Bonus and Deductions

Bonuses and deductions are amounts that are automatically added to or deducted from timecards.

Note:
  • When processing, the system treats positive amounts that are triggered by paycodes as bonuses. It views any other positive amounts and all negative amounts as deductions. All deductions are processed first.
  • Bonuses triggered by accumulated hours in a particular paycode require that all other totals be computed first. As a result, these bonus amounts do not count toward overtime.

Use the Bonus/Deduction Rules page (Application Setup > Work Rule Building Blocks > Bonus/Deductions) and the following information to configure bonus and deduction rules.

  • Amount — The decimal or time amount of the deduction or bonus. If you specify a paycode, the paycode type determines the amount type.
  • Applies On — The day or days on which the rule applies.
  • Is Exception — The bonus generates a Bonus exception, which can appear in the timecard, Data views, and reports.
  • Pay code — The paycode for the bonus or deduction.
  • Cancel if break taken — A break that cancels the bonus or deduction. Shifts that contain this break do not qualify for the bonus or deduction. For example, when employees punch out for a meal, this option can be used to prevent them from also receiving an automatic deduction.

Shift Restriction

  • Do not use shift restriction — Employees are not required to meet specific time constraints to receive the bonus or deduction.
  • Use shift restriction — Activates the Must Start by and Must Work Until options. These are specific times that employees must work to receive the bonus or deduction.

Trigger

Triggered by — The trigger causes the bonus or deduction to take place. The Triggered by option changes the information in the Trigger section. The default trigger is Length of Shift.

Use Time of Day to create a deduction, such as a fixed meal. Set the time at which amounts are deducted. Employees do not earn hours during the Time of Day deduction. The deduction applies when an employee's shift contains this time.

Use Paycode to define the amount of time that must accumulate in a paycode before the bonus or deduction applies.

Paycode to trigger — Select an hour type paycode. Apply the paycode to an hour type in the paycode distribution.

  • Minimum — The minimum amount of time an employee must work during a shift to qualify for the bonus or deduction. The rounded shift length is compared to the minimum.
  • Maximum — The maximum amount of time an employee must work during a shift to qualify for the bonus or deduction. If employees work more than the maximum, they do not earn the bonus or deduction. Their rounded shift lengths are compared to the maximum amount.

Note: Employees can be eligible for more than one bonus or deduction. The maximum option can eliminate a lower-paying bonus in favor of a higher-paying bonus.

Time Period — The period during which activity must occur in the paycode for employees to earn the bonus or deduction.

  • Week start — The day of the week that the time period accumulator resets. Select the Week time period to make this option available.
  • Qualify for Shift — Select Yes to specify that employees must work a specific number of shifts to qualify for the bonus or deduction.
  • Shifts required — The number of shifts that employees are required to work before they earn the bonus or deduction. The shift must meet the minimum and maximum shift length requirements.

Use Length of Shift to create a positive or negative deduction that occurs when employees work a specified amount of time. Specify a range of time when the deduction applies and where in the shift it is added or deducted.

