Weekly Rules are used to make adjustments to overtime and are applied after all Shift Rules have been applied. There are two functions to a Weekly Rule. The Weekly Limit allows employees to be paid at a higher rate after a set number of hours have been worked. The Weekly Clawback ensures that a higher rate is not paid until employees accrue a minimum number of hours at a lower rate.

This guide will look at:

Creating a new Weekly Rule
Using the Weekly Limit
Using the Weekly Clawback

Creating a new Weekly Rule

Select ‘Rules’ from the Menu Bar.
Select ‘Weekly Rules’ from the Rules Tree.
Select ‘Create New’.
In the ‘Basic’ section, give your Weekly Rule a ‘Name’ and ‘Code’. These are used to easily identify the rule in various parts of Focus.
The ‘Description’ will default to show when the rule was created and by whom. You may wish to change or add to the description to include what the Weekly Rule is set up to do, for your own reference.

Using the Weekly Limit

In order to explain things more easily, we will look at a Use Case. In our example company, employees can work overtime and be paid for it. A Weekly Rule is used to manage this. Once employees have worked 40 hours at the basic Rate 1, they will start to accrue hours at Rate 2 up to a maximum of 8. Any additional hours beyond this will be paid at Rate 3.

Weekly Limit

Tick ‘Enabled’ to turn the function on. The Weekly Limit is applied at the end of the week.

The employee worked a total of 49.49 hrs @ Rate 1 before any Weekly Rule was applied.

The Weekly Limit was then applied and the hours were divided accordingly
(see the Weekly Rules Applied row in the Timesheet):

40 hrs @ Rate 1

8 hrs @ Rate 2

1.49 hrs @ Rate 3

Weekly Limit - Apply Daily

This setting means that limit is applied throughout the week, as the hours accrue on a day-by-day basis. As soon as the set limit has been reached, regardless of where that is in the week, the hours will start to flow into the next rate.

The employee reached 40 hours worked at Rate 1 on Thursday. Any additional time worked on that day went straight into Rate 2 (00:04). On Friday, the employee continued to accrue hours at Rate 2 until they reached 8 hours, when the remaining hours flowed into Rate 3.

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Using the Weekly Clawback

Weekly Clawback is normally used in conjunction with a Shift Rule that has been set up to manage overtime. The Weekly Clawback ensures that a higher rate is not paid until employees accrue a minimum number of hours at a lower rate.

If we look at another Use Case, employees can work overtime and be paid for it. A Shift Rule has been set up for hours to flow from the basic Rate 1 to the higher Rate 2, once 8 hours have been worked. The Weekly Clawback has been set up to ensure that the higher Rate 2 is not paid until employees work a minimum of 40 hours at the lower Rate 1.

Weekly Clawback

Tick ‘Enabled’ to turn this function on. The Weekly Clawback is applied at the end of the week.

The employee only worked 39 hrs @ Rate 1. When applied, the Weekly Clawback moved

1 hr from Rate 2 to Rate 1 to ensure that 40 hrs @ Rate 1 was reached.

Weekly Clawback - Apply Daily

This setting is a little more complicated and should only be selected if you fully understand how your company’s overtime and salary policy works. Otherwise, employees' pay may be adversely affected.

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Focus looks at each day individually. If the minimum target set in the Weekly Clawback (40 hrs) has not yet been met at the lower Rate 1, then no Rate 2 will be earned on that day.