By registering hours in Eitje, we can also keep track of your team members' hour balance. Handy, because this allows you to see exactly how many hours they have worked in excess of, or below, the contracted hours.
The overtime balance can be a bit complicated, but this article explains all aspects you need to know.
What is the hour balance?
The hour balance, or overtime balance, is only calculated for someone with a fixed-hours contract. It keeps track of the number of hours someone has worked and shows whether team member has worked too many or too few hours.
Plus-hours: when more hours are worked than stated in the contract.
Minus hours: when fewer hours are worked than stated in the contract.
Why track this?
Employees with a fixed-hours contract usually don't get paid more when they work more, neither do they get paid less when they work less. The overtime balance is a way to still account for this difference. Many companies have an overtime agreement, where overtime is either paid or converted into time off. Also: "minus hours" do expire upon leaving the company. So it's good to keep track of those as well.
The hour balance in Eitje
In Eitje, you'll find this page via the main menu: Hours > Hour balance.
Do you see the text ''Set start balance?'' Then you'll first need to activate the balance. Here's an article on how to do so.
Team member: the overview shows all team members who are currently employed. A drop-down menu at the top of the page allows you to switch to team members who are unemployed.
Balance on: this column displays the balance at the end of the selected day. By default it is set to yesterday.
Balance active on: here, you can see if a team member's hour balance is active on the selected day. The balance is active when the team member has an active fixed-hour contract.
Yes means the team member has an active balance on the selected day.
No means the team member has had balance, but not on the selected day.
Never means the team member has not previously accrued balance.
Question mark: this indicates that there are still unapproved hours. Unapproved hours are not included in the calculation of the hour balance, so it' best to check them.
The hour balance: per team member
By clicking on the team member's name, you can view their hour balance in more detail. We use an example to explain how to read this page.
The tabel (1 - 5 red)
1. Period: By default, the hour balance is divided into periods of one week. Using the dropdown at the top, you can also view the balance by year, quarter, month, or day.
2. Difference in period: This is always the end balance of the period minus the start balance of the period. The beginning balance is the end balance of the previous period.
3. Balance end period: This is always the balance at the end of the chosen period. For example, if you view the hour balance by week, this is the balance on Sunday evening 23:59:59.
4. Question mark: This indicates that there're still unapproved hours. Check the hours from this period, as unapproved hours are not included in the calculation of the hour balance.
5. Events: these are changes that affect the hour balance. For example: a new, changed or expiring contract, or a correction. These are displayed as separate lines in the overview.
The label (6-8 purple)
6. Currently: this is yesterday's balance, at the end of the day.
7. Balance started on: this is the date when Eitje started calculating the balance for this team member.
8. 32:00h contract: the number of hours per week listed on the team member's contract. If the team member has no contract today, this will read "no contract".
Actions (9 - green)
Apply correction: a correction is applied, for example, when you pay for overtime. In this article we explain when, and how to create a correction.
Go to profile: clicking this will navigate to the profile of this team member.
Start balance: here, you can adjust the start balance of a team member. Want to know more about the start balance? Then read through this article.
Contracts (10 - green): under this button you can see the active, as well as previous or future contracts of this team member. Clicking on it will open the contract.
The receipt
By clicking on a row in the balance table, you'll open a ''receipt''. This receipt shows in detail how the balance in that period is calculated. The difference between the start and end balance is determined by:
The difference between the contracted hours and the total hours registered in the selected period.
Total approved hours consist of hours worked, leave hours, special leave hours and sick hours. By clicking on this line, you unfold extra details.
Corrections: if you have created a correction, you will also see this on the receipt. You can create both positive and negative corrections. These respectively have a positive or negative effect on the final balance.
⚠️ Please note: Have any hours not been approved yet? This will appear as a warning on the bottom of the receipt. Check the hours from this period. Unapproved hours are not included in the calculation of the hour balance.
The hour balance in the Eitje app
You can also view the overtime balance in the app:
Click on the menu in the top left corner (the three lines).
Go to your profile.
At the bottom, near the contract information, you will see your current hour balance.