  • Use rounded shift boundary times — Select No specify that the system evaluate the following parameters using actual punch times:
    • Minimum qualifying interval
    • Minimum shift length to trigger
  • Short break exception disqualifies break — Yes specifies that, if an employee’s break is cut short, the entire break is disqualified and the employee receives bonus pay as compensation. This option is associated with the Cancel if break taken option.
  • Minimum qualifying interval — The shortest contiguous block of time that employees can be required to work without qualifying for a break. If the shift length is greater than the minimum interval, the shift qualifies for the bonus. They also must meet the Minimum shift length to trigger and the Maximum shift length to trigger. When these three values are met, the shift qualifies for the bonus. The default is 0:00.
  • Minimum shift length to trigger — The least amount of time that employees are required to work to qualify for the deduction. The rounded shift length is compared to the shift minimum. If the shift length equals or is greater than the minimum, the shift qualifies for the deduction. The default is 0:00.
  • Maximum shift length to trigger — The maximum amount of time that cancels the automatic deduction. The rounded shift length is compared to the Maximum amount. Employees must work a shift length greater than the Maximum to cancel the deduction. For example with 15/07 rounds, a one-hour deduction, a Minimum of 6:00, and a Maximum is 10:00, an employee punches in at 7:30 A.M. If the employee punches out at 5:30 P.M., the deduction still applies and the shift is 9 hours. If the employee punches out at 5:38 P.M., the deduction is canceled and the shift is 10.25 hours. Some companies use this option to reward employees who work long shifts. The default is 99:59.
  • Locator — The time the deduction occurs in the shift. If employees earn a daily shift differential, the automatic deduction could affect the time earned in that zone. When a locator is not specified, the deduction is taken at the beginning of the shift. For example, the locator is 4:00, the daily shift differential is 11:00 P.M. to 8:00 A.M. An employee punches in at 7:00 A.M., and punches out at 4:00 P.M. The shift length is 8 hours and the employee earns 1 hour of daily shift differential. The locator appears at 11:00 A.M. If the locator is 0:00, the shift length is still 8:00, but the employee does not earn any shift differential. The default locator is 4 hours.
  • Trigger if locator is at or after — The beginning of the fixed range during which the locator must appear for the deduction to occur. These options restrict when a deduction occurs; for example, just at lunch or dinner time. To determine the fixed range, add the locator to the rounded in-punch. If the resulting time occurs at or after the start of the range, and before the end of the range, the shift meets this requirement. The default is 12:00 A.M.
  • Trigger if locator is before — The end of the fixed range during which the locator must appear for the deduction to occur. These options restrict when a deduction occurs; for example, just at lunch or dinner time. To determine the fixed range, add the locator to the rounded in-punch. If the resulting time occurs at or after the start of the range, and before the end of the range, the shift meets this requirement. The default is 12:00 A.M.

When configured, pays premiums to employees when their work day exceeds the specified limit.

Note: The Spread of Hours Premium configuration is defined as a Bonus Rule attached to a Work Rule. Since an employee can potentially have multiple Work Rules assigned for various shifts throughout the day, to calculate the Spread of Hours Premium correctly, all Work Rules assigned within the day must have the same Bonus Rule containing the spread of hours configuration assigned. If all Work Rules involved do not have the same Bonus Rule assigned, then a premium will not be generated.

  • Amount of spread — Indicates the premium amount to be awarded.
  • When checked, the premium amount awarded is the difference between the calculated spread and the defined Spread of hours span.
  • When not checked, the premium amount awarded is the fixed amount entered in the Amount field.
  • If Amount of spread is checked and an Amount is entered, then the Amount entry is ignored.
  • Note: If a money paycode is entered along with the Amount of Spread check box an amount of 0.0 is produced as this is not a convertible transaction.
  • *Spread of hours span — Determines the amount of time that should not be exceeded in the employee's working day. The calculation is based on the first in-punch of the first shift of the day to the last out-punch of the last shift of the day. The day is determined by the Fixed Rule settings and the other configurable options for this feature.
  • For example, if an employee has the following punches for a day:
  • 8am - 10am  then 10pm - 2am
  • The result is 6 hours of actual worked time, but an 18-hour working day. If the spread of hours span is set as 10, then the employee will have 8 hours of premium pay (if Amount of spread is checked).
  • Premium rate — Select how the premium hours of the spread violation are paid:
    • Minimum wage — Uses the rate from the Employment Term configuration.
    • Base wage — Uses the rate from the employee's person record.
    • Expanded — Uses the rate associated with the job being worked when the premium is applied.
    • Use the highest rate (minimum wage, base wage or expanded) — Uses the highest rate of these options.
  • Day divide — Determines which shifts are included in the calculation of the spread.
    • Use from fixed rule — Considers the actual day divide established for the pay rule.
    • 12:00 AM — Considers a true calendar day (12m-12m).
  • Spread end time — Determines how the end time of the last out-punch is considered.
    • Cross the day — Counts the hours to the end of the shift even if it crosses the Day divide setting.
    • Day divide — Only counts hours up to the day divide established in the Day divide setting.