Configure schedule rule sets

The Schedule Rule Sets page enables you to group schedule rules into schedule rule sets, which you then assign to employees, locations, or organizational jobs.

Note:
  • Your function access profile must allow access to Employee Rule Sets (Administration > Application Setup > Access Profiles > Function Access Profiles. Select an access profile, go to Manager - Common Setup, and set Schedule Rules to "Allowed").
  • Child locations do not inherit employee rule sets from parent locations.

From the Main Menu, select Administration > Application Setup > Scheduler Setup > Schedule Rules > Schedule Rule Sets. Then, select the Employee Rule Sets tab or the Organizational Rule Sets tab.

  1. To create an employee rule set, click New or select an employee rule set and click Duplicate or Edit.
  2. Note: You can also select an employee rule set and delete it or click Inactivate. When you inactivate a rule set, it no longer generates new messages for rule violations. Past messages remain visible.
  3. Enter a Name and optionally, a Description.
  4. Select the Week Start Day to define the first day of the week. This setting affects rule violations that apply to weeks.
    • If a schedule period starts on a day other than the week start day, Scheduler reports rule violations in other ranges — even if some days are not loaded. To avoid this confusion, configure all rule sets to use the same week start day as the schedule period.
    • For schedule rules that span multiple days — such as weekly, consecutive days, or weekend rules — a rule violation can occur for a date before the rule set assignment date. The system uses data from the past four weeks, and includes data from outside the time period in Scheduler.
  5. From Anchor Date, select the start date of the pay period.
  6. (Optional) Define the night period.

    Example: Define a night shift, account for differential pay, restrict night hours for minors.

    • Enter the Night Start Time. Use time-of-day format.
    • Enter the Night End Time.
  7. Use Actual Hours to Evaluate Schedule Rules. This option affects only the following rules:

    • Maximum days that the employee can be scheduled per period: This rule is not applied when Use Actual Hours to Evaluate Schedule Rules is selected because the Schedule Generator calculates the actual work days.

    • Minimum and maximum scheduled hours per day
    • Minimum and maximum scheduled hours per week
    • Maximum scheduled hours per bi-weekly period
    • Standard hours for a week
  8. For example, an employee worked 30 hours (punched in and out), and is scheduled to work 12 more hours (not yet punched out). The 42 total scheduled hours exceed the 40-hour maximum. The following warning will be displayed: Scheduled for 42:00 hours (30:00 h + 12:00 h), which is more than the weekly maximum of 40:00 hours
  9. Exceptions:
    • A shift that is worked and does not have corresponding punches is not counted in actual hours. For example, shifts with no punches, a punch-in but not out, a punch-out but not in.
    • A shift that overlaps the boundary between worked and scheduled hours is not counted as only scheduled or only actual hours. Hours worked before 12:00 a.m. (midnight) are actual hours. Hours after midnight are scheduled hours. Hours for the current day are scheduled hours.
    • For example, a shift starts at midnight. The employee punches in at 11 p.m. The shift ends at 7 a.m. The hour before midnight counts as actual hours. The hours after midnight count as scheduled hours.
  10. Provide applicable information in the tabs described below.
Note:

You also need to select one the following severity levels for each item:

  • Informational
  • No Save — The schedule changes are not saved in the Schedule Planner. Any other of the severity levels will not prevent the user from saving changes made to the schedule.
  • Not Considered — The rule is ignored.
  • Warning

If required for Informational or Warning severity, enter the parameter value as follows:

  • # – Number
  • hh:mm – Length of time in hours and minutes in standard duration format.

You can exclude certain types of severities from being displayed in the Schedule Planner. Manager A may be configured to only see No Save and Warning and manager B may be set up to see No Save, Warning, and Informational.

Job Rule Schedule Engine Treatment Rule Violation

The employee is scheduled for a job but the employee is not qualified to work

Schedule Generation:

  • Hard: always applies this rule
  • Accounts for all jobs - primary and transfer jobs
  • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

The employee is scheduled for a job that they are not qualified to do, or that is not in their job transfer set.

Select the Severity level.

Hours Rules Schedule Generation Treatment Rule Violation

The employee has no scheduled events for a week.

Schedule Generation: Not considered

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

No shifts or paycodes are scheduled for an employee during the week of the schedule.

  • Not considered by Schedule Generation

The employee is scheduled beyond that employee's standard hours for a week.

Schedule Generation:

  • Soft: may not apply this rule
  • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered.

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

The employee is scheduled for more than the number of hours that the employee is normally scheduled during a week.

  • Select the Severity level.
  • Enter the Standard Hours parameter — Non-overtime hours that each employee is expected to work. Defined in the employee’s People record for each day, week, and pay period.

Minimum hours per day that the employee can be scheduled.

Schedule Generation:

  • Hard: always applies this rule
  • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered.

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

The employee is scheduled for less than the number of hours each day that is defined in the rule set.

Important: This rule measures the day from midnight to midnight. If this boundary is not appropriate, use the maximum shift length rule.

  • Select the Severity level.
  • Set the Schedule Hours Amount to the minimum number of hours that the employee can be scheduled – hh:mm format.

Minimum hours per week that the employee can be scheduled

Schedule Generation:

  • Soft: may not apply this rule
  • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered.

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

The employee is scheduled for less than the number of hours each week that is defined in the rule set.

  • Select the Severity level.
  • Set the Schedule Hours Amount to the minimum number of hours that the employee can be scheduled – hh:mm format.
  • Set the Week Start Day.

Maximum hours per day that the employee can be scheduled

Schedule Generation:

  • Hard: always applies this rule
  • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered.

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

The employee is scheduled for more than the number of hours each day that is defined in the rule set.

Important: This rule measures the day from midnight to midnight. If this boundary is not appropriate, use the maximum shift length rule.

  • Select the Severity level.
  • Set the Schedule Hours Amount to the maximum number of hours that the employee can be scheduled – hh:mm format.

Maximum hours per week that the employee can be scheduled

Schedule Generation:

  • Hard: always applies this rule
  • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered.

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

The employee is scheduled for more than the number of hours each week that is defined in the rule set.

  • Select the Severity level.
  • Set the Schedule Hours Amount to the maximum number of hours that the employee can be scheduled – hh:mm format.
  • Set the Week Start Day.

Number of unscheduled weekends required for a span of weeks

Schedule Generation:

  • Soft: may not apply this rule
  • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered.

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

Indicates the number of weekends off that are required over a number of weeks.

  • Select the Severity level.
  • Enter a whole number of weeks. Each span of weeks is mutually exclusive – the number of unscheduled weekends starts from zero for each span.
  • Example: An employee cannot work more than 3 consecutive weekends. Enter 4 for Weeks and 1 for Unscheduled Weekends.
  • Enter a whole number of unscheduled weekends.

Maximum hours per bi-weekly period that the employee can be scheduled

Schedule Generation:

  • Hard: always applies this rule
  • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered.

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

The employee is scheduled for more than the maximum number of hours during a two-week (14-day) period.

Normally = 80

  • Select the Severity level.
  • Set the Schedule Hours Amount to the maximum number of hours that the employee can be scheduled – hh:mm format.
  • Select the Anchor Date when the biweekly pay period begins. The pay period resets every 14 days.
  • Select the Week Start Day for the same day of the week as the Anchor Date.
  • Example: A bi-weekly pay period starts on a Sunday. The Week Start Date is Sunday. Set the Anchor Date to an actual start date of a bi-weekly pay period, a Sunday.
Maximum hours per day that the employee can be scheduled each week, with override

Schedule Generation: Not considered

Priority Scheduling Engine: Not considered

The employee is scheduled for more than the number of hours per day in a given week that is defined in the rule set.

  • Select the Severity level.
  • Set the Schedule Hours to the maximum number of hours that the employee can normally be scheduled in one day – hh:mm format
  • Set the Override Hours to the to the maximum number of daily hours that the employee can work for part of the week.
  • Set the Override Days/Week to the number of days per week that the employee can exceed the normal scheduled hours.

For example, if the maximum daily scheduled hours is 8, the override hours is 10 and override days per week is 2, an employee can be scheduled for 2 days per week that are up to 10 hours in length and all other days cannot exceed 8 hours.

Important:

  • The Scheduled Hours Type setting for paycodes can impact those schedule rules that account for time. If a Scheduled Hours Type counts toward the schedule total, the time counts toward schedule rules. Otherwise – for example if non-productive time is deducted – the time is excluded from the calculation for schedule rules.
  • A day is a 24-hour period that starts at midnight. Any shift that starts before and ends after midnight can cause error messages for both days. A week and bi-weekly period start at midnight and end at 11:59 p.m. on a following week. Shifts that overlap this boundary can cause error messages for both weeks or bi-weekly periods.

Schedule Generation and Hours rules

  • Schedule Generation includes the length of productive paycodes when it counts hours. It treats productive paycodes of one minute or longer as shifts. The length of these paycodes can affect shift assignments.
  • Schedule Generation ignores and excludes non-productive paycodes from counts. If the Scheduled Hours Type is not defined, Schedule Generation treats the paycode as non-productive.
  • Schedule Generation treats shifts that contain empty segments the same as other shifts, and counts the hours based on shift segments that are not empty.
  • If an hours-based rule is violated, Schedule Generation ignores the rule but considers the shift. For example, a shift can be assigned manually to an employee but not meet the minimum hours for the day. Then, Schedule Generation ignores the rule for that shift on that day only.
  • A day is a 24-hour period that starts at midnight. Any shift that starts before and ends after midnight can cause error messages for both days. A weekly and biweekly period start at midnight and end at 11:59 p.m. on a following week. Shifts that overlap this boundary can cause error messages for weekly or biweekly periods.
Overtime Rule Schedule Generation and PSE Treatment Rule Violation

Select applicable overtime rule from the drop-down list.

Schedule Generation: Not considered

Priority Scheduling Engine: Not considered

Select the Severity level.

Shifts Rules Schedule Generation and PSE treatment Rule Violation

The employee is scheduled for a time period when that employee is unavailable to work

Schedule Generation: Hard or Soft

  • Assigns shifts to employees in priority from Preferred to Available to Unknown to Unavailable
  • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered.
  • If Schedule Generation settings have no availability overrides, it applies this rule as a hard rule; Schedule Generation always applies it.
  • To override this setting, select Allow Overlap with Unknown Availability or Allow Overlap with Unavailability. For these availabilities, Schedule Generation applies this rule as a soft rule; it may not apply this rule.

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

Employee is scheduled for a shift when they are not available to work.

Select the Severity level.

Minimum shift length that can be scheduled

Schedule Generation:

  • Hard: always applies this rule
  • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered.

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

Employee is scheduled for a shift that is too short. Non-paid breaks are not included in the shift length.

  • Select the Severity level.
  • For the Shift Length parameter, enter the minimum number of hours (hh:mm) for which a shift can be scheduled.
  • In Shift Length uses, select how the shift length is calculated:
    • Elapsed time: The system calculates the shift length based on elapsed time.

    • Effective time: The system calculates the shift length depending on the system setting site.scheduling.shiftlengthrule.effectivetime.useTotalizer. If set to True, the Timekeeping totalizer is used to compute the effective time. If set to False, the Scheduling totalizer is used and unpaid breaks are excluded from the shift length calculation.

Maximum shift length that can be scheduled

Schedule Generation:

  • Hard: always applies this rule
  • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered.

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

Employee is scheduled for a shift that is too long. Non-paid breaks are not included in the shift length.

  • Select the Severity level.
  • For the Shift Length parameter, enter the maximum number of hours (hh:mm) for which a shift can be scheduled.
  • In Shift Length uses, select how the shift length is calculated
    • Elapsed time: The system calculates the shift length based on elapsed time.
    • Effective time: The system calculates the shift length depending on the system setting site.scheduling.shiftlengthrule.effectivetime.useTotalizer. If set to True, the Timekeeping totalizer is used to compute the effective time. If set to False, the Scheduling totalizer is used and unpaid breaks are excluded from the shift length calculation.

Minimum time between shifts

Schedule Generation:

  • Hard: always applies this rule
  • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered.

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

Employee is scheduled for 2 shifts with not enough time (hours) between the shifts.

  • Select the Severity level.
  • For the Hours Between Shifts parameter, in Amount, enter the minimum number of hours (hh:mm) that must separate two shifts.
  • Select Use Shift Start Times to have the system determine the number of hours that separate two consecutive shifts by calculating the elapsed time between the start time of the first shift and the start time of the following shift.

Maximum job segments for a shift

Schedule Generation: Not considered

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

Employee is scheduled during a shift to too many jobs. Job segments do not count non-paid breaks.

Maximum shifts per day

Schedule Generation: Not considered

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

Employee is scheduled for too many shifts during the same day. A day goes from midnight to midnight. Any shift belongs to the day when the shift starts.

Shifts Conform to Employment Terms

Schedule Generation: Not considered

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

Employee is scheduled to work hours that are different from the hours in their employment terms.

Shifts Conform to Break Rules

Schedule Generation:

  • Considers break rules when it creates open shifts
  • Ignores break rules when it assigns shifts
  • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

Employee is scheduled for a break that violates their Break Rules.

The Break Length Threshold parameter specifies the amount of time you want a shift’s break to be able to differ from the break length specified in the employee’s work rule and still be eligible for a self-service request. This parameter can be useful in organizations in which say, work rules specify different break lengths for full-time and part-time employees, which might limit employees’ ability to submit requests for certain shifts.

See Ensure break compliance for employee self-service requests for more information.

Note: The Break Length Threshold parameter is displayed only if the Enable Break Length Threshold rule parameter feature switch is enabled. See Feature Switch for more information.

Note: The Break Length Threshold parameter is used by the Priority Scheduling Engine (PSE); it is not considered by Schedule Generation.

Shifts Conform to Shift Profile Set

Schedule Generation: Hard or Not considered

  • If Schedule Generation uses shift templates, it ignores shift profile sets. Then, this employee rule is not relevant; however, it can generate schedule rule violations. Ignore these violations.
  • If Schedule Generation uses shift profile sets, it always applies this rule.
  • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered.

    • Important: During periods of extended hours of operation, violations of this rule can be frequent and reduce the quality of generated schedules.

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

Employee is assigned to a shift that does not conform to the limits of their assigned shift profile set. The start and end time, and shift length must fall within the minimum and maximum ranges in the shift profile of the shift profile set.

  • Select the Severity level.
  • In Parameter, select the shift profile set.

Note: The Scheduled Hours Type setting for paycodes can impact those schedule rules that account for time. If a Scheduled Hours Type counts toward the schedule total, the time counts toward schedule rules. Otherwise – for example if non-productive time is deducted – the time is excluded from the calculation for schedule rules.

Days Rules Schedule Generation Treatment Rule Violation

Minimum days a week that the employee can be scheduled

Schedule Generation:

  • Soft: may not apply this rule
  • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered.

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

Employee is scheduled for too few days during a week.

  • Select the Severity level.
  • In Days, enter a minimum, whole number of days.
  • Select the Week Start Day.

Maximum days a week that the employee can be scheduled

Schedule Generation:

  • Hard: always applies this rule
  • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered.

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

Employee is scheduled for too many days during a week.

  • Select the Severity level.
  • In Days, enter a maximum, whole number of days.
  • Select the Week Start Day.

Maximum consecutive days that the employee can be scheduled

Schedule Generation:

  • Hard: always applies this rule
  • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered.

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

Employee is scheduled for too many consecutive days. The system automatically considers minors.

  • Select the Severity level.
  • In Consecutive Scheduled Days, enter a maximum, whole number of consecutive days.

  • To exclude a Scheduled Hours type — such as non-productive hours — from the maximum consecutive days calculation:

    • Go to Maintenance > People Information and select an employee.
    • Select Scheduling > Schedule Rule Overrides.
    • Select a maximum consecutive days schedule rule in the Schedule Rules table, and then select a type for Scheduled Hours Type to Exclude.

Enforce consecutive days-off for the employee

Schedule Generation:

  • Soft: may not apply this rule
  • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered.

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

The system calculates the difference between the Maximum and Minimum days each week that the employee can be scheduled, and tries to group unscheduled days in the same week rather than distribute them between work days.

Maximum nights that the employee can be scheduled

Schedule Generation:

  • Hard: always applies this rule
  • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered.

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

Employee is scheduled to work too many nights during a week.

  • If needed, define the night period.
  • Any shift that overlaps the night time range is a night shift. All hours in the shift count as a night shift.
    • Enter the Night Start Time.
    • Enter the Night End Time.
    • In Nights, enter a maximum, whole number of nights.
  • Select the Severity level.
  • Select the Week Start Day.
Maximum days an employee can be scheduled per pay period

Schedule Generation: Not considered

Priority Scheduling Engine: Not considered

Enforces the maximum number of days that an employee can work in a given period.

  • Select the severity level
  • Enter the number of scheduled days.
  • Enter the Weeks in the Period (maximum of 4 weeks).
Minimum consecutive days off per validation period

Schedule Generation: Not considered

Priority Scheduling Engine: Not considered

Enforces the minimum number of consecutive days off in either an 1-week or 2-week period. The rule can also enforce the minimum number of days off over a 2-week period.

  • Minimum Consecutive Days Off per Week: Mandatory and has a limit of 1 through 7 inclusive.
  • Minimum Consecutive Days Off per Two Weeks: Mandatory and has a limit of 2 through 14 inclusive.
  • Minimum Days Off per 2 Weeks: Mandatory and has a limit of 2 through 14 inclusive.

Caution: The Scheduled Hours Type setting for paycodes can impact schedule rules that account for time. If a Scheduled Hours Type counts toward the schedule total, the time counts toward schedule rules. Otherwise — for example if non-productive time is deducted — the time is excluded from the calculation for schedule rules.

Certifications Rule Schedule generation treatment Rule Violation

The employee is scheduled but has expired certifications.

Schedule Generation: Not considered

Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

The employee is scheduled for a shift that requires this certification. However, the employee’s certification has expired.

  • Select the Severity level.
  • If required for Informational or Warning severity, enter the parameter value. Enter an Amount as indicated.
  • Rest rules define the minimum amount of rest time an employee requires between two schedule items such as shifts or paycode edits. The goal is to ensure that employees are properly rested.
  • Rest rules are calculated from the schedule hours.
  • You can define shift-based rest rules and period-based rest rules:
    • In a shift-based rest rule , such as start of shift or paycode edit, the system validates the rest for a span of time. The rule considers more than one shift to meet the rest requirement. Example: Employees require a minimum of 11 uninterrupted hours off between 2 shifts on different working days (instead of a 24-hour period). As well, employees require 36 hours of continuous rest time after they work 5 days.
    • For the Between shift or paycode edit rest rule, the system validates the rest time between two shifts.
    • In a period-based rest rule , such as day of week, the system validates the amount of rest over a specified period. Example: Company policy requires that employees have 36 hours of continuous rest time over a 7-day period, or on an ongoing weekly basis, such as 36 hours of continuous rest time after 5 days of work.
    • As well, a period-based rest rule can specify an included period which validates that the rest period must also include the defined period. Example: Company policy requires that employees have 36 hours of continuous rest time over a 7-day period, but the rest time must include all of Sunday.
    • Rest Rules Schedule Generation Treatment Rule Violation

    Start of shift or paycode edit

    Schedule Generation:

    • Hard: always applies this rule
    • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered.

    Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

    The shift or paycode edit does not meet the minimum amount of rest.

    Example: A shift starts on July 23, at 7:00 AM. The required rest is 8 hours and the period length is 24 hours. If a consecutive 8-hour span is not found within this period which starts at 7:00 AM, a rule violation occurs.

    Between shift or paycode edit

    The shift or paycode edit does not meet the minimum amount of rest.

    Example: A shift starts on July 23, at 7:00 AM. The required rest is 8 hours; the period between this shift and the previous shift or paycode edit, excluding the duration of this shift, must be at least 8 hours.
    Start of week

    The period does not meet the minimum amount of rest.

    Example Without Included Period Start of week: The period starts on Sunday. The length is 1 week and the rest amount is 24 hours. If a consecutive 24-hour span is not during this period, a rule violation occurs.
    Day of week

    The period does not meet the minimum amount of rest.

    Example With Included Period Day of week: The period starts on Sunday. The length is 1 week and the rest amount is 24 hours. The included period starts on Monday at 12:00 AM and ends at 12:00 PM. If a consecutive 24-hour span is not during this period (this period also includes the entire included period on Monday), a rule violation occurs.
    Any day of the week

    The period does not meet the minimum amount of rest.

    Example Without Included Period Any day of the week: The period length is 2 days, and the rest amount is 8 hours. If a consecutive 8-hour span is not during a 2-day period, a rule violation occurs.

    For each rest rule that you configure, define:

    • Severity — (Required) Select the Severity level.
    • Required rest (hh:mm) — (Required) Enter the required rest time for the employee. You can enter from 15 minutes up to 8765:59 hours (between 365 and 366 days).
    • Start — Define when to start the rest period. For example, you can specify that the rest time begins at the start of the shift or paycode edit, between shift or paycode edit, start of week, or any day of the week.
    • If you select Start of week, Day of week, or Any day of the week, the start of the week that is defined for the schedule rule set is used.
    • Start time (hh:mm) — (Required) Enter the start time for the rest period. You can enter up to 23.59 hours (00:00 to 23.59 or 12:00 am to 11:59 pm). This field is required only when selecting Start of week or Day of week for the start of the rest period.
    • If Start of shift or paycode edit or Between shift or paycode edit is used, you cannot enter a value.
    • Length — Enter the span of time to search the required rest. If you select Start of shift or paycode edit, Start of week, Day of week, or Any day of the week, you must define the length. The length must be equal to or greater than the required rest. You can define a Length from 15 minutes to 8766 hours.
    • Anchor date (m/dd/yyyy) — Select an anchor date from the calendar, or enter one manually.
      • If the start of the rest period is based on Start of shift or paycode edit or Between shift or paycode edit, you cannot select an Anchor date.
      • If you select a Day of the week for Start, the Anchor date must be on the same day as the Start of the rest period. If you select Start of week, the Anchor date must be on the same day as the start day of the week. Example: If you select Tuesday for Start, the Anchor date must be a Tuesday.
    • Rest includes start — (Optional) Define the start day of the included period, that is the period of time that the rest amount must include. Must be between 00:00 to 23:59.
    • Rest includes start time (hh:mm) — (Optional) Enter the actual time which must be during the required rest period.
    • Rest includes length (hh:mm) — (Optional) Enter the actual length which must be during the required rest period (up to one week maximum). Must be less than or equal to the Length.

