These updates introduce hour-based multipliers for award compliance (for example, turning 2 hours worked into 3 hours accrued), support leave taken at half pay or other fractional rates, offer flexible options for how time adjustments affect shift boundaries, integrate smoothly with existing tagging and add‑pay-item rules, and maintain full backward compatibility with current award policies.
Getting Started
Prerequisites
Before you can use the Apply Hours Modifier action, your system administrator must configure the appropriate award policy rules. This feature is configured at the award policy level and applies to specific scenarios within the policy.
For System Administrators:
Access to Award Policy configuration.
Understanding of Modern Award requirements for your organisation.
Knowledge of which pay scenarios require hour modifications.
For Payroll Officers:
No additional permissions required.
Apply Hours Modifier is applied automatically when configured in the award policy.
Note: Apply Hours Modifier is an optional feature that must be explicitly added to your award policy configuration. Existing calculations continue to work unchanged unless the feature is enabled.
Understanding Apply Hours Modifier
The Problem with Rate-Only Multipliers
When calculating pay for certain award scenarios, applying a multiplier to the pay rate alone is not always sufficient. Some Modern Awards and employment arrangements require modifications to the hours themselves, not just the rate.
Example Scenarios:
Scenario | Requirement | Solution |
Award MA000004 (General Retail) | 2 hours overtime worked accrues 3 hours Time in Lieu | Multiply hours by appropriate Overtime factor (X1.5, X2.0 or X2.5) |
Leave at Half Pay | Employee takes leave but only uses half the accrual | Multiply hours by 0.5x |
Minimum engagement top-up* | Short shifts need to be paid as minimum hours | Add hours to reach minimum |
Overtime hour accrual | Overtime hours accrue at enhanced rate for leave purposes | Multiply overtime hours |
*This is an additional method to the Pre-Processor rule of Apply Min Time
How Apply Hours Modifier Works
The Apply Hours Modifier action modifies the hours in the time attendance context before subsequent rules process them. This means child rules nested within the modifier will see the adjusted hours.
Key Configuration Options:
Modifier Mode - How the hours are changed.
Factor - The value used for the modification.
Application Mode - Where the time adjustment is applied.
Modifier Modes:
Multiply Mode, multiplies the worked hours by a specified factor.
Use Cases:
Overtime accruing leave at overtime rates (Time in Lieu).
Award requirements where hours worked translate to different accrued hours.
Penalty rate scenarios requiring hour adjustments.
Examples:
Original Hours | Factor | Result |
4 hours | 1.5x | 6 hours |
8 hours | 0.5x | 4 hours |
2 hours | 2.0x | 4 hours |
Add Mode, adds a fixed number of hours to the worked hours.
Use Cases:
Minimum engagement requirements.
Fixed allowance hours.
Top-up scenarios.
Examples:
Original Hours | Factor | Result |
4 hours | +1 hour | 5 hours |
8 hours | +2 hours | 10 hours |
3 hours | -1 hour | 2 hours |
Note: Negative values can be used with Add mode to subtract hours from the total.
Application Modes
The Application Mode determines how the time adjustment affects the shift boundaries when working with start/finish time periods.
Unbounded (Default)
Adds the time difference as extra hours without amending the timesheet start or end times. This is the most common mode and is suitable for most scenarios.
Behaviour:
Start time remains unchanged.
End time remains unchanged.
Extra hours are added to the total (as a duration).
Example:
A 5-hour shift (11:00-16:00) with +1 hour added: - Start: 11:00 (unchanged) - End: 16:00 (unchanged) - Total hours: 6 hours.
Before
Applies the time adjustment by changing the start time, making the shift appear to start earlier.
Behaviour:
Start time is moved earlier.
End time remains unchanged.
Total hours increase.
Example:
A 5-hour shift (11:00-16:00) with +1 hour added: - Start: 10:00 (moved 1 hour earlier) - End: 16:00 (unchanged) - Total hours: 6 hours.
After
Applies the time adjustment by changing the end time, making the shift appear to end later.
Behaviour:
Start time remains unchanged.
End time is moved later.
Total hours increase.
Example:
A 5-hour shift (11:00-16:00) with +1 hour added: - Start: 11:00 (unchanged) - End: 17:00 (moved 1 hour later) - Total hours: 6 hours.
Split
Applies the time adjustment equally to both start and end times (50/50 split).
Behaviour:
Start time is moved earlier by half the adjustment.
End time is moved later by half the adjustment.
Total hours increase.
Example:
A 5-hour shift (11:00-16:00) with +1 hour added: - Start: 10:30 (moved 30 minutes earlier) - End: 16:30 (moved 30 minutes later) - Total hours: 6 hours
Configuring Apply Hours Modifier
Adding Apply Hours Modifier to Award Policies
The Apply Hours Modifier action is added through the Award Policy configuration.
Navigate to Policies, Award Policies.
Select the award policy you wish to configure.
Edit the relevant rule where you want to apply hour modifications.
Add the Apply Hours Modifier action.
Configure the modifier settings:
Select the Modifier Mode (Multiplying Hours By or Adding)
Enter the Factor value.
Select the Application Mode (how changes are applied).
Add any child rules that should use the modified hours.
Save the award policy.
Configuration Options in the UI
When adding the Apply Hours Modifier action, you will see the following options:
Modifier Mode:
Multiplying Hours By - Multiplies hours by the factor value.
Adding - Adds the factor value as hours.
Factor:
Numeric value for the modification.
For Multiply mode: 1.5 means multiply by 1.5x.
To End Time - After mode.
Split Between Start and End - Split mode.
