How to Configure Roster and Period Overtime

Where to Find It

Go to Settings > Payroll Rules and scroll to the Pay Rules and Calculations section.
Select or create an award, then open the Rules step (Step 4).
Select the relevant Employment Type.
Expand the Roster Overtime accordion.

Rule Types Available

Overtime based on total hours worked in a payroll period exceeding the configured threshold.

How to set it up:

Click Add Rule under the Roster Overtime header.
Applicable Days — tick the days (Sunday–Saturday) that contribute to the period overtime calculation.
Conditions — define tiered overtime rates:
- "[rate]% of the ordinary hourly rate for the first [X] hour(s)"
- Additional tiers for progressive rates
- Final tier: "[rate]% of the ordinary hourly rate thereafter"
- Click Add Condition to add more tiers.
Enter the Clause, Rule Title, and use the Enabled toggle.

Note: The overtime threshold for the period is set in the Payroll Configuration step under Payroll Period Overtime Threshold.

Overtime rate rules that apply specifically to roster overtime accumulated on public holidays.

How to set it up:

Click Add Rule.
Conditions — define tiered overtime rates (same format as standard roster overtime).
No day selection needed.
Enter the Clause, Rule Title, and use the Enabled toggle.

Distributes roster overtime from the end of the week, applying per-day thresholds.

How to set it up:

Click Add Rule under the Roster Overtime Distribution header.
Applicable Days — all seven days are automatically selected (mandatory). For each day, enter Daily Ordinary Hours — the per-day threshold for distributing overtime.
Conditions — define tiered overtime rates.
Enter the Clause, Rule Title, and use the Enabled toggle.

Specialized overtime rules for harvest seasons with different daily and weekly overtime limits.

How to set it up:

How Period Overtime Works

The system totals all hours worked in a payroll period.
Hours exceeding the Overtime Threshold (from Payroll Configuration) are classified as roster overtime.
The Conditions tiers determine the overtime rate applied to those excess hours.

Example: With a 38-hour weekly threshold:

Managing Rules

Enable/disable the entire group — use the toggle on the Roster Overtime accordion header.
Remove a rule — click the remove icon in the clause section.
Add tiers — use Add Condition for progressive rate structures.

Tips

Set your overtime threshold first in the Payroll Configuration step before configuring roster overtime rules.
Roster overtime distribution is useful when your award requires overtime to be allocated back to specific days in the period.
Harvest period rules are specialised — only enable them if your award specifically includes seasonal overtime provisions.

Roster (period) overtime rules calculate overtime based on total hours worked across an entire payroll period, rather than a single day. This is used when an award defines overtime as hours exceeding a weekly or fortnightly threshold.