How does the rigid schedule model work and when should you use it?

The rigid schedule model changes how the platform interprets hours worked before or after the employee's planned Schedule times.

When Consider only early arrivals and late leaves as overtime regardless the total worked hours is enabled in the Pay Policy, only periods worked before the planned Entry or after the planned Exit can generate Extra Hours or Banked Hours, depending on the policy configuration.

Periods not worked because of a late arrival or early leave are moved to the Debit event.

This setting is optional and is configured at the Pay Policy level. Therefore, when enabled, it applies to all employees assigned to that policy.

Main actions or settings

How does the calculation work in the rigid schedule model?

Consider a planned Schedule from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

If the employee works from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM:

• The period from 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM was worked before the planned Entry and may be considered Extra Hours or Banked Hours;
• The period from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM was not worked because of the early leave and will be considered Debit.

In this model, an additional hour worked at another time of the day does not automatically offset an hour that was not worked during the planned Schedule.

This differs from a calculation based only on the total number of hours worked during the day, because the position of those hours in relation to the planned Schedule is also taken into account.

Which situations can generate Extra Hours or Banked Hours?

When the rigid schedule model is enabled, the calculation mainly considers:

• Early arrival: the employee starts working before the planned Entry time;
• Late leave: the employee continues working after the planned Exit time.

These periods can be assigned to Extra Hours or Banked Hours, depending on the other settings in the Pay Policy.

What happens with late arrivals and early leaves?

Periods corresponding to:

• Entry after the planned time;
• Exit before the planned time;

are treated as Debit.

For example, with a Schedule from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM:

• Entry at 9:00 AM → 1 hour of Debit;
• Exit at 4:00 PM → 1 hour of Debit.

If the employee also worked outside the planned Schedule on the same day, these periods are calculated separately.

How to enable the rigid schedule model

The setting is configured in the Pay Policy:

1. Go to Pay Policies;
2. Open the desired Pay Policy;
3. Go to the Paid Overtime tab;
4. Locate Extra hours settings;
5. Enable Consider only early arrivals and late leaves as overtime regardless the total worked hours;
6. Review the other Banked Hours or Extra Hours settings;
7. Save the changes.

Important: this setting applies to the entire Pay Policy. All employees assigned to that policy will follow this calculation model according to the policy's effective period.

How does “Include breaks in the calculation” work?

In addition to the beginning and end of the Schedule, break periods can also be included in the rigid calculation.

To do this, enable Include breaks in the calculation.

When enabled, the platform also considers the planned break times when identifying periods worked beyond what was planned.

The same principle applies:

• Time worked beyond the planned break limits may generate Extra Hours or Banked Hours;
• Periods that do not follow the planned break times receive the corresponding treatment according to the Pay Policy rules.

This setting is optional and should be enabled only when break times also need to be included in the rigid calculation.

Example with a break

Consider the following Schedule:

• Entry: 8:00 AM;
• Break start: 12:00 PM;
• Break end: 1:00 PM;
• Exit: 5:00 PM.

If Include breaks in the calculation is enabled and the employee works during part of the planned break, that period may be included in the Extra Hours or Banked Hours calculation according to the Pay Policy.

Before enabling this option, confirm that the company intends to include break deviations in this calculation.

When should you use the rigid schedule model?

The rigid schedule model is particularly useful when the company needs to consider compliance with the planned times, rather than only the total number of hours worked during the day.

Common scenarios include:

• Companies where late arrivals should generate Debit even if the employee works later than planned;
• Operations with fixed Entry and Exit times;
• Collective agreements or internal policies that differentiate hours worked outside the Schedule from hours not worked within it;
• Scenarios where Extra Hours should only be recognized when they occur outside the planned Schedule limits;
• Companies that need to clearly separate Extra Hours/Banked Hours from Debit generated by late arrivals or early leaves.

