In this article

• What Are Break Rules?
• Creating Break Rules
  • Break Rule Set
  • Break Rule
• Rule Ordering
• Break Tester
• Applying to a Shift Job or Placement
• Timesheet Entry

Break Rules automatically deduct unpaid break time from a candidate's timesheet, based on how many hours they've worked that day - so breaks don't need to be manually logged or calculated.

A built-in Tester is also available so you can check your configuration before it goes live.

Break Rules can be applied anywhere a Dynamic Rate can be applied - at Shift Job level and/or at individual Placement level - and each Placement can have its own Break Rule applied, independent of other candidates on the same job.

Important: Break Rules, Rounding Rules, and Dynamic Rates each work independently - there isn't a single combined Test Calculator. However, when a timesheet is processed, Tracker applies them in this order:

• Rounding Rules - adjusts early/late clock in and out times

• Break Rules - deducts any unpaid break time

• Dynamic Rates - the remaining hours are then costed against your Dynamic Rate configuration

 

Break Rules are created within Tools & Settings > Back Office group > Dynamic Break Rules.

Here, there are options to create the Sets and Rules within them, Search for rules, Filter the list and Test Break Rules.

New Sets are created via the New Break Set button.

When creating or editing a Break Set they can be generic (available to everyone) or scoped to a specific Company/Client, Work Type, and so on.

 

Once a Break Rule Set is created, Break Rules can be added via the Add button, and given a Name.

 

Here, are options to set the hours threshold after which a break is triggered, and how that break is calculated.

Fixed - a fixed break duration is deducted once the hours threshold is reached. e.g. after 6 hours worked, deduct a fixed 30 minutes.

Percentage - a percentage of hours worked is deducted once the threshold is reached. e.g. deduct 5% of an 8-hour day = 24 minutes.

Tiered - several thresholds are defined, each with its own break duration. Only the highest tier reached that day applies - lower tiers do not stack on top of it. e.g.

• 4 hours worked = 20 minutes

• 6 hours worked = 30 minutes

• 8 hours worked = 60 minutes

• If a candidate works 8.5 hours in a day, only the 8-hour tier (60 minutes) is deducted - not 20 + 30 + 60 minutes combined.

 

Every Break Rule has a Days of Week setting, and it's worth taking care here - leaving every day unticked is not the same as ticking every day. You must explicitly select which days the rule applies to.

Break Rules only use Days of Week - there's no start/end time window (unlike Rate Rules or Rounding Rules). This matters for overnight shifts - make sure the correct days are ticked so the rule is picked up correctly.

 

• Where a Break Rule applies, the deducted time is the total unpaid break for the day - it isn't added on top of hours worked, it's subtracted from them.

• The option for the candidate to manually add their own break is hidden from the timesheet, to avoid the same break being deducted twice.

• Hours worked are entered/calculated to up to 2 decimal places; break durations are always whole minutes.

• The deducted break time is always taken from the beginning of the day, regardless of when the break actually occurred. If a placement has multiple Dynamic Rate Rules applying across the day (e.g. different rates by time of day), the break deduction is taken from the first (morning) rate, not necessarily whichever rate was active when the break was actually taken.

 

Ensure Active is ticked (assuming you want this rule to be live), and click Save.

 

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You can add more than one Break Rule to the same Set. Where more than one exists, order decides which one is used:

Rules are checked in the order they appear in the Set, from top to bottom.

The first matching rule (highest up the order) takes priority - once it matches, the rest are ignored for that day.

In most cases you'll only need a single rule - multiple rules are typically only useful if you want to combine different tiered or percentage-based structures within one Set.

 

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Within the Break Tester you have options to set the following:

Date - useful where you've rule sets covering different days of the week

Hours Worked - to test the rules and show the outcome

You can add in multiple days with different hours, to test how the break deduction changes as hours worked increases (useful for checking tiered rules).

Once Time Entries are added, click Calculate Breaks Deduction.

You get a result for each day, showing the break duration deducted, and a breakdown by Break Rule below (useful if more than one Rule, or a tiered rule, is applied to a set).

 

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Break Rules are set in the same place as Dynamic Rates - at Shift Job creation, and/or at individual Placement level, so each candidate can have their own Break Rule if needed.

Within a Placement record, once a Break Rule Set is selected from the dropdown, a summary of the rules within that set appears below it, so you can confirm what's been applied before timesheets start coming in.

 

 

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On the timesheet's Clock In screen, a note appears confirming that a Break Rule applies, and the option to manually add a break is removed.

Once the timesheet is saved, the final/outcome values are shown.