Before timesheets can be interpreted to calculate pay and bill amounts, valid pay agreements must be configured in Rates and Rules. A pay agreement groups together the interpretation rules that determine how payees are paid and how clients are billed.
Configuring a pay agreement is a multi-stage process that usually includes:
Creating the agreement header.
Creating one or more primary interpretation headers.
Defining a time rounding rule.
Defining one or more midnight boundary rules.
Defining one or more unpaid breaks.
Defining the secondary interpretation pay code rules.
Defining the secondary interpretation pay rate rules.
If one or more pay agreements already exist in your system, you can create a new agreement by copying an existing one and then adjusting it as required.
Creating a Pay Agreement Header
The agreement header defines the basic attributes of a pay agreement and groups together the primary and secondary interpretation rules that belong to that agreement.
The header controls:
Validity dates of the agreement.
Hierarchy level, hierarchy value, and hierarchy group.
Status (Pending or Released).
Week ending day.
Rate determinator type.
Country that owns the agreement.
Compare to Job Schedule option.
Filter Attendances Available for Selection on Timesheet option.
Use Supplementary Rates for Oncosts option.
1. Create the agreement header
Open Rates and Rules.
Create a new pay agreement or copy an existing agreement (if applicable).
Enter a name and any required identifiers for the agreement.
Set the validity dates.
Set the hierarchy level, hierarchy value, and (if used) hierarchy group.
Select the status (defaults to Pending).
Choose the week ending day.
Select the rate determinator type.
Select the country that owns the agreement.
Set any additional header options as required:
Compare to Job Schedule
Filter Attendances Available for Selection on Timesheet
Use Supplementary Rates for Oncosts
Save the agreement header.
Once the header is created, you can continue with the remaining configuration steps (primary interpretation headers, time rounding rules, midnight boundaries, unpaid breaks, and secondary interpretation rules).
Validity Dates
Each agreement has a validity start and validity end date that define the period for which the agreement applies.
The validity dates of one agreement cannot overlap with another agreement assigned to the same hierarchy level and hierarchy value.
The end date can be left blank if the agreement should remain valid indefinitely.
For an agreement to be applicable to a job order, its validity period must span the entire length of that job order.
Hierarchy Level and Hierarchy Value
The hierarchy level determines which level of the agreement hierarchy the agreement belongs to (for example, brand, office, or payee).
The hierarchy value is the object at that level to which the agreement is assigned. Examples:
If the agreement is assigned at the brand level, the hierarchy value is the agency brand name.
If the agreement is assigned at the office level, the hierarchy value is the office name.
The hierarchy settings are used when matching pay agreements to job orders.
Hierarchy Group
A pay agreement can also be assigned to a hierarchy group, which is an additional, customisable category used alongside hierarchy level and hierarchy value when matching agreements to job orders.
When matching a job order to an agreement, the system:
First searches for a match based on the combination of:
Hierarchy level
Hierarchy value
Hierarchy group
If no match is found, the system performs a second search using only:
Hierarchy level
Hierarchy value
Here’s that section rewritten without using the ">" symbol and following the article style:
Key points:
Assigning an agreement to a hierarchy group is optional.
You can only assign an agreement to a hierarchy group if hierarchy group functionality is enabled for the country in Agency Portal, by going to Maintenance, then Portal Maintenance, then Country Settings, then Hierarchy Group.
Hierarchy group functionality can be relabelled to match local business terminology per country. This is configured in Agency Portal, by going to Maintenance, then Portal Maintenance, then Country Settings, then Hierarchy Group.
Status
The status of an agreement header determines whether the agreement can be applied by Rates and Rules.
Pending
Default status for new agreements.
The agreement can be configured but will not be applied to timesheets.
Released
Indicates that the agreement is ready for use.
Rates and Rules can apply the agreement wherever it is applicable.
Change the status from Pending to Released once the configuration is complete and validated.
Week Ending Day
The week ending day defines when one week ends and the next begins. For example, if the week ending day is Sunday:
Each week runs from Monday to Sunday.
Rates and Rules uses the week ending day when interpreting rules that depend on weekly totals (such as weekly overtime).
Example:
An agreement may state that a payee is paid at an overtime rate once they exceed 38 hours of attendance in any week. If a timesheet covers more than 38 hours in total, Rates and Rules uses the week ending day to determine:
Whether all 38+ hours fall in the same week, triggering overtime, or
Whether the hours are spread across multiple weeks, which may not trigger overtime.