      • Important: Rest includes start, Rest includes start time, and Rest includes length are optional only when Start is a Day of the week or the Start of the week. If you define any of these parameters, you must define all three — they are not allowed for all other Start types. The span of the included period must be during the span of the defined period.

    • Minimum gap (hh:mm) — Enter the minimum number of minutes that determines whether the rest rule validates the time between two shifts. Required only if you select Start of shift or paycode edit or Between shift or paycode edit for the start of the rest period. The amount must be between 0 minutes and 24 hours, and less than the amount of rest. Enter a value of zero (no minimum gap) as 0:00.
    • Pay codes to exclude — (Optional) Select the pay codes to exclude from the rest evaluation:
      • Blank: All pay codes are included.
      • Included in daily scheduled hours: When the pay code edit has a Schedule hours type of Unspecified or Include in sum of daily scheduled hours is selected.
      • Not included in daily scheduled hours: When the pay code edit has a Schedule hours type of Unspecified or Include in sum of daily scheduled hours is not selected.
      • All: All pay codes are excluded.

    Period hours define the maximum or minimum number of projected hours to allow employees to work over a defined period of time. These periods can be rolling or non-rolling and daily, weekly, or monthly. For annual periods, define 365 days, 52 weeks, or 12 months. Period hours ensure that Schedule Generation does not break these period hours rules.

    Note: Scheduled Hours Totals can be inaccurate when a shift contains multiple segments and the first segment is a transfer segment. This is the default behavior. To alter the behavior, edit the Pay Rule and select Scheduled time without a transfer is treated as a transfer to primary account and default work rule.

    Period Hours Rule Schedule Generation Treatment Rule Violation
    Define the periods

    Schedule Generation:

    • Hard and Soft
    • Maximum operation = Hard: always applies this rule
    • Minimum operation = Soft: may not apply this rule
    • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered.

    Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

    Either:

    • The minimum number of hours was not met.
    • The maximum number of hours was exceeded.

    1. Before you can configure period hours, you must do the following:
      1. Turn on the Background Processor (BGP) so that the system retrieves the totalized hours.
      2. Select Administration > Application Setup > Pay Policies > Pay Rules. Click the pay rule to edit. In the Pay Rule tab, select Calculate Projected Totals. Click Save.
      3. Assign the pay rule to the employees.
      4. Select an employee. Select People > Job Assignment tab > Timekeeping. Select the Pay Rule and Effective Date. Click Save.
      5. Configure totalizer settings:
        • In Administration > Application Setup > System Configuration > System Settings, select the Global tab.
        • Depending on the period, edit these totalizer settings so that each of these Totals = the length of the Maximum Period that is defined for the Period Hours rules:

          global.WTKTotalizer.MinimumDaysInFutureForActualTotals + global.WTKTotalizer.MinimumInactiveDaysWithoutTotalingActuals = Actual Totals

          global.WTKTotalizer.MinimumDaysInFutureForScheduledTotals + global.WTKTotalizer.MinimumInactiveDaysWithoutTotalingSchedule = Scheduled Totals

          Example: If the period is 52 weeks, both the actual totals and scheduled totals must each equal 366 days.

          global.WTKTotalizer.MinimumDaysInFutureForActualTotals + global.WTKTotalizer.MinimumInactiveDaysWithoutTotalingActuals = Actual Totals = 366 days

          global.WTKTotalizer.MinimumDaysInFutureForScheduledTotals + global.WTKTotalizer.MinimumInactiveDaysWithoutTotalingSchedule = Scheduled Totals = 366 days

          • Example: When you include the inactive totals, the Maximum you can define for the Actual Totals and for the Scheduled Totals = 426 days.

          Maximum of MinimumInactiveDaysWithoutTotalingActuals and MinimumInactiveDaysWithoutTotalingSchedule are each 60 days.

          Maximum of MinimumDaysInFutureForActualTotals and MinimumDaysInFutureForScheduledTotals are each 366 Days.

          60 days + 366 days = 426 days

      6. Click Save.
      7. Restart the server.
    2. Select the Period Hours tab.
    3. Configure one or more period hours rules to include in the rule set. For each rule that you configure, define:
      • Severity — Select the severity level for the violation associated with this rule.
      • Operation — Select Minimum or Maximum.
      • Amount of Hours (hh:mm) — Specify the number of hours for the minimum or maximum limit to evaluate for the period.

        • Do not enter a value in this field when specifying Contract Definitions.

      • Use Contract Definition — Choose a configured contract definition that defines how employees' contractual hours are distributed over a period of time.
      • Occurrence Definition — Choose an occurrence from the list of configured occurrence definitions to use for enforcing compliance with global labor laws by tracking the number of occurrences of work hours limits.
      • Period Definition — Choose the time period from the list of configured period definitions to use for evaluating hours worked.
      • Paycodes to Exclude — (Optional) Select a combined pay code that includes individual hours pay codes or combined pay codes that you want to exclude from the hours being evaluated, as specified in Amount of Hours. For example, you may want to exclude hours associated with time-off pay codes from the period hours being evaluated. If no pay codes are excluded, then all pay codes are included when evaluating the period hours.

    Non-rolling (fixed) period

    Suppose you have a period definition named Monthly Period to evaluate hours worked on a monthly basis. To set up a rule where an employee must not work more than 192 hours per month, you could specify these parameters:

    • Severity — Select Warning.
    • Operation — Select Maximum.
    • Amount of Hours — Enter 192.
    • Period Definition — Select Monthly Period.

