A supervisor may approve a change in a work schedule thereby allowing an employee to work hours different from the normal schedule. All hours worked must be recorded during the workweek they are worked. Examples are provided below to illustrate proper record keeping as well as a common recordkeeping mistake when a change in work schedule is approved.
Example 1
The employee normally works Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. with a one-hour lunch. During one work week, the employee is approved to work 6 hours on Monday and 10 hours on Tuesday. Hours worked should be recorded as follows:
| Day of the week | Hours worked |
|---|---|
| Friday | 8 |
| Monday | 6 |
| Tuesday | 10 |
| Wednesday | 8 |
| Thursday | 8 |
| Total Hours | 40 |
Example 2
The employee normally works Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. with a one-hour lunch. The employee is approved to work a different schedule of 10 hours on Thursday and then 6 hours on Friday because the employee has requested to leave early on Friday. It is important to consider the university work week when approving a different work schedule and the effect on overtime. A common mistake is that the hours worked are recorded as they are normally scheduled to work (which would be eight hours on Thursday and eight hours on Friday) rather than the actual hours worked. This is a mistake because:
- Actual hours worked must be reflected on the timecard accurately.
- Overtime compensation laws require that an employee must be paid for hours worked over 40 in the work week based on when the hours are worked.
- Full-time employees must either work 40 hours or use applicable paid leave to total 40 hours of pay for the week.
The correct hours worked are recorded as follows:
| Workweek 1 | Hours worked | Workweek 2 | Hours worked | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | 8 | Friday | 6 | |
| Monday | 8 | Monday | 8 | |
| Tuesday | 8 | Tuesday | 8 | |
| Wednesday | 8 | Wednesday | 8 | |
| Thursday | 10 | Thursday | 8 | |
| Total Hours | 42 | Total Hours | 38 |
Note that in this example, the employee is required to be paid for 40 hours in week two by university policy, therefore the employee must either work two hours, use two hours of vacation, or use accrued compensatory time to total 40 hours of pay for the week. A best practice when considering a schedule change is to perform the work within the same work week to eliminate overtime (or earning compensatory time) and to avoid requiring the use of paid time off in the week that is short of 40 hours.