When a new agreement is created, the week ending day defaults to Sunday but can be changed to any other day if required.
Rate Determinator Type
A single pay agreement can contain multiple pay rate rules, each defining a different rate and potentially being assigned to different levels of the agreement hierarchy.
Example scenario:
Brand: FastTrack Australia = $30.00 per hour
Office: Melbourne = $25.00 per hour
Payee: John Smith = $28.00 per hour
The rate determinator type controls how the applicable rate is chosen when more than one pay rate rule applies to a job order.
Available options:
Lowest Hierarchy Level
Applies the rate from the rule assigned at the lowest hierarchy level that matches the job order.
In the example, if John Smith is at a lower hierarchy level than brand and office, the rate would be $28.00 per hour.
Highest Rate Value
Compares all applicable rates and applies the highest monetary rate.
In the example, this would be $30.00 per hour.
Lowest Rate Value
Compares all applicable rates and applies the lowest monetary rate.
In the example, this would be $25.00 per hour.
Additional behaviour:
If the rate determinator type is Highest Rate Value or Lowest Rate Value, any top up rates applicable to the pay rate rules are applied before comparing rates.
Each pay rate rule has its own validity period, so the applicable rate at any time also depends on which rules are valid on that date.
When a new agreement is created, the rate determinator type defaults to Lowest Hierarchy Level (referred to in the draft as Lowest Hierarchy Value) but can be changed to suit the agreement’s requirements.
Country
Each pay agreement must be assigned to a country within the country/brand/region/office hierarchy.
The selected country determines which maintenance items, such as pay codes, are available to the agreement.
For example, if the agreement is assigned to the country Sweden, you can select any pay codes that are assigned to Sweden.
This country assignment is not the same as assigning the agreement to a country within the agreement hierarchy (hierarchy level and hierarchy value).
Once an agreement is saved, the selected country cannot be changed.
Compare to Job Schedule
The agreement header includes a Compare to Job Schedule option.
When this option is enabled:
The job schedule associated with the job order is put through the primary interpretation process alongside the timesheet.
Agreement conditions can then be applied based on comparing:
The actual time worked (timesheet), and
The time the payee was scheduled to work (job schedule).
This allows you to configure conditions that depend on differences between scheduled and actual attendance.
Filter Attendances Available for Selection on Timesheet
By default, the attendance types that can be selected on a timesheet are derived from the employment type assigned to the payee.
The Filter Attendances Available for Selection on Timesheet option in the pay agreement header allows you to restrict which attendance types are available on timesheets subject to that agreement.
When this option is enabled:
Only attendance types that have a pay code rule shift type condition defined within the agreement will be available on the timesheet.
The comparison type of the shift type condition must be set to Equals for the attendance type to be available.
⚠️ Important considerations:
If the agreement does not have any pay code rule shift type conditions, or
If all pay code rule shift type conditions use a comparison type of Not Equals.
Then no attendance types will be available for selection on timesheets subject to that agreement. In these cases, it is not recommended to enable this option.
Note:
The absence types available on a timesheet are always derived from the payee’s employment type, not from the pay agreement.
Use Supplementary Rates for Oncosts
The pay agreement header includes a Use Supplementary Rates for Oncosts flag.
When this flag is enabled, oncosts for pay items interpreted under the agreement can be calculated using the supplementary rates method:
The oncost is calculated using the pay rate of a supplementary pay code instead of the rate of the pay code that was actually paid.
The supplementary rates oncost calculation method is only used if all of the following are true:
The Use Supplementary Rates for Oncosts option is enabled on the agreement header.
The Use Supplementary Rates for Oncost Calculation option is enabled on the oncost rate used in the calculation.
The paid pay code is linked to a supplementary pay code on the timesheet end date, and that supplementary pay code exists in the rates matrix for the corresponding job order.
For more information about the supplementary rates oncost calculation method, see Pay Code Maintenance.
Related Articles
Pay Code Maintenance – Learn how to configure pay codes and supplementary pay codes used in oncost calculations.
Rates and Rules Overview – Understand how pay agreements fit into the overall interpretation process.
Configuring Pay Agreements
This section explains the components of pay agreements and how they are configured within Rates and Rules.
Pay Agreement Configuration Overview
Valid pay agreements must be configured within Rates and Rules before timesheets can be interpreted for the purposes of determining payees' pay and bill amounts that are to be charged to clients.
