The Salary Spreading Rule offers an alternative method of spreading salary than what is offered by selecting the Spread Salary checkbox in pay policies.
The pay policy method divides a salaried employee’s salary by 52, and then pays the employee that amount each week, regardless of how many hours they work. In cases where employees didn’t have clock entries for the week, Dayforce either paid this amount on the days they're assigned to work in their shift rotation, or evenly across all seven days in the week in cases where the employee had neither clock entries nor a shift rotation. In cases where the employee had clock entries for the week, Dayforce distributed the weekly amount proportionally to each day containing clock entries, based on the length of the shift.
Conversely, with the Salary Spreading Rule method, salary is spread evenly across pay periods, rather than weeks.
Under certain circumstances, the rule might not calculate correctly when:
- Overtime hours must be excluded from salary hours.
- There are pay adjustments with unpaid pay codes.
- There are premiums created by rules (for example, items created when the Holiday Rule runs.
- There is a mix of autopay and non-autopay items, because autopay records aren’t recorded using clock entries.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Distribute salary over pay period |
With this checkbox cleared, Dayforce maintains the pay policy method functionality described above. With this checkbox selected, Dayforce calculates the employee’s pay amount per pay period. For example, in a semi-monthly pay period, Dayforce calculates the employee’s pay period amount by dividing their annual salary by 24 (that is, the number of pay periods per year when employees are paid semi-monthly). This pay period amount is then used to calculate a daily amount. This daily amount is based on the number of hours employees worked on that day, as compared to the other days in the period. For example, if an employee worked 1/10 of their hours for the pay period on Monday, their pay amount for Monday is 1/10 of their total amount for the period. In cases where an employee has worked overtime, Dayforce calculates the employee’s overtime rate by dividing the employee’s calculated pay amount for the current period by the total hours expected in the period (which the rule calculates using the employee’s shift rotation), and then updating for the OT rate (for example, multiplying by 1.5). Similarly, when an employee receives a pay adjustment, Dayforce assigns a rate equal to the employee’s calculated pay amount for the current period, divided by the total hours expected in the current pay period (which the rule calculates using the employee’s shift rotation). This method isn’t designed for use with clock entries. Instead, Dayforce uses employees’ shift rotations to determine the hours for each day. In cases where employees aren’t assigned a rotation, Dayforce assumes a Monday-Friday rotation with eight hours on each day. Note: In cases where clock entries exist in the period, Dayforce still attempts to ensure that employees are paid correctly according to their calculated amount per period. However, because this functionality isn’t designed for use with clock entries, it could produce unexpected results with regards to the percentage of pay Dayforce allocates to each day. Because Dayforce calculates employees’ pay amounts per day when using this method, rather than per week, it can also better handle cases where an employee’s salary is changed in the middle of a period. For example, an employee’s salary increases effective Tuesday, such that their per-period pay amount increases from $1,000 to $1,500. On both Monday and Tuesday, the employee worked 1/10 of their per-period hours. Because of the employee’s raise on Monday they receive 1/10 of $1,000 ($100), while on Tuesday they receive 1/10 of $1,500 ($150). |
| Recalc for entire pay period |
Select this checkbox and Dayforce uses clock entries and, optionally, pay adjustments to calculate the salary spreading rate, and to ensure that all relevant calculation periods are recalculated for the required pay period. Note: The Distribute salary over pay period checkbox must be selected. |
| Include pay adjustments |
Select this checkbox and Dayforce includes the length of duration-based pay adjustments when calculating the salary spreading rate. Typically, you should select this checkbox if your organization uses pay adjustments that are converted to premiums. Note: The Distribute salary over pay period checkbox must be selected. |
| Include Custom Semi Monthly Pay periods |
Select this checkbox and Dayforce checks if you’ve configured semi-monthly pay periods in the Pay Calendars tab of Pay Setup > Pay Group before calculating pay. If Dayforce detects semi-monthly pay periods, it includes them when calculating the salary spreading rate to ensure accurate payroll calculation. Note: This checkbox should be selected only when you’ve configured customized semi-monthly pay periods that span a non-standard segment of days. For example, if your customized pay period spans the 7th to the 22nd days of the month, select the checkbox. If your semi-monthly pay period is standard (for example, it spans the 1st to the 15th days of the month), this checkbox should be cleared. |
| Prorate for Employment Status Change | Select this checkbox and the rule prorates employees’ pay based on their active days in the pay period, then distributes it over the hours present in the active days. |
| Exclude Meal Break from Shift Length Calculation |
Select an option from the drop-down list to exclude breaks, meals, or both breaks and meals when calculating the salary spreading rate. Typically, you should exclude whichever of these items is unpaid. Note: The Distribute salary over pay period checkbox must be selected. |