Your property can now have the Time & Attendance system automatically adjust any shifts that span the 2:00 am time change by the proper amount.  The purpose of this document will be to detail how you can configure your time change and properly maintain this new feature moving forward.  As with all rules in our Time & Attendance system, there are two places that the rule needs to be configured in order to work:

1. System Setup - Work Rules
2. Applying the Work Rule for Application

• • System Setup – Property Work Rules
  • System Setup – Employee Set
  • Administration – Employee Maintenance (rarely, if ever used)

Once these configurations have been properly added, Time & Attendance will know exactly when and to which employees the Daylight Savings Time Adjustment should occur for the calendar year. 

Note This Work Rule requires yearly maintenance due to the fact that Daylight Savings Time does not occur on the same dates each year and the time change does not happen at the same time worldwide.  Additionally, this rule does not update the time on your time clock.  That is either an automatic function of the time clock or it happens when your time clock is polled.

System Setup

Part 1 of system set up is configuring the appropriate work rule with all of the current year information.  Go to the System Setup Menu’s (STAR – System Setup or Administration – System Setup).  On the left side navigation menu scroll to the bottom of the screen and select Work Rules.  After the Work Rules Tab loads, click on the dropdown menu and select Shift Adjustment Work Rules.

If you do not have a Shift Adjustment Work Rule configured, click on the ‘+’ (plus) button to add a new Rule set.

1. Add a descriptive name for this use as shown to below such as Daylight Savings Time.
2. The description field is available for you to use to enter a statement that best suits the reason for this rule to being configured.  This field is not required so it can be left blank.
3. Priority can be left as it defaults
4. Requires Approval can be left as it defaults

Once this screen meets your approval, choose ‘Add’ and then the ‘Close’ buttons.  

The second and final step in creating the new Work Rule is to set up the Rule Item.    This is accomplished by clicking on the ‘+’ (plus) button under Rule Items:

After the ‘Add Work Rule Item’ dialog box opens, fill in a name that best describes the new Rule Item that you are adding.  In the Work Rule drop-down list, select the DST Adjustment.  Below is a description of what the available configurations are (this example is for the calendar year of 2012).  Each setting will need to be configured in order for the new rule to operate properly.

• Adjustment Length – in most cases, this can be left with the default value of 60.  This is the number of minutes that a shift that meets this rules criteria will be adjusted, either positive or negative.
• Backward Day – the day when the time change is moving back by the amount of the adjustment (this example, the 4^th)
• Backward Month – the month when the time change is moving back (this example, November)
• Forward Day – the day when the time change is moving forward by the amount of the adjustment (this example, the 11^th)
• Forward Month – the month when the time change is moving forward by the amount of the adjustment (this example, April)
• Time of Shift – the time of day in which the Adjustment takes place (any shift that overlap this time will be adjusted +/- by the amount set up in the adjustment length)

Once this screen meets your approval, choose ‘Add’ and then the ‘Close’ buttons.

Note If your Time & Attendance application has multiple Shift Adjustment Work Rules configured, or there are clustered locations in one property database where one or more location does not honor daylight savings time you will have to configure this Rule multiple times.  Please contact technical support for assistance with setting up these multiple instances of this rule. 

Part 2 of system setup is determining where you should apply the new work rule.  Work Rules can be applied in three separate locations in Time & Attendance:

1. Property Level – this is the highest level at which the rule can be applied.  This rule is set when the rule either needs to be applied to all or the vast majority of your employees.  In an instance where the only Shift Adjustment Work Rule that is configured is the Day Light Savings Time Work Rule, this rule would only be attached at the property level.  Note If this rule is applied at a lower level (Employee Set or at the Employee, that configuration will be what is applied).
2. Employee Set – the Employee Set option (overrides the Property Level option) is used when there are more than one Employee Shift Adjustment options that affect different employee’s in different ways.  For example, your property may have a union that is eligible for paid breaks.  The non-union employees are not eligible for paid breaks.  This means that the Paid Break shift adjustment is most likely applied at the Employee Set level where the employee set is configured as a union flag determines the employee to be effective.  The Property level would apply no paid breaks.  This means that each separate Shift Adjustment rule would be configured.  It also means that the Daylight Savings Time rule would need to be configured in both Rule Sets.
3. Employee – the employee option is configured on each individual employee on the Employee Maintenance – Work Rules screen.  This option will most likely never be used for Daylight Savings Time.  The employee level assignment of this work rule will override the rules that may be applied at both the Property and Employee Set levels.

Data Validation

Data validation for this Work Rule is simple.  On the day that you have configured for Daylight Savings time to occur, enter a shift (Example Saturday, November 3, 2012 punch in at 11:00 pm and a clock out on that same shift at 7:00 am).  In order for this rule to be successful, you should see a positive shift adjustment of 1 (one) hour.  On the Review time card screen, you will see an adjustment of 1.00 (if you are showing the Adjustment column).  On the Edit Shift screen, you will see an adjustment of one hour with a reason where the text starts with the word “Rule”: