Configure bonus hours to employees – Day.io

Bonus hours allow employers to pay employees for time spent travelling to and from remote job sites.

The daily amount is set on each employee’s profile and multiplied by the number of days worked in the pay period.

Key actions or configuration

Set the daily bonus amount on the employee profile
- Go to People → [Employee name] and select the Bonus Hours tab.
- Click New bonus hours.
- Enter the Bonus hours per working day in hh:mm format (e.g., 01:00 for one hour).
- Choose the Start date from which this value should apply.
- Click Confirm to save. The Bonus Hours tab will list all entries along with their start dates and values, allowing you to review or delete them as needed.
  - Example: to pay an employee 1 bonus hour per day starting July 8 2026, enter 01:00 and select July 8 2026. If the employee works 22 days, the system will compute 22 bonus hours for that month.
Enable bonus hours in a pay policy group
- Navigate to Pay Policies and open a policy group that has no employees assigned, or create a new group. Go to the Special Rules tab.
- Toggle Bonus hours on. Enter a Payroll event name to describe the payment on the payroll.
- Click Save. Once saved, any employee in this group with a bonus hour value on their profile will have the hours included in payroll calculations.

Ensure your role has permission to manage People. Without these, you cannot add bonus hours or edit special rules.
Groups with employees cannot have their special rules edited. Create a new group, configure bonus hours, then move employees to that group.
The Bonus hours per working day field only accepts time values. Enter 00:00 to cancel future bonus payments.

Maintain a history: whenever an employee’s commute changes, add a new entry with the new start date instead of overwriting the existing record.
Clear event names: choose descriptive payroll event names like “Bonus hours 100%” to make payroll verification easier.
Cross‑check days worked: the calculation multiplies the daily bonus amount by the number of days worked. Verify the number of working days in time reports to validate the total.

Can I retroactively change bonus hour values?
No. Changes apply only from the specified start date forward; existing records remain for historical accuracy.
Why can’t I edit special rules in an existing group?
Groups containing employees lock special rules to prevent accidental changes. Create a new group, configure the rule, then transfer employees if adjustments are needed.