Example: late arrival followed by a late leave

Planned Schedule:

8:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Actual working time:

9:00 AM to 6:00 PM

The employee worked the same total number of hours as planned, but:

• 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM: 1 hour of Debit;
• 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM: 1 hour of Extra Hours or Banked Hours.

With the rigid schedule model, these periods remain separate.

This allows the company to identify both the late arrival and the work performed after the planned Exit, even when the employee completed the same total number of hours.

How does this setting affect Banked Hours and Extra Hours?

The rigid schedule model determines which periods are classified as excess hours or Debit, but the destination of the excess hours still depends on the Pay Policy configuration.

For example:

• If the policy uses Banked Hours, eligible excess hours may be sent to the bank;
• If the policy uses Extra Hours, eligible hours may be distributed among the configured pay rates;
• If hours are distributed between Banked Hours and Extra Hours, the configured distribution will continue to apply;
• Late arrivals and early leaves are moved to the Debit event when this model is enabled.

Therefore, the rigid schedule model does not replace the other Pay Policy rules. It changes how worked and unworked periods are classified before those rules are applied.

Tips or troubleshooting

• The employee worked the total planned hours but still has Debit: check whether Consider only early arrivals and late leaves as overtime regardless the total worked hours is enabled. In this model, a late arrival is not automatically offset by a late leave.
• An early arrival is generating Extra Hours or Banked Hours: this is the expected behavior when the rigid model is enabled and the period occurs before the planned Entry.
• An early leave is generating Debit: check the planned Exit time. With this model, the period between the actual Exit and planned Exit is moved to Debit.
• The break is not being considered: check whether Include breaks in the calculation is enabled.
• The behavior is affecting multiple employees: remember that this is a Pay Policy setting, not an individual employee setting.
• The result is different from expected: review the applied Schedule, Pay Policy, Banked Hours/Extra Hours settings, and the actual punches together.

Best practices

• Before enabling the rigid schedule model, confirm that the company's policy actually differentiates late arrivals and early leaves from hours worked outside the planned Schedule;
• Review which employees are assigned to the Pay Policy before changing the setting;
• Use a separate Pay Policy if only part of the workforce should follow this model;
• Make sure the Schedules are configured correctly, since their planned times are used as the calculation reference;
• Enable Include breaks in the calculation only if break periods should also follow this logic;
• After configuring it, test scenarios involving early arrival, late arrival, early leave, and late leave before applying the model broadly;
• Make sure the people responsible for Attendance closing understand the difference between Debit and Extra Hours/Banked Hours under this model.

Frequently asked questions

1. What is the rigid schedule model?
   It is a calculation model where Extra Hours or Banked Hours are considered mainly for periods worked before the planned Entry or after the planned Exit. Late arrivals and early leaves are moved to Debit.
2. If an employee arrives one hour late and works one hour later at the end of the day, do the hours offset each other?
   Not with the rigid schedule model. The late arrival can generate Debit, while the hour worked after the planned Exit can generate Extra Hours or Banked Hours.
3. Does the rigid schedule model work with both Banked Hours and Extra Hours?
   Yes. Eligible excess hours are treated according to the Pay Policy and may be assigned to Banked Hours or Extra Hours.
4. Is this setting configured individually for each employee?
   No. Consider only early arrivals and late leaves as overtime regardless the total worked hours is configured in the Pay Policy and applies to the employees assigned to it.
5. Can breaks also be included in the rigid calculation?
   Yes. Enable Include breaks in the calculation.
6. Do I need to enable “Include breaks in the calculation” to use the rigid schedule model?
   No. It is an additional setting. The rigid schedule model can be used without including breaks.
7. Do early arrivals always generate Extra Hours?
   They may generate Extra Hours or Banked Hours according to the rules configured in the Pay Policy. Other settings may also affect the final result.
8. Do early leaves generate negative Banked Hours?
   With the rigid schedule model, early leave hours are moved to the Debit event.
9. When should I enable this model?
   Mainly when the company needs to control compliance with planned working times and separately treat late arrivals, early leaves, and hours worked outside the planned Schedule.