Overview
Definitiv now supports a Get Scheduled Hours award rule action that compares an employee's actual worked hours against their scheduled hours. This enables automatic calculation of the unworked portion of a shift, which can be used to process an automatic top-up payment where an employee works only part of their scheduled shift on a Public Holiday, and the remainder must be paid at a different rate (e.g. Public Holiday Not Worked).
Key Benefits:
Automates public holiday top-up calculations where a portion of the shift is worked, and the remainder is paid as Not Worked.
Supports two calculation modes: passing full Scheduled Hours or just the Difference in Hours to sub-rules.
Handles both Start/End Time and Duration-based timesheet entries.
Reduces manual pay adjustments and potential calculation errors.
Configurable within the existing award policy rules framework.
Getting Started
Prerequisites
For System Administrators / Award Policy Configurators:
Access to Award Policy configuration.
Understanding of your organisation's public holiday entitlement rules and rates.
Schedules must be configured for the relevant employees.
For Payroll Officers:
No additional permissions required.
The top-up calculation is applied automatically during pay run processing once configured.
Timesheets should reflect the actual hours worked on the public holiday.
Note: This feature requires the employee's schedule to be configured in Definitiv so the system can determine the full scheduled duration to calculate the top-up amount.
Understanding Get Scheduled Hours
The Problem Without Top-Up
Without this feature, when an employee works only part of a public holiday shift, the timesheet records only the hours actually worked. The unworked portion of the scheduled hours must be either manually identified or via a custom field on the timesheet. This creates a risk of underpayment and adds manual effort for payroll officers and employees.
How the Top-Up Works
When top-up is configured, the award engine compares the hours on the employee's timesheet against their scheduled hours for the day. If the timesheet hours are less than the scheduled duration, the difference is automatically generated as the specified Add Pay Item.
Calculation formula:
Top-up hours = Scheduled duration − Timesheet hours worked.
Worked Public Holiday Example:
Detail | Value |
Scheduled shift | 09:00 – 17:00 with meal break 13:00 – 13:30 |
Scheduled duration (net of break) | 7.5 hours |
Timesheet: hours worked | 12:00 – 17:00 (no break taken) = 5.0 hours |
Top-up calculation | 7.5 − 5.0 = 2.5 hours |
Pay outcome | 5.0 hours at Public Holiday Worked rate + 2.5 hours at Public Holiday Not Worked rate |
The employee is paid for the full 7.5-hour scheduled day — 5 hours at the worked rate and 2.5 hours at the not-worked rate, without any manual intervention from the payroll officer.
Configuration
Adding the Rule in Award Policy
Get Scheduled Hours is enabled through the Award Policy configuration using the Get Scheduled Hours action.
Navigate to Policies, Award Policies.
Select the award policy you wish to configure.
Edit the relevant rule where you want Get Scheduled Hours to apply.
Add the Get Scheduled Hours action to the rule.
Select the desired mode (Scheduled Hours or Difference in Hours).
If using Difference in Hours mode, select the comparison method (Durations or Start/End Times).
Add sub-rules within the Get Scheduled Hours action (such as Add Pay Item or Add Tag actions).
Save the award policy.
Important: The Get Scheduled Hours action wraps other actions (sub-rules), meaning that all sub-rules nested within the Get Scheduled Hours action will receive the calculated hours (either the full scheduled hours or the difference) rather than the original timesheet hours.
Modes
The rule has two operating modes, selectable from the first dropdown:
Mode | Description | Use Case |
Scheduled Hours | Passes the full scheduled hours for the day to sub-rules, regardless of how many hours were actually worked. | Pay an additional amount based on the total scheduled hours. |
Difference in Hours | Calculates the difference between the scheduled hours and actual worked hours, and passes only the unworked portion to sub-rules. | Top-up payments where the a portion of the shift will be worked/timesheet entered. |
Comparison Method (Difference in Hours mode only)
When Difference in Hours mode is selected, a second dropdown appears allowing you to choose how the comparison is performed:
Comparison Method | Description |
Durations | Compares the total duration (hours) of the schedule against the total duration of worked timesheets. Best for scenarios where schedule and timesheet entries are recorded as durations rather than specific start/end times, or where there is a mix of both. |
Start/End Times | Compares the actual start and end time periods of schedules and timesheets. Produces more precise results by calculating the exact unworked time windows within the scheduled period. Best when both schedule and timesheet entries have specific start/end times. |
Using with Add Pay Item Actions
Get Scheduled Hours is commonly used in combination with Add Pay Item actions to pay the unworked portion at a specific rate.
Configuration Example:
When configuring an award policy for public holiday top-up payments:
Add an Add Pay Item action for the worked hours pay item (e.g. Public Holiday Worked).
Add the Get Scheduled Hours action with Difference in Hours mode.
Within the Get Scheduled Hours action, add sub-rules:
Add Pay Item action for the unworked hours pay item (e.g. Public Holiday Not Worked).
Configure the pay item with the appropriate rate type.
Using with Add Tag and Add Pay Item Per Tag Actions
For more complex award policy configurations, Get Scheduled Hours can also be used with Add Tag and Add Pay Item Per Tag actions:
Add an Add Tag action to tag the worked hours (e.g. tag name "ORD").
Add the Get Scheduled Hours action with the desired mode.
Within the Get Scheduled Hours action, add sub-rules:
Add Tag action to tag the calculated hours (e.g. tag name "PHNW").
Add an Add Pay Item Per Tag action for each tag to generate the pay items.
Example Award Policy Structure Public Holiday Not Worked Top Up
A typical award policy rule using Get Scheduled Hours for public holiday top-up might be structured as follows:
With Tags
The screenshots below are an example only and should only be used as a reference when configuring your individual award.
