Pay, leave and attendance come with words that are not everyday English: worker, legal wage, substitute day, sandwich rule. This chapter says what each one means, in plain words, what it does in the app, and where you set it.
Some rules come from a country’s law. Those are written as that country’s rule ("In Bangladesh (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, s.103): …"). A company in another country is not under them. Every number is also a company setting.
This chapter is generated from the same data as the Help Center glossary (/help/glossary). Updated 2026-10-25.
Company weekend versus a shift’s own off-days
There are two places that say which weekdays are off. The company weekend (Weekend Configuration) is the default for everyone. A shift can name its own off-days.
A shift’s own days win. If a shift names none, the people on it follow the company weekend. The shift form shows "uses company weekend" until you turn its own days on.
Shift with no off-days: company weekend applies.
Shift with Wednesday as its off-day: Wednesday is off for that shift and the company Friday and Saturday no longer apply to it.
One half off-day can be added: a paid half day, only the working half is judged.
The Worker flag: what it changes
The Worker flag is read by seven things. Every one is a company setting too, so the flag never forces a result; it picks who the law-based rule covers.
Weekly 48 h overtime: covered when the policy says Workers only (Bangladesh default) or Everyone.
Overtime pay basis: a worker on the legal rate is paid the higher of the company hourly rate and legal wage ÷ 208, at 2 times at least (weekday, weekend, holiday).
Substitute days off: earned by workers when the mode is Workers only.
Late cut: a worker follows the Worker late cut setting; a non-worker always follows the bands.
Absence, unpaid leave and late pricing: a worker on the legal wage basis is priced at legal wage ÷ 30; a non-worker at gross ÷ the calculation days.
Festival holiday worked: the extra days’ wages are for workers.
Final settlement: owed substitute days are paid to workers. Year close shows a law note when a worker’s earned leave would lapse.
Who the rules apply to
Worker (and non-worker) — A yes/no flag on each employee. Workers get the labour-law rules; non-workers follow company rules. The Worker flag marks people who do skilled, unskilled, manual, technical or clerical work. Managers, administrators and supervisors are non-workers. It is judged by the work a person really does, not by the job title. Every employee starts as a worker; HR switches it off for the people who are not. A blank Worker column in an import means yes. Saving "No" shows a note and is never refused. The flag decides: the weekly 48 hour overtime rule, the overtime pay basis, substitute days off, the late cut, the absence cut basis, festival-day pay, and whether lapsed earned leave triggers a law note at year close. Where: Employees → edit → Worker; Employees list → filter Worker; Import Center → Employees → Worker column. In Bangladesh (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, s.2(65)): A worker does skilled, unskilled, manual, technical, trade promotional or clerical work. It does not include a person employed mainly in a managerial, administrative or supervisory role.
Days off and weekends
Company weekend — The weekdays the whole company is off, for example Friday and Saturday. The default days off for everybody. A shift that names no off-days of its own follows this. Change it once and every shift without its own off-days changes with it. Where: Weekend Configuration.
Weekly off-day (a shift’s own) — Days off set on a shift. They replace the company weekend for the people on that shift. A shift can name its own weekly off-days. If it does, those days win and the company weekend no longer applies to people on that shift. If it names none, the shift follows the company weekend; the shift form shows "uses company weekend" until you turn its own days on. A shift cannot be off on all seven days. Changing the off-days of a shift in use shows who it touches and asks you to confirm. Where: Shifts → create or edit → Weekly Off-Days. In Bangladesh (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, s.103(a)): A weekly holiday of 1 day (factory) or 1.5 days (shop, commercial, industrial place). A shift with fewer shows a law note.
Half off-day — One weekday where only the morning or only the afternoon is off. A shift can have one half off-day, for example Saturday morning off. It is a paid half day. Only the working half is judged, so a missing punch there is a half absence. A day cannot be both a full and a half off-day. The "half-day split" is the minute after shift start where the morning ends. Where: Shifts → Half Off-Day and Half-day split.
Reopened weekend (Office open) — A weekend day that the company decides to work (for example a make-up Saturday). A holiday-calendar row of type "Working Day" on a weekend day. "Office open" means staff are expected: absence is charged and lateness counts. It cannot cover a holiday; to work a holiday, tick Office open on the holiday itself. Where: Holiday → add or edit → type Working Day / Office open.
