How to Configure Daily Overtime Rules

Where to Find It

1. Open Awards from the main navigation.
2. Select or create an award, then open the Rules step (Step 4).
3. Select the relevant Employment Type.
4. Expand the Daily Overtime accordion.

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Rule Types Available

1. Shift Based Daily Overtime

Overtime that applies only on selected shifts. When an employee works more than the defined ordinary hours on a matching shift within a single calendar day, the extra time is paid at overtime rates.

Hours reset each calendar day — if a shift spans midnight, each calendar day's slice is evaluated separately. The rule also applies on public holidays.

How to set it up:

• Click Add Rule under the Shift Based Daily Overtime header.
• Applicable Shifts — tick the shifts this rule applies to from the list of your company's shift templates.
• Applicable Days — tick the days of the week this rule is active.
• Daily Ordinary Hours — enter the number of ordinary hours before overtime begins (0–24).
• Conditions — define tiered overtime rates:
  • First tier: the rate for the first overtime hours
  • Additional tiers: the rate for subsequent overtime hours
  • Final tier: the rate applied thereafter
  • Click Add Condition to add more tiers.
  • Click the remove icon to delete a tier.

Example: An employee on the "Day Shift" template works 9 hours on a Monday with an 8-hour ordinary threshold. The first hour beyond 8 hours is paid at 150% (time and a half).

Good to know:

• If the same shift template is worked twice on the same calendar day, the hours are pooled. For example, two 5-hour shifts on the same template with an 8-hour threshold produces 2 hours of overtime.
• Different shift templates are evaluated independently — even on the same calendar day, each template is measured against the threshold separately.
• This rule runs before other daily overtime rules, so remaining ordinary minutes are still available for those rules.

Compatibility:

• Cannot be used together with Duration-Based Overtime (Continuous from Shift Start) or Public Holiday Daily Overtime — these are mutually exclusive.

2. Duration-Based Overtime (Continuous from Shift Start)

Overtime is calculated based on total hours worked from the shift start, measured continuously.

How to set it up:

• Click Add Rule under the Duration-Based header.
• Applicable Days — tick the days this rule applies to (Sunday–Saturday).
• Daily Ordinary Hours — for each enabled day, enter the number of ordinary hours before overtime begins.
• Conditions — define tiered overtime rates:
  • First tier: "[rate]% of the ordinary hourly rate for the first [X] hour(s)"
  • Additional tiers: "[rate]% of the ordinary hourly rate for the next [X] hour(s)"
  • Final tier: "[rate]% of the ordinary hourly rate thereafter"
  • Click Add Condition to add more tiers.
  • Click the remove icon to delete a tier.

3. Duration-Based Overtime (Non-Continuous)

Similar to continuous, but calculates overtime based on total hours worked across the day, not just from shift start.

How to set it up:

• Same configuration as continuous: Applicable Days, Daily Ordinary Hours per day, and tiered Conditions for overtime rates.

4. Time Range-Based Overtime

Overtime is triggered when work falls within specific time ranges (e.g., before 6:00 AM or after 7:00 PM).

How to set it up:

• Applicable Days — tick the days this rule applies to.
• Start Time and End Time — for each enabled day, set the time range that defines overtime.
• Conditions — define tiered overtime rates (same format as duration-based).

5. Public Holiday Daily Overtime

Overtime rules that apply specifically on public holidays. Uses continuous calculation from shift start.

How to set it up:

• Daily Ordinary Hours — set the number of ordinary hours on a public holiday before overtime begins.
• Conditions — define tiered overtime rates.
• No day selection needed — applies automatically to public holidays.

6. Public Holiday Non-Continuous Daily Overtime

Overtime rules for public holidays that use non-continuous calculation — total hours worked across the calendar day, regardless of shift start time. This is ideal for overnight (boundary) shifts where work spans two calendar days and one of those days is a public holiday.

How to set it up:

• Click Add Rule under the Public Holiday Non-Continuous Daily Overtime header.
• Daily Ordinary Hours — set the number of ordinary hours before overtime begins on a public holiday.
• Conditions — define tiered overtime rates (same format as other overtime rules).
• No day selection needed — applies automatically to public holidays.

Compatibility:

• Pairs with Duration-Based Non-Continuous Daily Overtime.
• Cannot be used together with Public Holiday Daily Overtime or Duration-Based Continuous Daily Overtime — these are mutually exclusive.
• Only one Public Holiday Non-Continuous Daily Overtime rule is allowed per employment type.

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Understanding Overtime Rate Tiers

The rate multiplier system lets you create progressive overtime rates:

• Rates are entered as a percentage of the ordinary hourly rate (e.g., 150 = time and a half).
• The last tier always applies "thereafter" (no hour limit).

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Managing Rules

• Enable/disable the entire group — use the toggle on the Daily Overtime accordion header.
• Remove a rule — click the remove icon in the clause section.
• Clause — enter the relevant award clause number.
• Rule Title — give the rule a descriptive name.
• Enabled toggle — turn individual rules on or off.

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Tips

• Shift Based Daily Overtime is ideal when different shifts have different overtime thresholds or when only certain shifts should trigger daily overtime.
• Duration-based continuous is the most common type — use it when overtime starts after a set number of hours from the shift start.
• Time range-based is useful for awards that define overtime based on clock time (e.g., all hours before 7 AM are overtime).
• Public Holiday Non-Continuous is best for overnight shifts that cross into a public holiday — it counts hours on the public holiday calendar day separately.
• You can have multiple rules of different types active for the same employment type — but check the compatibility notes above.
• Always test your configuration with the Test Bench to confirm overtime calculates correctly.

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Related Topics

• How to Configure Minimum Overtime Rules — guarantee minimum overtime hours
• How to Configure Roster and Period Overtime — overtime based on total period hours
• How to Use the Test Bench — validate your overtime rules