How to Configure Consecutive Shift Rules

What This Feature Does

Consecutive Shift Rules adjust pay rates when a worker works a specified number of days in a row. Many awards and enterprise agreements require increased rates after a certain number of consecutive working days to account for fatigue. For example, after working 5 consecutive days, the 6th and 7th days might be paid at overtime or penalty rates.

Consecutive shift rules are configured within Rule Groups inside a pay rate document.

Key Concepts

Threshold

The number of consecutive working days required before the rule activates. For example, a threshold of 5 means the rule takes effect starting from the 6th consecutive day.

Rate Adjustment Types

When the threshold is met, rates can be adjusted using:

• Multiplier: Apply a flat multiplier to the base rate (e.g., 1.5x)
• Fixed Rate: Override with a specific hourly rate
• Graduated Multiplier: Increasing multipliers for each additional consecutive day

Work Type Continuity

You can optionally require that consecutive days must be on the same:

• Client: Same client across all days
• Project: Same project across all days
• Or no restriction (any work counts toward consecutive days)

How to Create a Consecutive Shift Rule

1. Open a pay rate document from the Pay Rate Documents tab
2. Navigate to the Rule Groups section
3. In the consecutive shift rules area, click "Add Consecutive Shift Rule"
4. Fill in the form sections described below
5. Click "Save" to create the rule

The form has an Enabled toggle in the header to activate/deactivate the rule.

Basic Information:

• Rule Name: Descriptive name (e.g., "14 Day Rule", "Fatigue Loading")
• Description: Optional description of when this rule triggers

Cost Code:

• Cost Code: Assign a cost code for reporting and payroll mapping. It does not change the dollar amount the rule calculates — but it does decide how that amount is coded in payroll exports and overtime reporting, so leaving it blank is not a neutral choice. Any cost code can be selected; pay-item codes are listed first.
• If you leave the cost code blank, the premium line is exported with no cost code (shown as -). It does not adopt the rate tree's overtime cost code. In the weekly summary and the calendar the line is still labelled with the rule's name. In an export, turn on the Shift Rule column (off by default) to tell these premium lines apart from other uncoded lines — the Pay Item column shows - for all of them.

Threshold Configuration:

• Consecutive Days: Number of consecutive working days required before the rule activates (e.g., 14)
• Min. Hours Per Day: Minimum hours worked in a day for it to count toward the consecutive day tally. Leave as "Any" to count all working days regardless of hours.
• Reset Behavior: What happens when a day doesn't meet the minimum hours requirement:
  • Reset counter: The consecutive day count resets to zero
  • Skip day: The day is ignored and the count continues from where it left off
• Applicable Days: Which days count toward the consecutive days calculation (e.g., "All days (Mon-Sun)")

Time-Based Conditions:

• Maximum Consecutive Days Cap: Optional cap on how many consecutive days are tracked. Leave as "No cap" for unlimited. The cap counts the same days the rule counts, so when a Shift Start Time Filter is set, only qualifying shifts advance the count toward the cap. Note this does not keep a run alive across a non-qualifying day: a day shift in the middle of a night-shift roster still breaks the run and restarts the count (see Shift Start Time Filter below).
• Use Rolling Window: Toggle to use a rolling window period instead of strict consecutive days

Work Type Conditions:

• Require Same Client: When enabled, consecutive days only count if the worker stays on the same client
• Require Same Project: When enabled, consecutive days only count if the worker stays on the same project

Shift-Specific Conditions:

• Shift Start Time Filter: Only count shifts that start before or after a specific time of day. Default is "Any time (no filter)". A day whose shifts all fall outside the window does not count toward the consecutive-day counter and normally breaks the run; dates excluded by the rule's calendar settings (for example, an excluded weekend) remain harmless. This differs from a day skipped for being below Minimum Hours Per Day with reset behaviour "skip", which leaves the run intact. So a "5 consecutive night shifts" rule set to "after 18:00" counts only night shifts: five day shifts followed by a night shift puts the worker on day 1, not day 6. A day with no recorded start time cannot be shown to fall inside the window, so it does not count either — when that happens the calculation reasoning says how many days were dropped for that reason, so a short day count caused by missing shift times can be told apart from one caused by the filter working as intended.

Rate Modification:

• Use Graduated Multiplier: Toggle to apply different multiplier rates at different day thresholds (e.g., 1.5x after day 7, 2.0x after day 14)
• Rate Type: Choose between "Multiplier" or "Fixed Rate"
• Multiplier Value: The rate multiplier applied after the threshold is met (e.g., 2.0 for double time)

Rate Application Modifiers:

• Capped Hours Per Day: Optional maximum hours per day that receive the modified rate. Leave as "No cap" for all hours.
• Overtime Hours Threshold: How many hours before the modified rate kicks in. Leave as "All hours" to apply to all hours on qualifying days.

Example

• Rule: "6th Day Penalty" with threshold of 5, multiplier of 1.5x
• Scenario: Worker works Monday through Saturday
  • Monday-Friday (days 1-5): Paid at normal rates
  • Saturday (day 6): Paid at 1.5x base rate because threshold of 5 consecutive days was exceeded

Tips

• Check your award: Consecutive day penalties are common in construction awards
• Set the minimum hours threshold: Ensure short days (e.g., 1-hour callouts) don't accidentally count toward consecutive days
• Consider work continuity: Some awards only count consecutive days on the same project
• Review weekly: Use the Summary View to see which workers triggered consecutive shift rules

What's Next

• Return to Rule Groups to configure other rule types
• Set up Shift Spacing Rules for rest period enforcement
• Configure Shift Rules for time-based rate multipliers