    Rolling period

    Suppose you have a period definition named 16-Week Rolling Period to evaluate hours on a rolling basis. To set up a rule where an employee can only work up to 42 hours per week on average over a 16-week period, you could specify these parameters.

    • Severity — Select Warning.
    • Operation — Select Maximum.
    • Amount of Hours — Enter 672. This is calculated by multiplying 42 hours per week by 16 weeks to obtain the average hours.
    • Period Definition — Select 16-Week Rolling Period.

    Prorated periods

    The amount of hours are prorated for the evaluation period based on the effective dates for the employee's employment status and the effective dates for the Schedule Rule Set assigned to the scheduled employee.

    Examples of prorated periods:

    Amount of Hours Evaluation Period 26 Weeks Event Dates Revised Evaluation Period Adjusted Hours Amount
    1040 Apr 1 - Sep 30 Leave of absence

    May 1 - June 15, 2019

    6-week leave in eval period

    Apr 1 - Apr 30

    June 16 - Sep 30

    		 ((26-6)/26)*1040 = 800
    1040 Apr 1 - Sep 30 Employment end date

    May 31, 2019

    Eval period is effective for 8 weeks

    		 Apr 1 - May 31 (8/26) * 1040 = 320
    1040 Apr 1 - Sep 30 Schedule Rule Set start date

    Aug 1, 2019

    Eval period is effective for 8 weeks

    		 Aug 1 - Sep 30 (8/26) * 1040 = 320

    Example rule violation for a prorated period

    The maximum amount of hours has been exceeded. Period: 9/08/2019 – 12/28/2019, amount of hours: 672:00, pro-rated hours: 336:00, evaluated hours: 353:00

    Event-based schedule rules enable you to define restrictions or constraints that govern the amount of work time or the number of recurrences that a specific event, such as night shifts or weekend shifts, can be scheduled over a set period of time.

    1. Select the Events tab.
    2. Configure one or more event rules to include in the rule set. For each rule that you configure, define:
      • Severity — Select the severity level for the violation associated with this rule.
      • Schedule Event Rule— Select a configured Schedule Event Rule to include in the rule set. For more information about Schedule Event Rules, see Configure Schedule Event Rules.
      • Paycodes to Exclude — (Optional) Select a combined pay code that includes individual hours pay codes or combined pay codes that you want to exclude from the hours being evaluated. For example, you may want to exclude hours associated with time-off pay codes from the period hours being evaluated. If no pay codes are excluded, then all pay codes are included when evaluating the event hours.

    Events Rule Schedule Engine Treatment

    Define the Schedule Event Rule

    Schedule Generation:

    • Hard and Soft
    • Maximum operation = Hard: always applies this rule Minimum operation
    • Soft: may not apply this rule Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered

    Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

    A split shift is when an employee is scheduled to work two or more shifts per day, where each shift is separated by a period of time that is longer than a regular break segment. Split shifts enable employees to maintain a better work-life balance while controlling operational costs with an optimal workload.

    When you configure split shift schedule rules, the system validates the constraints to ensure your organization is compliant with local labor rules. When compliance issues occur, managers are alerted via Rule Violations in the Schedule Planner.

    Note: Split shift rules are also validated for all Employee Self Service scheduling actions, such as Self-Scheduling, Open Shift Request, Request to Cover, and Shift Swap.

    1. Select the Split Shift tab.
    2. Configure a split shift rule to include in the rule set by defining the following:
      • Severity — Select the severity level for the violation associated with this rule.
      • Amount Parameters— Specify the following parameters:
        1. Define the minimum and maximum time between shifts to specify when a shift qualifies as a split shift occurrence. The time in between shifts is measured from the end of the first shift to the start of the second shift. These parameters are required.
          • Minimum Time in between Shifts — Enter the minimum time duration (hh:mm) between two consecutive shifts.
          • Maximum Time in between Shifts — Enter the maximum time duration (hh:mm) between two consecutive shifts.
        2. Specify the constraints of the split shift. These parameters are optional.
          • Split Start At or After — Enter the time of day (hh:mm) that the split between the two shifts must start at or after. This parameter specifies the start time of the gap of the split.
          • Split End Before — Enter the time of day (hh:mm) that the split between the two shifts must end before. This parameter specifies the end time of the gap of the split.
          • First Shift Start At or After — Enter the time of day (hh:mm) that the first shift of the day must start at or after. This parameter specifies the minimum boundary for the entire day.
          • Last Shift End Before — Enter the time of day (hh:mm) that the last shift of the day must end before. This parameter specifies the maximum boundary for the entire day.
          • Maximum Elapsed Shift Time — Enter the maximum amount of time (hh:mm) between the start of the first shift of the day and the end of the last shift of the day. This parameter specifies the maximum time span in a day that an employee can be scheduled.
        3. Configure a limit on the number of split shift occurrences an employee can be scheduled during a validation period. These parameters are optional; however, both must be configured together.
          • Maximum Occurrences — Enter the maximum number of split shifts that can occur in the validation period. The validation period is the specified Period Definition.
          • Period Definition — Select the period in which the split shift occurrences are tracked. For more information, see Configure Period Definitions .
        4. (Optional) In Pay Codes to Exclude, select a combined pay code that includes all pay codes that do not contribute to the rule validation. For example, you may want to exclude hours associated with time-off pay codes from the period hours being evaluated. If no pay codes are excluded, then all pay codes are included when evaluating the split shift hours.

    Constraints configure to define a split shift: 

    • Minimum Time in Between Shifts = 2:00
    • Maximum Time in Between Shifts = 4:00

      • Employee 1 is scheduled to work two shifts: 8:00am to 11:00am, and 1:00pm to 5:00pm.

