Your hours and pay: how it works

What this guide covers

This explains, in plain terms, how the hours you work turn into pay - from clocking in each day, to how your week is measured, to what happens when you work more or less than your schedule. It's the employee side of what your manager sees; if you've ever wondered "why was that extra time not paid?" or "what's an unauthorised hour?", this is for you.

The short version

You clock in and out - that's the record of what you worked.
Your schedule sets your contracted (ordinary) hours for the week.
The system looks at the whole week, not each day on its own.
Work above your weekly hours is extra - it isn't paid until your manager approves it (and approved extra over your contract is paid as overtime).
Work below your weekly hours is a shortfall - those missing hours are deducted unless you make them up in the same week.

How your hours become pay: you clock in and out each day, your days are added up each week and compared to your contracted hours; if you met them you are fully paid, if you worked more the extra is unauthorised until your manager approves it (paid as overtime if over the week), if you worked less the shortfall is deducted unless made up in the same week. Plus what you can do.

The key idea: your week is measured as a whole

The most important thing to understand is that the week is one total. It doesn't matter that Tuesday was quiet and Thursday was long - what counts is whether your week adds up to your contracted hours.

Hit your weekly hours - you're fully paid, nothing extra to do. This is the goal.
Over your weekly hours - the surplus can become overtime (paid at a higher rate) - but only once your manager approves it.
Under your weekly hours - the gap is a shortfall and is deducted.

Because it's a weekly total, a short day and a longer day in the same week can balance out. Making up a missed hour later that week is usually better than leaving a gap.

What "unauthorised" means (and why extra time isn't auto-paid)

Any time you work beyond your schedule doesn't pay automatically. It starts life as unauthorised (pending) and waits for your manager to decide:

What happens to beyond-schedule hours: they start Unauthorised (pending), then a manager Approves them (paid, counts toward weekly overtime), Declines them (written off, never paid, final), or for a short day marks it Reviewed (acknowledged, but the shortfall is still deducted).

Approved - the time is paid, and counts toward overtime once your week passes your contracted hours.
Declined - the time is written off and not paid (this is final). Managers decline extra time that wasn't needed or agreed.
For a short day, a manager may mark it reviewed - that just acknowledges it; it does not add the missing hours back, so the shortfall is still deducted.

This is why it's worth a quick word with your manager before working significant extra hours: overtime is their call to approve.

Definitions

Term	What it means for you
Contracted (ordinary) hours	The hours your schedule expects you to work in a week - your baseline.
Worked	The hours your clock-ins recorded.
Authorised	Extra time your manager has approved - it will be paid.
Unauthorised	Extra time still waiting for your manager's decision. Not yet paid.
Declined	Extra time your manager refused - not paid, and final.
Overtime	Approved hours above your weekly contract, paid at a higher rate.
Shortfall	Hours you fell short of your weekly contract - deducted unless made up that week.
Reviewed	A short day your manager has acknowledged. The shortfall still applies.

What you can do

Clock in and out accurately - your scans are the single source of your hours. If a scan is missed, tell your manager.
Check My Hours to see your worked, authorised and any unauthorised time for the week.
Make up a short day within the same week to avoid a deduction.
Speak to your manager before working large extra hours - they approve overtime.
Accept or decline schedule changes your manager proposes - a change to your recurring schedule only takes effect once you accept it (see My Schedule).
Apply for leave for planned days off - approved leave is not counted as a shortfall.

How working time is calculated - the full model behind your pay: ordinary hours, overtime rates, public holidays and how leave fits in.
Clock in and out remotely - how your hours are captured.
My Schedule - your working pattern, and accepting changes your manager proposes.
Apply for leave - booking time off so it isn't treated as a shortfall.
Attendance status field definitions - what each attendance badge means.