Configuring a pay agreement is a multi-stage process that involves the following:
Note that if one or more pay agreements have already been created on your system, you can create a new agreement by copying an existing agreement.
Pay Agreement Headers
The agreement header defines the basic attributes of a pay agreement and groups together the primary and secondary interpretation rules that belong to the agreement.
The agreement header defines the following characteristics of an agreement:
validity dates of the agreement
hierarchy level, hierarchy value and hierarchy group to which the agreement applies
status of the agreement
week ending day for the agreement
rate determinator type for the agreement
country that owns the agreement
compare to job schedule flag
Each of these is described below.
Validity Dates
An agreement has a validity start and end date, defining the period for which the agreement applies. The validity dates of an agreement cannot overlap with that of another agreement assigned to the same agreement hierarchy level and hierarchy value (for more information, see Hierarchy Level and Hierarchy Value below). The end date of the validity period can be left blank if an agreement is to remain valid indefinitely.
In order for an agreement to be applicable to a job order, the validity period of the agreement must span the entire length of the job order.
Hierarchy Level and Hierarchy Value
The hierarchy level determines the level of the agreement hierarchy to which the agreement belongs. The hierarchy value is the actual object to which the agreement is assigned at the selected hierarchy level. For example, if the agreement is assigned to the brand level of the agreement hierarchy, the hierarchy value is the name of the agency brand to which the agreement applies.
Hierarchy Group
An agreement can also be assigned to a hierarchy group, which is an additional, customisable category that can be used in conjunction with hierarchy levels and hierarchy values to match agreements to job orders. For example, in addition to being assigned to an agreement hierarchy level and hierarchy value, a pay agreement may also be assigned to a hierarchy group. To determine which pay agreements can be assigned to a job order, the system searches the agreement hierarchy based on a combination of hierarchy level, hierarchy value and hierarchy group to find a matching pay agreement.
If a match is not found based the combination hierarchy level, hierarchy value and hierarchy group, the system will perform a second parse of the hierarchy for a match based on hierarchy level and hierarchy value only.
It is not mandatory to assign an agreement to a hierarchy group and you can only assign an agreement to a hierarchy group if hierarchy group functionality is enabled in Agency Portal > Maintenance> Portal Maintenance > Country Settings > Hierarchy Group for the country to which the agreement header is assigned.
Hierarchy group functionality can be labelled to suit the terminology required by your business and the country to which it applies. This can be configured in Agency Portal > Maintenance> Portal Maintenance > Country Settings > Hierarchy Group.
Status
An agreement header has a status flag that determines if the agreement is pending or released. A pending agreement is one that is not currently active. This state allows an agreement to be configured but prevents it from being applied by Rates and Rules until the agreement is ready to be used. Once an agreement is configured correctly, the status flag on the corresponding agreement header can be changed to Released, thereby allowing Rates and Rules to apply the agreement were applicable.
The status of any new agreement created defaults to Pending.
Week Ending Day
The week ending day marks the boundary where one week ends and a new week begins. That is, if the week ending day is set to Sunday, a new week begins each Monday and ends on the following Sunday.
Week ending days are used by Rates and Rules when interpreting weekly-based pay rules.
For example, an agreement may stipulate that a payee must be paid at an overtime rate once the payee exceeds 38 hours work attendance during any given week. If a payee submits a timesheet where the total attendance for the entire timesheet period exceeded 38 hours, Rates and Rules uses the week ending day to determine if all the attendance time occurred during the same week, and therefore the overtime condition was achieved, or if the attendance time was spread across multiple weeks.
When a new agreement is created, the week ending date defaults to Sunday but can be changed to any other day of the week if necessary.
Rate Determinator Type
It is possible to define many pay rate rules within a single pay agreement. Each pay rate rule can define a different pay rate for an agreement and each of these rules can be assigned to a different level of the agreement hierarchy. For example, the agency may deem that a certain payee to whom a certain pay agreement applies should be paid at a higher rate than other payees under the same agreement. This means that within the relevant pay agreement, there may be a specific pay rate rule specifically for that payee.
