- What are regular working hours?
- Set up a work period
- How to set up regular working hours for a specific day and time
- How to set up total working hours in a work period
- How to hide regular working hours on the Schedule tab
What are regular working hours?
Regular working hours are the hours (over a specific work period) you and your employee have agreed they will work. This is usually decided at the time of employment or can also be amended during employment.
There are two ways you can set regular working hours for your team members in Deputy:
Regular working hours on specific days and time
If you have team members who have an agreement to work specific days or hours during a work period, for example every Tuesday morning and Friday afternoon, then you can now apply these settings to their profile so that when you are scheduling these team members you can ensure they are being scheduled for the correct days and hours.
Total hours per work period - days and time not specified
If your team member has an agreement to work a total number of hours in a work period but doesn't have an agreement as to which specific days or hours this will be, then you can set the total working hours per period.
Set up a work period
Before you can set any regular working hours you will need to define the work period. This period might align with your workplace's pay run, say weekly, fortnightly or monthly. You'll only need to create the work period once in your account and then you can use that work period for all your other team members if you choose.
1. On the People tab, click on the name of a team member you wish to configure regular working hours for.
2. Select Employment from the list on the left and click on Edit.
3. Under Employment details click on the Regular working hours tab.
4. In the Work Period section click on the dropdown menu to Create new work period (or select an existing one if you have already created one).
Any work period you create can be used again when setting the regular working hours for other team members in your organisation.
5. If you need to create a new work period select the new work period length and day of the week it starts on, then click Save.
Set regular working hours for a specific day and time for your team member
To set your team member's regular work hours for a specific day and time in the period you just created/selected select the option Set regular working hours and then click on Add regular working hours.
Select the days, hours, breaks and the area that the team member has agreed to work on a regular basis.
If the work period is split over two periods on the one day you can click on the + icon on the far right of the line to add a second shift for that day.
Once you are done, click on Add regular working hours.
Don't forget to click Save before leaving the team member's profile.
Set regular working hours for multiple people in a bulk action
If you need to set the same regular hours for several team members at once you can do this from the People tab using Bulk actions.
Note: Before you can use the bulk action feature you will need to have already set up your work period as shown above. You only need to do this the first time you use the regular working hours feature.
1. On the People tab, select the Team members you wish to apply the regular hours to.
2. Click Bulk actions and select Set regular working hours from the drop-down menu.
3. Select your Work period from the drop-down menu and click on Add regular working hours, then Add regular working hours.
4. Enter the day, times and areas that you have agreed the Team members will regularly work in then click Add regular hours.
Note: only the areas that are shared by the team members you have selected in the People tab will be shown for selection.
5. When you have finished with your selections, click Save to apply these regular working hours to the Team member's profiles.
Note: in the US if you are using Fair Workweek features in your account you will need to set your team member's regular working hours individually. The option to use Bulk actions to set agreed hours is currently disabled for Fair Workweek and you will find the option is grayed out in your menu.
Regular working hours and overtime - for Australian customers only
In Australia, there are many industry Awards that require overtime rates to be applied for any time worked in excess of an employee’s regular working hours.
Here’s an example where you would use it:
You have hired Antonio as part-time staff to work 21hrs a week, under the General Retail Industry Award (GRIA). The Award states that “For any time worked in excess of the number of hours agreed under clauses 10.5 or 10.6, the part-time employee must be paid at the overtime rate”.
This means that the overtime rate will apply once Antonio works over 21 hours for the week. The week period is determined by the selected work period.
To ensure overtime is calculated and paid in excess of a team member's regular working hours select the checkbox: Pay overtime if they work more than the expected hours for this work period. Remember to click Save before you close the team member's profile.
Important note: this checkbox is only available for Australian accounts only when selecting a part-time industry Award.
You may leave it unchecked for the following reasons:
- under the assigned industry Award, overtime is to be paid following the full-time award rule, which is usually hours worked in excess of 38 or 40hrs. This overtime calculation is already built into the selected award rate.
- or, you want to use the regular working hours for scheduling purposes only and want overtime to apply following the full-time award rule.
Scheduling a team member with regular working hours for specific days and hours
When creating a shift and selecting a team member with regular working hours for specific days and hours, the hours and area configured as regular working hours in their profile will be displayed.
1. Create the shift on the schedule and select the team member's name from the list. If they have regular hours in their profile they will then be displayed.
2. Click Use and the agreed details will be added to the shift.
3. Click Save and don't forget to Publish.
If you create a shift on a day that the team member doesn't regularly work then you will see their name does not appear immediately in the list of recommended team members to select. If you type in their name you can select the team member but you will see a warning explaining that this team member does not have regular working hours on this day.
1. If you type in their name you can select the team members but you will see a warning 'No regular working hours on this day'
2. You can still schedule the shift with this team member, if you need to, by ignoring the warning and clicking Save.
Auto-schedule all staff who have regular working hours
For team members with regular working hours on specific day and hours configured in their profile, you can use the auto-schedule feature to create shifts in the Schedule for those team members.
1. On the Schedule tab, use the location and date filters to find the correct schedule you wish to build and then click on the dropdown arrow next to the Auto icon and select Auto-schedule regular working hours.
Deputy will identify the team members at the selected location who have regular working hours on specific days and hours configured in their profile and build the shifts for you.
2. Click Build to start the auto-schedule.
Deputy will create empty shifts for team members who are not able to work due to existing leave or overlapping shifts at those specific times.
A summary will be generated with the number of shifts created If there is a issue due to the team member not being recommended due to unavailability or training requirements these shifts will generate a warning as shown below:
But they are still added to the schedule with a warning icon.
Don't forget to click Publish to publish your shifts once they have been added to the schedule.
Set total hours per work period for your team member
If your team member has an agreement to work a total number of hours in a work period but doesn't have an agreement as to which specific days or hours this will be, then you can set the total working hours per period.
First, you must set the work period.
Then you can set the total hours per period in the team member's profile.
1. On the people tab, click on the name of the team member you wish to set total hours per work period for.
2. Select the Employment tab on the left-hand side and then click Edit.
3. Select your Work period from the drop-down menu, select Set total hours per period and enter the number of hours and minutes then click Save.
Here are some examples of using regular working hours to set total hours per period for team members.
Example 1:
Nina's agreed hours are 25 hours per week with a work period starting Monday
You should enter 25 hours in the Total hours per period section and select Weekly, starting Monday for the work period. This means Nina should be scheduled for 25 hours for each period from Monday to Sunday. At the beginning of each new Monday, Nina's hours will reset to 0.
Example 2:
Cam's agreed hours are 48 hours for a 2-week period, starting Thursday.
You should enter 48 hours in the Total hours per period section and select 2-weekly, starting Thursday for the work period. This means Cam should be scheduled for 48 hours for each period from Thursday to the Wednesday in 2 weeks time. Every 2nd Thursday Cam's hours will reset to 0.
In some cases, the hours entered can determine when overtime will be applied.
Set total hours per work period hours for multiple people in a bulk action
If you need to set the same total hours for several team members at once you can do this from the People tab using Bulk actions.
Note: Before you can use the bulk action feature you will need to have already set up your work period as shown above. You only need to do this the first time you use the regular working hours feature.
1. On the People tab, select the Team members you wish to apply the regular hours to.
2. Click Bulk actions and select Set regular working hours from the drop-down menu.
3. Select your Work period from the drop-down menu, select Set total hours per period and enter the number of hours and minutes then click Save.
Total hours per work period and overtime
Part-time Australian industry awards (Australian customers only)
In Australia, many industry Awards require overtime rates to be applied for any time worked more than an employee’s agreed hours. Here’s an example of where you would use it:
You have hired Isabelle as part-time staff to work 30hrs a week, under the General Retail Industry Award (GRIA). The Award states that “For any time worked in excess of the number of hours agreed under clauses 10.5 or 10.6, the part-time employee must be paid at the overtime rate”. This means that the overtime rate will apply once Isabelle works over 30 hours for the week. The week period is determined by the selected work period.
To ensure overtime is calculated and paid in excess of an employee’s agreed hours, select the checkbox, Pay overtime if they work outside these hours.
Important note: this checkbox is only available when selecting a part-time industry Award, in Australian accounts
You may leave it unchecked for the following reasons:
- under the assigned industry Award, overtime is to be paid following the full-time award rule, which is usually hours worked in excess of 38 or 40hrs. This overtime calculation is already built into the selected award rate OR
- you want to use the agreed hours for scheduling purposes only and want overtime to apply following the full-time award rule.
Hourly 1.5 x overtime
When selecting the pay rate Hourly 1.5 x overtime, you have the option to customise the overtime threshold using the Total hours per period field. By default, overtime will be calculated after 40hrs within the work period.
Example
Cam's agreed hours are 64 hours for a 2-week period, starting Thursday
You should enter 64 hours in the Total hours per period section and select 2-weekly, starting Thursday for the work period. This means if Cam works 70 hours within the 2-week period if he will be paid at the overtime rate ($17.36 x 1.5) for the 6 hours.
Important note: this checkbox is available when selecting the Hourly (1.5 x overtime) pay rate
Scheduling a team member with total hours per work period
Your team members' working hours will be visible next to their names in the Schedule tab. An exclamation icon will indicate whether you have over or under-scheduled your employee against their regular working hours. I can't see the exclamation or tick in the schedule.
Simply hover over the employee's name in the schedule list and a tooltip will appear with information about your employee's regular working hours.
Example 1:
Leann has been scheduled for 24 hours this week. The green tick under her name in the schedule list tells us her scheduled hours match the total hours per work period set in her profile. When we hover over her name a tooltip tells her regular hours for 24 hours for the specified time period have been met.
Why can't I see the exclamation icon or tick against my team member's name in the schedule?
If you've set total hours per period for your team member but don't see the exclamation icon or tick in the schedule, you will need to make sure the schedule view is aligned with the starting week of the selected work period for that employee.
Things to check:
- have you selected a schedule view that matches the set work period you've allocated to that employee? eg. if the employee has a 7 day work period then you will need to view the schedule in the Week by Area or Week by Team member view to ensure the arrows and ticks are visible
- does the first day of the week on your schedule match the first day of the employee's specified work period? eg. if the employee's work period begins on a Monday then your Schedule will need to start on a Monday to ensure the arrows and ticks are visible.
What happens if I create a shift that exceeds the total regular working hours for that work period?
When adding a new shift, you will be warned if the shift exceeds the regular working hours. However, you will still be able to save and create this shift.
How to hide regular working hours on the Schedule tab
System Administrators can hide the regular working hours feature from the Schedule tab in their organisation if they do not wish to use or see it.
In the Business settings menu, select the Schedule tab and toggle OFF the option to Show regular hours on schedule then click Apply changes.
Once you have toggled this option OFF, no locations in your Deputy will see regular working hours displayed in the Schedule and scheduling managers will not have the option to Auto-schedule regular working hours.