      Employee 2 is scheduled to work two shifts: 8:00am to 11:00am, and 5:00pm to 8:00pm.

      Only Employee 1 has a split shift. Employee 2 has more than 4 hours between shifts, which exceeds the Maximum Time in Between Shifts parameter.

    Boundaries configured for the split position:

    • Minimum Time in Between Shifts = 2:00
    • Maximum Time in Between Shifts = 4:00
    • Split Start At or After = 11:00
    • Split End Before = 14:00

      • Employee 1 is scheduled to work two shifts: 8:00am to 12:00pm, and 3:00pm to 6:00pm.

      A rule violation for Employee 1 is triggered when the schedule is saved. The start of the split (12:00) falls inside the required time span, but the end of the split (15:00) falls outside the required time span.

    Limits configured for the split start and end:

    • Minimum Time in Between Shifts = 2:00
    • Maximum Time in Between Shifts = 4:00
    • Split Start At or After = 11:00
    • Split End Before = 14:00
    • First Shift Start At or After = 8:00
    • Last Shift End Before = 19:00

      • Employee 1 is scheduled to work two shifts: 7:00am to 11:00am, and 1:30pm to 6:00pm.

      A rule violation for Employee 1 is triggered when the schedule is saved. Although the employee's last shift ends before 19:00, the start of their first shift (7:00) falls outside the required time span.

    Limit configured for the elapsed time of a split start:

    • Minimum Time in Between Shifts = 2:00
    • Maximum Time in Between Shifts = 4:00
    • Split Start At or After = 11:00
    • Split End Before = 14:00
    • First Shift Start At or After = 8:00
    • Last Shift End Before = 19:00
    • Maximum Elapsed Shift Time = 12:00

      • Employee 1 is scheduled to work two shifts: 8:00am to 11:00am, and 1:00pm to 8:30pm.

      A rule violation for Employee 1 is triggered when the schedule is saved. The total elapsed time from the start of the split shift to the end is 12:30, which exceeds the maximum of 12:00.

    Limit configured for the maximum number of split shift occurrences:

    • Minimum Time in Between Shifts = 2:00
    • Maximum Time in Between Shifts = 4:00
    • Split Start At or After = 11:00
    • Split End Before = 14:00
    • First Shift Start At or After = 8:00
    • Last Shift End Before = 19:00
    • Maximum Elapsed Shift Time = 12:00
    • Maximum Occurrences = 2
    • Period Definition = Weekly Mon-Sun

      • Employee 1 is scheduled to work three split shifts (on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) during the specified weekly period of Monday through Sunday.

      A rule violation for Employee 1 is triggered when the schedule is saved, because the maximum number of occurrences in the specified period is 2.

    Configure which pay codes to exclude when evaluation split shift rules:

    • Minimum Time in Between Shifts = 2:00
    • Maximum Time in Between Shifts = 4:00
    • Split Start At or After = 11:00
    • Split End Before = 14:00
    • First Shift Start At or After = 8:00
    • Last Shift End Before = 19:00
    • Maximum Elapsed Shift Time = 12:00
    • Maximum Occurrences = 2
    • Period Definition = Weekly Mon-Sun
    • Pay Codes to Exclude = Split Shift Excluded Pay Codes

      • Suppose the specified combined pay code Split Shift Excluded Pay Codes includes Vacation but not Training.

      On Wednesday, Employee 1 is scheduled for Training from 8:00am to 11:00am, and scheduled for a shift from 1:00pm to 7:15pm.

      On Wednesday, Employee 2 is scheduled for Vacation from 8:00am to 11:00am, and scheduled for a shift from 1:00pm to 7:15pm.

      For Employee 1, a rule violation is triggered when the schedule is saved. Training is not excluded from the validation and is considered part of the split shift. Because the last shift time falls outside the required time span, a rule violation occurs.

      For Employee 2, the scheduled shift is not considered a split shift because Vacation is excluded from validation, so no split shift rule validation is done.

    Organizational rule sets are organization-level restrictions and requirements that apply to paycodes as well as skills and certifications and are associated with locations or organizational jobs.

    1. Click New to create an organizational rule set or select an organizational rule set and click Duplicate or Edit.
      Note: You can also select an organizational rule set and delete it or click Inactivate. When you inactivate a rule set, it no longer generates new messages for rule violations. Past messages remain visible.
    2. Enter a Name and optionally, a Description.
    3. Select the Week Start Day to define the first day of the week. This setting affects rule violations that apply to weeks.
      • If a schedule period starts on a day other than the week start day, Scheduler reports rule violations in other ranges — even if some days are not loaded. To avoid this confusion, configure all rule sets to use the same week start day as the schedule period.
      • For schedule rules that span multiple days — such as weekly, consecutive days, or weekend rules — a rule violation can occur for a date before the rule set assignment date. The system uses data from the past four weeks, and includes data from outside the time period in Scheduler.
      4. Note: For schedule rules that span multiple days — such as weekly, consecutive days, or weekend rules — a rule violation can occur for a date before the rule set assignment date. The system uses data from the past four weeks, and includes data from outside the time period in Scheduler.
    4. Provide applicable information in the tabs described below. When finished, click Save & Close or click Save And Assign To Location.
    Pay Codes Rule Schedule Generation Treatment Rule Violation

    Maximum number of hours per week for the paycode.

    Schedule Generation: Not considered

    Priority Scheduling Engine: Not considered

    Employees in the job or location are scheduled for too many paycode hours (for example, vacation).

    • Select a Paycode.
    • Enter the Maximum hours for the paycode for each job for each week.
    • To add another paycode, click Add Row. Repeat.
    Skills Rule Schedule Engine Treatment Rule Violation

    A skill is required for a time span.