The rate determinator type determines which of the following conditions apply in relation to applying the relevant pay rate:
Lowest Hierarchy Level – applies the pay rate defined by the pay rate rule rate rule assigned to the lowest agreement hierarchy level, where the hierarchy value matches the attributes of the job order
Highest Rate Value – applies the pay rate rule rate rule that defines the highest monetary rate, regardless of whether there are other applicable pay rate rate rules assigned at a lower level of the agreement hierarchy within the agreement
Lowest Rate Value – applies the pay rate rule rate rule that defines the lowest monetary rate, regardless of whether there are other applicable pay rate rules assigned at a lower level of the agreement hierarchy within the agreement.
For example, the payee John Smith has filled a position corresponding to a job order managed by the Melbourne office of the FastTrack Australia brand of the FastTrack Recruitment Agency. Within the applicable pay agreement, there are separate pay rate rules defining different pay rates for the brand, office and payee as follows:
Brand: FastTrack Australia = $30.00 per hour
Office: Melbourne = $25.00 per hour
Payee: John Smith = $28.00 per hour.
In this scenario, the following applies depending on the rate determinator type:
If the rate determinator type on the applicable pay agreement is set to Lowest Hierarchy Level, the $28.00 per hour pay rate applies as this is the rate assigned at the lowest hierarchy level.
If the rate determinator type on the applicable pay agreement is set to Highest Rate Value, the $30.00 per hour pay rate applies as this is the highest rate applicable to the job order.
If the rate determinator type on the applicable agreement is set to Lowest Rate Value, the $25.00 per hour pay rate applies as this is the lowest rate applicable to the job order.
If the rate determinator type is set to Highest Rate Value or Lowest Rate Value, any top up rates applicable to the pay rate rules of the agreement are applied before each of the respective rates is compared in order to find the highest or lowest rate.
Each pay rate rule has its own validity period and therefore the rate that applies at any given time can also depend on which rules are valid according to their validity period at that time.
When a new agreement is created, the rate determinator type defaults to Lowest Hierarchy Value but can be changed to suit the requirements of the agreement.
Country
An agreement must be assigned to a country within the country/brand/region/office hierarchy. This determines which maintenance items, such as pay codes, can be applied to the agreement. For example, if the agreement is assigned to the country of Sweden, all pay codes assigned to the country of Sweden can be selected within the agreement.
Note that this is not the same as assigning the agreement to a country within the agreement hierarchy (see Hierarchy Level and Hierarchy Value above).
Note also that the selected country cannot be changed once an agreement has been saved.
Compare to Job Schedule
The header of an agreement includes a Compare to Job Schedule option that, when enabled, will cause the job schedule associated with a job order to be put through the primary interpretation process along with the timesheet being interpreted.
This allows agreement conditions to be applied based on the results of comparing the actual time worked with the time a payee was scheduled to work.
Filtering Attendances Available for Selection on Timesheet
By default, the attendance types that can be selected on a timesheet are derived from the employment type to which a payee is assigned. However, an option called Filter Attendances Available for Selection on Timesheet can be enabled in the header of a pay agreement so that attendance types that are available for selection on a timesheet, which is subject to that pay agreement, will be limited to those attendance types for which a pay code rule shift type condition is defined within the agreement.
The following should be noted about the Filter Attendances Available for Selection on Timesheet option:
when the option is enabled, an attendance type will only be available on a timesheet that is subject to the pay agreement if the comparison type of the shift type condition is set to Equals
it is not recommended to enable the option on a pay agreement if the agreement does not have any pay code rule shift type conditions or if all of the pay code rule shift type conditions have a comparison type of Not Equals because this will result in no attendance types being available for selection on timesheets that are subject to the agreement.
The absence types that are available for selection on a timesheet are always derived from the payee’s employment type and not the applicable pay agreement.
Use Supplementary Rates for Oncosts
A Use Supplementary Rates for Oncosts flag can be enabled on a pay agreement header to indicate that pay oncosts for pay items, which are paid as a result of interpretation against the pay agreement, can be calculated using the supplementary rates method of oncost calculation. Where this method of oncosts calculation is used, the pay rate of a supplementary pay code is used in the calculation of an oncost instead of the pay rate of the pay code that was actually paid.
The supplementary rates oncost calculation method will only be used if the option is enabled on the agreement header and all of the following conditions also apply:
the Use Supplementary Rates for Oncost Calculation option is enabled for the oncost rate that is used in the oncost calculation
the pay code that was paid is linked to a supplementary pay code on the corresponding timesheet end date and that supplementary pay code exists in the rates matrix for the corresponding job order.
For more information about the supplementary rate oncost calculation method, see Pay Code Maintenance.