Tag Timesheet and Leave Hours
The clause will tag all Timesheet and Leave Hours (inclusive of the Public Holiday Worked timesheet).
Tag Public Holiday Top Up Hours
This clause will tag the top up hours ensure you use the same tag names as above. This will include the top up hours in any caps being calculated.
Tag Public Holiday Top Up Hours with different name
This time we are going to tag the top up hours with a different name. This is because we need to separate the hours to pay at a different rate.
Pay Out Tags
When paying out the Public Holiday the Timesheet Type will restrict the Ordinary tag payout to only the timesheeted worked hours. The other tag used can then calculate and pay only the difference on a different pay item.
How Pay Runs Process the Top-Up
Automatic Calculation
Once configured, the top-up is applied automatically during pay run processing. The payroll officer does not need to manually calculate or enter the not-worked component.
During pay run calculation:
The award engine identifies rule with the Get Scheduled Action.
It retrieves the employee's scheduled hours for that day.
It compares scheduled hours to timesheet hours worked.
If timesheet hours are less than scheduled hours, the difference is generated as applicable Add Pay Item.
Both components appear as separate line items in the pay run.
Reviewing the Pay Run
To verify the top-up has been correctly applied:
Open the pay run.
Locate the relevant employee's pay details.
Confirm both Pay Item transactions are present.
Verify the sum of both lines equals the scheduled duration for the day.
Scenarios and Behaviour
Scenario | Scheduled Hours | Timesheet Hours | Top-Up Applied |
Employee works a partial shift. | 7.5 hrs. | 5.0 hrs. | 2.5 hrs. Not Worked. |
Employee works a full shift. | 7.5 hrs. | 7.5 hrs. | No top-up — full shift worked. |
Employee does not work at all. | 7.5 hrs. | 0 hrs. | 7.5 hrs. Not Worked. |
Employee works overtime beyond the schedule. | 7.5 hrs. | 9.0 hrs. | No top-up, timesheet exceeds schedule. |
Note: The top-up does not apply where timesheet hours equal or exceed scheduled hours. In those cases, the entitlement is covered by the timesheet, and any additional hours are treated per the award overtime and penalty provisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I use Get Scheduled Hours for pay items other than public holidays?
A: Yes, Get Scheduled Hours is a general-purpose action. The Public Holiday is just one-use case of this and can be used anywhere you need to compare scheduled hours against worked hours and apply sub-rules to the result.
Q: Does Get Scheduled Hours handle overnight or midnight-crossing shifts?
A: The underlying time period comparison logic supports midnight-crossing shifts. However, the schedule lookup is date-based, so ensure the schedule is configured for the correct date.
Q: Can I nest Get Scheduled Hours within other rules?
A: Get Scheduled Hours is designed to contain sub-rules (it passes its calculated hours into them). It can be placed alongside other top-level rules in the award policy. The sub-rules within it can be any valid action rule (e.g. Add Pay Item, Add Tag).
Q: When should I use Duration vs Start/End Times comparison?
A: Use Start/End Times when both the schedule and timesheets have specific start and end times recorded - this gives the most accurate calculation of which specific hours were unworked. Use Durations when either the schedule or timesheets are recorded as total hours only, or when you need a simpler total-hours comparison.
Q: Does the rule account for breaks in the schedule?
A: Yes. When the schedule includes breaks (e.g. a 30-minute lunch break splitting the day into two periods), the total scheduled duration accounts for these breaks. In the Duration comparison mode, scheduled hours are calculated net of breaks. In the Start/End Times mode, each schedule segment (before and after the break) is treated as a separate period.
Q: What if the worked hours exactly match the scheduled hours?
A: The difference will be zero, and no hours are passed to the sub-rules. This means the top-up pay item will not be generated, which is the correct behaviour.
Q: Is Get Scheduled Hours applied automatically to all pay items?
A: No, Get Scheduled Hours must be explicitly enabled in the award policy configuration. Only pay items processed through rules with the Get Scheduled Hours action will have their hours calculated based on the schedule.
Q: What if the employee has no schedule configured for that day?
A: If no schedule exists, the system has no reference point for the scheduled duration and cannot calculate a top-up. Ensure schedules are maintained for employees whose awards include this provision.
Q: Does this replace the need to manually enter Not Worked hours?
A: Yes, when this feature is configured correctly, the payroll officer no longer needs to manually calculate or enter the unworked public holiday component. It is generated automatically during pay run processing.
Q: What happens if the employee takes a different break than scheduled?
A: The top-up is based on the scheduled duration (which accounts for the scheduled break). If the employee works a different break pattern, the timesheet hours should reflect the actual hours worked, and the top-up will adjust accordingly.
Q: Can this be configured for part-time employees with varying schedules?
A: Yes, the top-up references the employee's schedule for the specific public holiday date. Part-time employees with rostered hours on the public holiday will have their top-up calculated based on their scheduled hours for that day.
Getting Help
Review this guide for configuration and troubleshooting information
Contact your system administrator for award policy and schedule configuration questions
Contact support if the top-up is not generating as expected after verifying configuration.
Summary
The Get Scheduled Hours has the ability to process an additional entitlement based on the full scheduled hours or the difference for an unworked portion.
Can be used to automatically process a top-up of a Public Holiday not worked when only a portion will be worked
Top-up hours = Scheduled duration − Timesheet hours worked
Both transactions will appear as separate pay lines in the pay run
Correct employee schedules in Definitiv are required for the feature to function
No manual entry of hours is required when the feature is configured
The top-up does not apply when timesheet hours equal or exceed scheduled hours