    Schedule Generation: Not considered

    Priority Scheduling Engine: Not considered

    Only employees with this skill can be scheduled during the time period.

    • Select a Skill .
    • Select the Severity level. See Rule severities for information on severity levels.
    • In Required Staff (#), enter the required number of employees.
    • In Required Span, enter the time span when the employees are needed.
    • To require another skill, click Add Row. Repeat.
    Certifications Rule Schedule Generation Treatment Rule Violation

    A certification is required for a time span.

    Schedule Generation: Not considered

    Priority Scheduling Engine: Not considered

    Only employees with this active certification can be scheduled during the time period.

    • Select a Certification .
    • Select the Severity level.
    • In Required Staff (#), enter the required number of employees.
    • In Required Span, enter the time span when the employees are needed.
    • To require another certification, click Add Row. Repeat.
    Required Skills Rules Schedule Generation Treatment Rule Violation

    A skill is required for an organizational job.

    Schedule Generation:

    • Hard: always applies this rule
    • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered .

    Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

    All scheduled employees must have this skill.

    • Select a Skill .
    • Select the Severity level.
    • Clear Forbidden .
    • To require another skill, click Add Row. Repeat.

    A skill is forbidden for an organizational job.

    Schedule Generation:

    • Hard: always applies this rule
    • Schedule Generation cannot assign a shift to an employee if their skill is forbidden. If Schedule Generation cannot find an eligible employee, it creates an open shift.
    • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered .

    Priority Scheduling Engine: Not considered

    No scheduled employees can have this skill.

    • Select a Skill .
    • Select the Severity level.
    • Select Forbidden .
    • To forbid another skill, click Add Row. Repeat.
    Required Certification Rules Schedule Generation Treatment Rule Violation

    A certification is required for an organizational job.

    Schedule Generation:

    • Hard: always applies this rule
    • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered .

    Priority Scheduling Engine: Optional

    All scheduled employees must have this active certification.

    • Select a Certification .
    • Select the Severity level.
    • Clear Forbidden .
    • To require another skill, click Add Row. Repeat.

    A certification is forbidden for an organizational job.

    Schedule Generation:

    • Hard: always applies this rule
    • Cannot assign a shift to an employee if their certification is forbidden; if Schedule Generation cannot find an eligible employee, it creates an open shift.
    • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered .

    Priority Scheduling Engine: Not considered

    No scheduled employees can have this active certification.

    • Select a Certification .
    • Select the Severity level.
    • Select Forbidden .
    • To forbid another skill, click Add Row. Repeat.

    Select the Skill & Certification Profiles tab.

    Exclusive Skill & Certification Profiles Rule Schedule Generation Treatment Rule Violation

    An exclusive skill & certification profile cannot be combined with another skill & certification profile

    Schedule Generation:

    • Hard: always applies this rule
    • Make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered .

    Priority Scheduling Engine: Not considered

    If a shift uses this exclusive skill & certification profile, this rule is violated if any segment in that shift at the same location uses any other skill & certification profile. Other shifts in the schedule can use different profiles.

    Example: This rule is violated if a shift segment with the corresponding job has more than one skill & certification profile but one of the profiles is exclusive.

    Tip: Use this rule to make sure that multiple employees cover required skills, certifications, or proficiency levels.

    Example: Use an exclusive skill & certification profile rule if an ambulance crew requires 2 people, both of whom are paramedics, but one who is a driver and the other who is certified in phlebotomy and can draw blood. This rule is violated if only 1 person who is a paramedic, a driver, and a phlebotomist is scheduled, rather than the 2 people that the workload requires.

    • Select an Exclusive Skill & Certification Profile .
    • Select the Severity level.
    • Schedule Generation always applies this hard rule; make sure that the severity is not set to Not Considered .
    • To select another profile, click Add Row. Repeat.
    Note:
    • If the effective periods do not overlap, the same schedule rule can have multiple schedule rule overrides.
    • Gaps can be between effective periods.
    • An override is validated against any current override for the schedule rule. If no current override, validation is against the value of the schedule rule in the schedule rule set.
    • If the effective period is in the past, an override is not validated. However, if overrides overlap for the same rule, and one override has an effective period in the past, the system accepts the override.

    Tip: To assign a Schedule Rule Set, select Maintenance > People Information > Scheduling > Scheduler.

    A manager can override default values in an employee’s schedule rule set:

    • All schedule rule parameters except for severity level
    • Only for individual employees

    Example: The schedule rule set for part-time employees requires availability at 5:00 p.m. on week nights, for the 4-hour minimum shift length. However, an employee is not available until 5:30 on Mondays and Thursdays. The manager can override the minimum to 3 hours, and schedule the employee from 5:30 to 8:00 without a rule violation.

    To override rules, access must allow edits of employees in their assigned group.

    To override a schedule rule that is assigned to an employee during a defined time span.

    1. From a Dataview, right-click the employee name.
    2. Select Go To > People .
    3. Expand Scheduling > Schedule Rule Overrides.
    4. In a blank row, select the Schedule Rule.
    5. (Optional) Select History to display changed parameters, past effective dates, or past expiration dates.
    6. In Schedule Overrides:
      1. If available, enter new parameter values.
      2. If needed, select each day to apply the override.
      3. Select the Effective Date to start the override.
      4. Select the Expiration Date of the override.
    7. Click Save.
    8. To override another rule, click Add Row and repeat. Click Save when finished.
    9. (Optional) Audit schedule rule set overrides
      1. Select the employee.
      2. Select Go to > People
      3. Expand Scheduling > Schedule Rule Overrides.
      4. Select one of the following:
      5. Currently active overrides – Click View Audits.
      6. Past schedule rule overrides – Select History > Schedule Rule Overrides.
      7. Click OK.