAH rate can be paid at the DT rate.

The rates of pay to which pay codes ORD, TAH and DT correspond are determined by pay rate rules.

In the example above, the first two actions of the pay code rule are limited based on the pay code that applies to each of the respective actions. However, it is possible to limit an action based on a pay code group instead, in which case any pay code belonging to the pay code group contributes to the limit imposed by the action.

For example, the second action in the example above could be limited based on a pay code group that includes all overtime pay codes, in which case a maximum of 2 hours per day would be paid against any overtime pay code, not just the TAH pay code.

The following types of pay code rules can be defined:

• time

• schedule

• client schedule

• manual

• general

• counter.

The pay code rules are processed in the order shown above. Rates and Rules checks for a valid time rule and steps through each condition within that rule. If all of the conditions of the rule apply, the application applies the actions and any action limits defined within the rule before proceeding to check the next valid time rule. If one or more conditions of the time rule do not apply, the application proceeds to check the next valid time rule without applying the actions defined within that rule.

This process continues until the application has checked all valid time rules. It then proceeds to check the next type of pay code rules in the same manner. This process repeats until all of the rule types have been checked and, where applicable, the relevant actions and action limits have been applied.

A pay code rule is determined to be valid if the timesheet period of the timesheet being processed falls within the validity period of the pay code rule. Where the timesheet period crosses the validity dates of multiple pay code rules of the same type, the latest rule is considered the applicable rule. For example, if the timesheet period is 07/02/2011 – 13/02/2011 and there is one time rule valid for the period 01/01/2011 – 10/02/2011 and another time rule valid for the period 11/02/2011 – 25/05/2011, the rule that is valid for the period 11/02/2011 – 25/05/2011 will be applicable. The exceptions to this are general and counter rules, whereby the rule that is valid at the start of the timesheet period is considered valid for the entire timesheet period regardless of when the validity period of the rule ends.

Each of the pay code rule types are described below.

Time Rules

Time rules define conditions and actions/action limits based on time-based conditions. The example above, which explains how conditions, actions and action limits work within a pay code rule, is an example of a time pay code rule whereby the first action of the condition is based on the hours worked between two specific times (6:00 – 19:00).

Schedule Rules

Schedule rules define conditions and actions/action limits based on comparison of a timesheet to the job schedule. For example, a schedule rule may stipulate that unscheduled hours worked after 17:30 are to be paid at at an overtime rate.

A schedule rule can stipulate that the condition/action/action limit applies only to shifts that fell on days on which, according to the job schedule, the payee was scheduled to work (scheduled on) or the payee was not scheduled to work (scheduled off).

Note that a job schedule is defined on a job order via the Job Schedule section on the Job Order screen in Recruitment Manager.

Schedule rules can only be defined if the Compare To Job Schedule option is enabled in the agreement header.

Client Schedule Rules

In addition to a job schedule that defines the actual work schedule for a payee, a job order can also have a client schedule. This is used in cases where a client hires multiple payees to work on a part-time basis to cover a full-time position. In such cases, the job schedule defines the part-time schedule actually worked by the payee while the client schedule defines the full-time schedule.

Client schedule rules define conditions and actions/action limits based on comparison of a timesheet to the client schedule. That is, a client schedule rule can stipulate that the condition/action/action limit applies only to shifts that fell on days on which, according to the client schedule, a shift was scheduled to occur (scheduled on) or a shift was not scheduled to occur (scheduled off).

Client schedule rules can only be defined if the Compare To Job Schedule option is enabled in the agreement header.

Manual Rules

Manual items can be added to a timesheet in order to claim reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses that were incurred or to claim any special allowances or one-off payments that may be applicable to work carried out during the course of any shifts during the timesheet period. In the Time and Attendance application, manual items can be keyed against a timesheet via the Additional Items tab on a timesheet.

Manual rules define one or more pay codes that will appear as manual items on timesheets for a job order to which the pay agreement is applied. For each of the pay codes, a manual rule defines the action, and applicable action limits. For example, a manual rule may stipulate that the pay code 01Taxi Fare should be included as a manual item on a timesheet, it should be paid at a rate corresponding to pay code 01Taxi Fare and can be paid up to a maximum of two units per week.

General Rules

General rules can be used to define pay code conditions based on any conditional variable that has been defined within the agreement or any work type that has been defined within the system. Note that the valid work types can be configured in the Recruitment Maintenance application and a configured work type can be applied to a job order.

Counter Rules

Unlike other types of pay code rules, counter rules are dependent on the condition of other pay code rules being met. Instead of applying conditions/actions/action limits based on time data from a timesheet, counter rules apply to the pay codes against which time has been allocated as a result of interpreting other pay code rules.

To understand how counter rules can be used, consider the following scenario.

A pay agreement stipulates that a payee is to be paid at a higher rate for hours worked after 17:30 on any given day but only for a maximum of 2 hours on any given day. Furthermore, a payee is eligible to be paid at the higher rate for a maximum of 8 hours only during any given week.

In this scenario, a pay code rule could be defined to stipulate the condition under which a payee is paid at the higher rate as well as the applicable daily limit. That is, where the time is before 17:30, allocate the hours worked against pay code X. Where the time is after 17:30, allocate the hours worked to pay code Y but only allocate a maximum of 2 hours to this pay code per day.

However, based on the action limit of this pay code rule alone, it would be possible for more than 8 hours to be allocated against pay code Y for a given week, as the rule does not apply a weekly limit. Therefore, a counter rule could be defined to apply a weekly limit for the pay code Y.

Comparing Pay Code Rule Results

It is possible to configure a pay agreement so that where multiple pay code rules apply, payment can be based on the lowest or highest result of those pay code rules.

For example, a pay agreement may stipulate that a payee is eligible to be paid at a rate of $20.00 per hour and is eligible to be paid for a maximum of 9 hours on any given day or a maximum of 40 hours during any given week.

If a payee has worked 5 days during a given week and worked 10 hours on each of those days, the payee has exceeded the maximum payment threshold for the daily and the weekly rule and is therefore eligible to receive the maximum payment under either rule. However, from the perspective of the employer, it is cheaper to apply the weekly rule (40 hrs. @ $20.00 = $800.00) rather than the daily rule (45 hrs. @ $20.00 = $900.00).

To pay the lowest amount in this scenario, the pay agreement must be configured to compare the results of the applicable pay code rules and to pay based on the lowest result generated by those pay code rules.

To allow the results of pay code rules to be compared, the following configuration is required:

• the Compare Results flag on the agreement header must be enabled

• an option must be selected in the And Pay Based on field on the agreement header to determine if the lowest or highest value is to be used

• the compare sets to which pay code rules can be assigned for the purpose of comparing results must be configured in the Compare Sets area on the pay agreement

• the Compare Results flag must be set on each pay code rule that is to be compared

• an option must be selected in the Compare Set field on each pay code rule that is to be compared.

Compare sets are labels that group pay code rules for the purpose of comparing pay code rule results. That is, all pay code rules that belong to the same pay agreement and the same compare set will be compared. When a timesheet is interpreted against the agreement, if the conditions of one or more pay code rule that belong to same compare set, Rates and Rules compares the results of those pay code rules and applies the lowest or highest result, depending on the option selected in the And Pay Based on field on the agreement header.

It is possible to assign different pay code rule types to the same compare set and therefore it is possible to compare the results of different pay code rule types belonging to the same pay agreement.