Example Configurations
Example 1: Time in Lieu Accrual at Overtime rates
Configure overtime hours to accrue at X1.5 or X2.0 times the worked hours:
Example 2: Adding 1 Hour for Minimum Engagement
Add 1 hour to shifts for minimum engagement requirements:
Example 3: Leave at Half Pay
Configure leave to be taken and deducted at half the normal hours/units:
How Pay Runs Use Apply Hours Modifier
Automatic Application
Once Apply Hours Modifier is configured in an award policy, it is automatically applied during pay run processing. No additional steps are required by payroll officers.
During pay run calculation:
The system identifies time attendance entries for the employee.
Award policy rules are processed in sequence.When an Apply Hours Modifier action is encountered, the hours are adjusted.
Child rules within the modifier see the adjusted hours.
Pay items are calculated based on the modified hours.
Viewing Calculated Results
When reviewing a pay run, the calculated units will reflect the hour modifications. You can verify the results by:
Opening the pay run.
Reviewing the employee's pay details.
Checking the units column for pay items affected by the modifier.
Note: The displayed units are the final calculated values after all modifiers have been applied.
Working with Other Rules
Tagging Rules
Apply Hours Modifier works with tagging rules (Add Tag and Add Pay Item Per Tag) in two ways:
1. Modifying hours when paying tags:
Place the Apply Hours Modifier as a parent of the Add Pay Item Per Tag action. The modified hours will be used when calculating the pay item units.
2. Modifying hours when adding tags:
Place the Apply Hours Modifier as a parent of the Add Tag action. The modified hours will be used when calculating tag limits and overflow.
Pre-processor Rules
Apply Hours Modifier can be placed in the Pre-processor Rules section of an award policy. When placed here, the modification applies to all subsequent rules in the policy.
Important: Modifications are only applied once, even if the modifier is in the pre-processor rules and child rules process the same time attendance.
Leave Policies
When used with Apply Leave Policy rules, the Apply Hours Modifier can adjust how leave accruals are calculated. This is useful for scenarios like leave at half pay.
Backward Compatibility
Existing Pay Policies
Implementation of Apply Hours Modifier does not affect existing pay policies or calculations.
Key points:
Existing calculations continue to work unchanged.
Apply Hours Modifier must be explicitly added for each award policy.
There is a clear distinction between rate multipliers and hour modifiers.
No existing functionality is changed by the implementation.
Relationship with Apply Rate Multiplier
Apply Hours Modifier is complementary to the existing Apply Rate Multiplier action:
Feature | Apply Rate Multiplier | Apply Hours Modifier |
What it modifies | Pay rate | Hours/Units |
Example | $24.10 x 1.5 = $36.15/hour | 4 hours x 1.5 = 6 hours |
Use case | Penalty rates, casual loading | Hour accruals, minimum engagement |
Both actions can be used together in the same award policy for complex scenarios.
Migration Considerations
If you need to transition existing policies to use Hours Modifier:
Review your current award policies.
Identify which Awards require the Hours Modification rules.
Cease the current version of your award (Recommend ending to coincide with a pay period end date).
Create a new version of your award (Recommend starting to coincide with a pay period start date).
Update the relevant award policies to include Apply Hours Modifier rule.
Test the updated policies in a non-production environment.
Deploy the changes during a suitable pay period transition.
Troubleshooting
Hours Not Being Modified
Problem: Pay items are not reflecting the expected hour modifications
Solution:
Verify that the Apply Hours Modifier action is configured in the award policy.
Check that child rules are nested within the modifier action.
Confirm the modifier mode and factor are set correctly.
Ensure the award policy is active and applies to the correct employees.
Unexpected Hour Calculations
Problem: Modified hours don't match expected values
Solution:
Review the modifier mode (Multiply vs Add).
Check the factor value is correct.
Verify the application mode is appropriate for your scenario.
Consider the order of rules in the award policy.
Modifier Not Affecting Specific Pay Items
Problem: Some pay items are modified but others are not
Solution:
Only child rules nested within the Apply Hours Modifier are affected.
Rules at the same level or above the modifier are not affected.
Review the rule hierarchy in your award policy configuration.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Does Apply Hours Modifier apply to all pay items automatically?
A: No, Apply Hours Modifier only affects child rules nested within it. Rules at the same level or above are not affected.
Q: Can I use both Apply Hours Modifier and Apply Rate Multiplier together?
A: Yes, both actions can be used in the same award policy. Apply Hours Modifier changes the units, while Apply Rate Multiplier changes the rate.
Q: What happens if I use a factor of 0 with Multiply mode?
A: The hours will be multiplied by 0, resulting in 0 hours. This effectively removes the hours from the calculation.
Q: Can I use negative values with Add mode?
A: Yes, negative values will subtract hours from the total. For example, a factor of -1 will subtract 1 hour.
Q: Does the Application Mode affect the final pay calculation?
A: The Application Mode primarily affects how the time adjustment is represented in the shift boundaries. For most scenarios, the Unbounded mode (Leaving Start and End Unchanged) is appropriate.
Q: How does Apply Hours Modifier interact with maximum hour limits?
A: When used with tagging rules that have maximum limits, the modified hours are used for calculating whether the limit has been reached.
Q: Can I place Apply Hours Modifier in the Pre-processor Rules?
A: Yes, placing it in Pre-processor Rules will apply the modification to all subsequent rules in the policy.
Q: Does Apply Hours Modifier affect leave accruals?
A: When nested with Apply Leave Policy rules, the modifier can affect how leave accruals are calculated.
Getting Help
If you experience issues or have questions about Apply Hours Modifier:
Review this guide for configuration and troubleshooting information
Contact your system administrator for award policy configuration questions
Refer to Modern Award / Enterprise Agreement documentation for specific award requirements
Check the online help within Definitiv for additional guidance
Contact support if you need assistance with configuration or calculations by raising a case online.