Extra pay (holiday or reopened weekend) — A switch: staff who work this day get the policy’s Off-day work pay. Holidays have Extra pay on by default. A reopened weekend has it off by default, so a make-up Saturday is worked with no extra pay unless you tick it. A plain weekday Working Day never earns extra. Where: Holiday → Extra pay; Payroll Policy → Off-day work pay.
Substitute day off — A day off you earn by working a weekly holiday or a festival day. When a covered person checks in on a weekly holiday or a festival day, one substitute day is owed. It is taken later as a paid leave and needs no leave balance. It must be taken within the policy’s use-by days (default 3 working days); after that it is flagged overdue but never expires. On a half off-day, working at least half of the off half earns half a day. A day not used when someone leaves is paid out in the final settlement. HR can void a day with a reason and restore it. The policy picks who it covers: Workers only, All employees or Off. Where: Payroll Policy → Substitute day off; Leave → Leave Balances (HR panel); Payroll → Separations. In Bangladesh (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, s.103; Bangladesh Labour Rules 2015, r.101): A worker who cannot get the weekly holiday gets a substitute day within 3 working days, no more than 10 days in a row without one; an unused day is paid at exit. Default coverage in Bangladesh: workers only.
Festival holiday worked — A worker who works a festival holiday gets extra days’ wages and a substitute day. Tick "Festival holiday" on a public or company holiday. A covered worker who works it earns the "Festival Compensatory Wages" line (days’ wages set in Payroll Policy) plus one substitute day. 0 turns it off. Where: Holiday → Festival holiday; Payroll Policy → Festival holiday worked. In Bangladesh (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, s.118(1)(3)): One substitute holiday and two days’ compensatory wages. Default in Bangladesh: 2 days.
Attendance and lateness
Grace period — The minutes after shift start that still count as on time. Arrive inside the grace and you are on time with zero late minutes. Arrive after it and the whole grace is lost: late minutes count from the shift start, not from the end of the grace. 9:00 shift, 15 minute grace: 9:10 is on time, 9:20 is 20 minutes late (not 5). Where: Shifts → grace period.
Late cut bands — A table: arrive this many minutes late, lose this share of a day’s pay. Each band is a range of minutes late and a share of one day’s pay to cut, for example 61 to 150 minutes costs two thirds of a day. Bands are measured from the shift start. Non-workers are cut by the bands. Workers follow the "Worker late cut" setting. Where: Payroll Policy → Late & Absent Deduction → late bands.
Late marks per absent — An older way to punish lateness: this many late days count as one absence. Used when a policy has no late bands: every set number of late days is charged as an absence. Where: Payroll Policy → Late & Absent Deduction.
Worker late cut — How a worker is cut for lateness: by bands, by actual minutes, or minutes plus a fine. Three choices. "Same as everyone" uses the late bands. "Actual minutes late" cuts only the time actually lost (minute rate = day pay ÷ (hours per day × 60)). "Actual minutes + fine" cuts the minutes and adds the rest of the band amount as a separate fine line, capped at a share of the attendance budget (default 10%). A non-worker always follows the bands. A waived late is cut by neither. Where: Payroll Policy → Late & Absent Deduction → Worker late cut. In Bangladesh (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, s.126(2) and s.25): A cut for absence cannot be more than the wages for the time absent. A fine is separate and cannot exceed one tenth of the wages for the pay period. Default in Bangladesh: actual minutes late.
Late waiver — HR forgives a late with a name and a reason on record. Editing a late day to PRESENT does not forgive the late cut. A waiver does, and it records who forgave it and why. Where: Attendance → Day Override → Waive late.
Sandwich rule — A weekend or holiday between two unauthorised absences is cut as well. Off by default. Absent on Thursday and again on Sunday, with Friday and Saturday off between: with the rule on that costs four days, with it off two. Only unauthorised absence triggers it; approved leave on either side does not. A weekend at the very start or end of the month is never charged this way. It is a company choice, not a requirement of the law. Where: Admin → Payroll Policy → Late & Absent Deduction → Sandwich rule (off by default).
Absence cut basis (legal wage) — What a worker’s absence, unpaid leave and late are priced from. Gross salary ÷ days (the normal way), or, for a worker on "Legal wage", legal wage ÷ 30. If no legal wage is set up for the person, it falls back to gross and the payroll readiness check says so. Where: Payroll Policy → Worker absence cut base. In Bangladesh (Bangladesh Labour Rules 2015, r.115(1)): A worker’s daily wage for absence is (basic + dearness allowance + ad-hoc wage) ÷ 30.
