Combination Rules

Combination rules tell the system how to pay employees when conditions, such as overtime, overlap. Combinations can include overtimes, zones, schedule deviations, and Rest Between Shift (RBS) rules.

Use the Combination Rules page (AdministrationApplication SetupPay PoliciesWork Rule Building BlocksCombination Rule) and the following information to set up combination rules. There are three tabs: Select Items, Configure Combinations, and Counts Toward Overtime.

Select Items tab

Select rules for the combination rule by moving rules from the Available Items box to the Selected Items box.

Configure Combinations tab

View the possible combinations of the selected rules and specify how to pay each combination.

Combination Items — The rules selected for the combination rule.
Click All Combinations to see the combinations for all of the rules, or click each rule separately to view the combinations for an individual rule.
Combination — Displays the combinations available for the selected rule or all rules.
Gets Paid As — Select one kind of worked time in the combination to specify a worked time for combinations that do not pay any differently combined than one of the items by itself.

For example, Daily OT and Weekly OT together pay the same as Weekly OT by itself. Select Weekly OT for the Daily OT + Weekly OT combination so that the system pays the combination exactly like Weekly OT.

Select Unique to choose a different paycode. Select different paycodes in the Pay Code Distribution editor.

Counts Toward Overtime tab

Select the worked times in a combination rule that can count toward overtime. Optionally, use Advanced Settings to select how to count worked times that occur simultaneously.

Worked Time — Lists the worked times included in a combination.
Counts Toward Overtime — Select Yes or No to specify whether the type of worked time counts toward overtime.
Overtime — The overtime rule toward which the worked time selected for overtime counts.
Advanced Settings — Used to specify how to count types of worked time that occur simultaneously. When there are daily and weekly overtime types of worked time, this setting determines which overtime has precedence and when an overtime type is capped.
This option is only available when one or more of the worked times is set to No in the Counts Toward Overtime column. Click the arrow to use the Advanced Settings options:
- Count if at least one worked time counts toward overtime. If Regular is Yes, that regular worked time is included in the counts for overtime. This option is the default when Regular=Yes.
- Count only if all worked time is applied toward overtime. If Regular is No, that regular time is not included in the count for overtime hours. This option is the default when Regular=No.
Either select one of these options to change how overtime is counted, or accept the default.

Advanced Settings examples

Example 1

Use Advanced Settings to tell the system which type of overtime to count when an employee has reached the limit for more than one type.

For example, an employee qualifies for over 10 hours daily overtime (Over 10) and over 40 hours weekly overtime (Over 40) for a two hour span of time.

In this example, the Counts Toward Overtime (CTO) is configured as follows:

Worked Time	Counts Toward Overtime	Overtime	Advanced Settings
Regular	Yes
Over 8	Yes	Over 10	The default, “Count only if all worked time is applied toward overtime,” is selected.
Over 40	No

The following diagram shows the employee’s hours on Friday, which are 9 am to 9 pm.

Friday
	Over 40
Regular	Over 8	Over 10
9a	5p	7p	9p

The span of time we are concerned about in this example is 7 pm to 9 pm. The system has to choose whether to count Over 10 overtime. (How the overtime is paid depends on the selection made for Gets paid as in the Combination rule.)

In the CTO configuration for Over 10, two worked times apply - Regular and Over 8. Over 40 does not apply.

The selection in Advanced Settings provides the information the system needs. It is set at the default, “Count only if all worked time is applied toward overtime.”

Because all of the worked time is not applied, the span of time from 7 pm to 9 pm does not count toward Over 10 overtime.

If the Advanced Settings selection was the non-default (Count if at least one worked time counts toward overtime), Over 10 overtime counts as specified on the Configure Combinations tab in the Combination rule.

Example 2

Use Advanced Settings to tell the system which type of overtime to count in an “overflow” situation. Overflow occurs when one type of overtime reaches its limit and moves into another type of overtime.

In this example, the span of time is at the end of a Friday. The employee is earning time and a half. The employee then exceeds the limit of overtime paid at time and a half and moves into another type of overtime that pays double time.

How the overtime is paid depends on the selection made for Gets Paid As in the Combination rule. If the option for Gets Paid As is Unique, multiple worked times can be calculated and the employee is paid for each type. Otherwise, the employee is paid for the type that applies to the time segment. In general, only one overtime time is paid for any given segment of time.

The following configuration means that Regular time does not apply toward overtime. Over 8 is a daily type. Over 38 is a weekly type. Over 8 is not be paid if another type has precedence. Precedence is determined by specifying in the Combination Rules configuration Gets Paid As. In this example, Over 8 gets paid as Over 2

In this example, Over 38 is the overtime that is used to calculate the wages for the time segment that begins at 3:00 PM. Over 2 begins a new type of overtime that also caps Over 38.

Over 38 ends at 3:00PM and Over 2 begins and is in effect until the worked time ends. Over 2 is at another rate after two hours of overflow.

The Counts Toward Overtime configuration is:

Worked Time	Counts Toward Overtime	Overtime	Advanced Settings
Regular	No
Over 38	Yes	Over 2	The default, “Count if at least one worked time counts toward overtime,” is selected. This setting is in effect because Over 8 is counted for daily overtime
Over 8	Yes

At 3:00 PM Over 38 begins. Over 8 does not apply because the person has not worked 8 hours today. At 5:00, Over 8 does not begin because Over 2 takes precedence as a weekly overtime when Over 38 concludes. The configuration of Gets Paid As determines that when Over 38 and Over 2 occur in the same span, the time is paid as Over 2.

Friday
	Over 38
Regular	Over 38	Over 2
9a	3p	5p	8p

Because Regular time does not count toward Over 2, the Advanced Settings default selection for Over 2 is “Count if at least one worked time counts toward overtime.” Because Over 8 and Over 38 both count toward Over 2, the system counts the span of time from 5 pm to 8 pm as Over 2. Over 8 is never reached on Friday because the time worked reaches Over 38, a weekly overtime that has precedence.

If in this example, Over 38 was set to No, the Advanced Settings selection would be the non-default, “Count only if all worked time is applied toward overtime.” Over 8 and Over 2 would count and would each be paid as specified on the Configure Combinations tab in the Combination rule.