Overtime and extra pay
Legal wage — Basic pay plus the allowances you tick "Counts as legal wage". Not the whole salary. The part of the salary the labour law measures worker rates from. It is the Basic component plus each Allowance you ticked "Counts as legal wage". It prices a worker’s absence (÷ 30) and overtime (÷ 208). Where: Salary Structure → allowance line → Counts as legal wage. In Bangladesh (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, s.2(xxiii); Bangladesh Labour Rules 2015, r.115(1)): Wage for these rates is basic wage plus dearness allowance plus ad-hoc or interim wage.
Overtime multiplier — How many times the normal hourly rate an overtime hour is paid. Weekday, weekend and holiday overtime each have a multiplier in the payroll policy. For a worker on the legal overtime rate, none of them can be below the "OT minimum" (default 2 times). Where: Payroll Policy → Overtime. In Bangladesh (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, s.108(1)): Overtime is paid at twice the ordinary rate of basic wage, dearness allowance and ad-hoc wage.
OT divisor (208) — Legal wage ÷ 208 gives a worker’s hourly overtime rate. 208 is the number of paid hours in a month the law assumes (26 days x 8 hours). A worker on the legal overtime rate is paid the higher of the company’s hourly rate and legal wage ÷ 208, times the multiplier. Example: legal wage 22,880 ÷ 208 = 110.00 an hour; at 2 times that is 220.00. The divisor is a Payroll Policy setting. Where: Payroll Policy → Worker overtime rate and OT hour divisor. In Bangladesh (Bangladesh Labour Rules 2015, r.102(1)(c)): The hourly rate is monthly wage ÷ 208.
Weekly 48 h overtime — Hours past 48 in a week are overtime, even if no single day went over. Besides daily overtime, the policy can count each week. Normal hours past the limit (default 48) in a week are paid as one overtime amount at the weekday rate. Hours already paid as daily overtime are not counted twice. The week starts on the day set in the policy and is paid in the run that holds its last day. The policy picks who it covers: Workers only, Everyone, or Off. It also needs Enable Overtime. Where: Payroll Policy → Weekly overtime; Overtime Approvals. In Bangladesh (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, s.100 and s.102(1)): Overtime is work over 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week. Default in Bangladesh: workers only, 48 hours.
Payroll calculation days — The number you divide monthly salary by to price one day. Calendar days uses the real month length (28 to 31). Fixed days uses one number (22, 26 or 30) every month. The one choice prices every day rate: absence, unpaid leave, late, overtime, off-day work pay and final settlement. Where: Payroll Policy → Payroll calculation days.
Leave
Earned leave and the carry cap (40/60) — Earned leave carries into next year only up to a cap; the rest lapses. When HR closes the leave year, each leave type’s "Carry over" and "Carry-over cap (days)" decide how many days move to next year. Blank cap = everything carries. Over the cap lapses. Casual and sick leave never carry in Bangladesh. Where: Leave Types → Carry over at year close, Carry-over cap. In Bangladesh (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, s.117(5), s.115, s.116(4)): Earned leave stops adding at 40 days (factory) or 60 days (shop, commercial, industrial). Casual (10 days) and sick (14 days) leave are not carried forward.
Leave year close — The yearly step where HR moves leave balances into the new year. It carries over what may carry, lapses the rest, and shows a preview before anything is saved. A law note appears when workers’ earned leave would lapse. Run it once per year, after the year ends. Where: Leave → Year close.
Leave encashment — Turning unused leave days into money. Two kinds. Year-end: an employee may cash a share of the year’s balance once that year (Year-end encashment %, opens in a chosen month; 0 = off). At exit: unused paid leave of types marked "Paid out when an employee leaves" is paid in the final settlement. Unused sick leave is never paid out. Where: Leave Types → Year-end encashment %, Encashment opens in month; Leave → Encashment. In Bangladesh (Bangladesh Labour Rules 2015, r.107(2); Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, s.117): A worker may cash up to half of the earned leave, once a year at year end. All unavailed leave is paid when service ends.
Payroll and approval
Payroll policy — The dated set of pay rules a month is run under. It holds the late rules, overtime, substitute days, the worker-law numbers and the two-person switch. Each policy has an effective window; a month with no policy covering it cannot be run. Change rules with a new dated policy so months already worked keep their terms. Where: Payroll → Payroll Policy.
Two-person payroll approval — One person calculates a run, a different person approves it. When the policy switch is on for a month, an HR Manager can create and calculate a run, but Process only calculates and the run waits as "Waiting for approval". Someone other than its creator or calculator (an Owner, Admin or approver) approves it or sends it back. When off, only approvers can press Process and it approves. Where: Payroll Policy → two-person approval; Payroll Runs.
Approved (locked) run — An approved month does not change until an approver sends it back to Draft. Imports, check-ins, regularizations and recomputes skip an approved or paid month. To change it, an approver un-approves it (back to Draft) and processes it again. Where: Payroll → Payroll Runs → Edit → status.
Fiscal year — The company’s 12-month tax and accounting year. A payroll run needs a fiscal year covering its month. Tax and year-end figures are worked out per fiscal year. Where: Fiscal Year.
Money at the end
Provident fund (PF) — A savings fund built from employee and employer contributions, paid out later. Each month the employee and the employer put in an amount. Interest is first "accrued" (owed, not compounding) and then "credited" (joins the principal). The employer part may vest over time, so a leaver may get only part of it. Where: Provident Fund; Benefits Settings; Payroll run lines.
Festival bonus — A bonus paid for a festival such as Eid, set up as a scheme. A scheme with its own rule (an amount or share of salary and who is eligible). A run includes it when the scheme applies to that month. Not to be confused with festival holiday pay for working on the festival day. Where: Benefits Settings → Festival Bonus.
Final settlement — The last pay when someone leaves: salary owed, leave and substitute days paid out, loans taken back. It adds the last partial month, unused leave of types that pay out, owed substitute days and gratuity or PF where they apply, and recovers unpaid loans. A leaver’s final month is paid once. The approve screen lists anything that blocks approval. Where: Payroll → Separations.
ROE (Record of Employment) — Canada: the form an employer files when a person stops working. For Canadian companies the app builds the ROE file for the government’s benefit system when an employee leaves. Where: Payroll → Separations (Canada companies). In Canada (Canada Employment Insurance regulations): An employer issues an ROE when an employee has an interruption of earnings.
T4 slip — Canada: the yearly statement of an employee’s pay and deductions. For Canadian companies the app produces each employee’s T4 for the tax year, and an XML file for filing. Where: Payroll reports (Canada companies). In Canada (Canada Income Tax Act): An employer reports yearly employment income and deductions on a T4.
The law
BLA (Bangladesh Labour Act) — The Bangladesh law on work, pay and leave. Applies to Bangladesh companies only. BLA is short for the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006. Bangladesh companies start with its numbers as the default for workers (overtime, weekly holiday, leave). Every one of those numbers is a setting a company can change. When a setting gives a worker less than the Act, the app saves it and shows an amber note naming the section; it never refuses. Companies in other countries are not under the BLA; the app follows that country’s own pack. Where: Shown as "BLA s.…" next to the settings it affects: Payroll Policy, Shifts, Leave Types, Employees. In Bangladesh (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006): The main law. Sections are written "s.", the Rules are written "r.".
Law note (amber warning) — An amber note that says a setting is below what the law gives. It never blocks the save. Joy’s rule is that every number is configurable. If you pick a value that pays or cuts a worker less favourably than the law, the form still saves, shows an amber note naming the law section, and records who chose it and when. Where: Payroll Policy, Shift form, Leave Type form, Employee form.
Country pack — The set of tax and labour rules for one country. Each company has a country. The country decides which pack of rules is the starting point: Bangladesh (BLA defaults, income tax slabs) or Canada (CPP, EI, income tax, ROE and T4 forms). A country with no pack uses plain configurable settings. Where: Company profile → country.
Establishment type — Factory, or shop / commercial / industrial place. Picks some law defaults. A company says what kind of place it is. In Bangladesh that changes two defaults: how much weekly holiday the law asks for, and the earned-leave carry cap. Where: Company profile → Locale & Fiscal → Establishment type. In Bangladesh (Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, s.103 and s.117(5)): Weekly holiday is 1 day for a factory, 1.5 days for shops and commercial or industrial places. The earned-leave cap is 40 days for a factory and 60 for the others.