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Overtime policies in Sage HR define how the system calculates and categorises overtime for employees. By assigning employees to the correct overtime policy, you ensure Sage HR tracks and reports overtime accurately across your organisation.

What is an overtime policy?

An overtime policy defines how Sage HR classifies overtime hours for employees in a timesheet group. The policy categorises overtime hours so you can track and report on them according to your organisation’s rules.

Each employee you need to track overtime for will belong to a timesheet group, and each timesheet group will then need to link to an overtime policy.

📌TIP: Set up your timesheet groups first before configuring your overtime policies.

Overtime categories within an overtime policy

Each overtime policy contains one or more overtime categories. Overtime categories let you track different levels or types of overtime, such as:

Overtime that begins after a defined number of hours
Higher tiers of overtime once employees exceed specific thresholds

Each category classifies overtime hours based on how much overtime an employee works. This structure helps you:

Report on overtime clearly
Export overtime data for payroll processing
Identify excessive or unusual overtime patterns

Visit our Overtime Categories article for more information.

Default overtime policy

Sage HR creates a default overtime policy when you first set up the system and assigns it to all timesheet groups automatically.

If all employees follow the same overtime rules, you can continue using the default overtime policy. You can make changes to this default policy.

Creating multiple overtime policies

You can create additional overtime policies when different groups of employees follow different overtime requirements.

Multiple overtime policies give you greater control when:

Different employees receive different overtime entitlements
Teams require separate overtime tracking rules
Payroll and reporting processes vary across groups

After you create an overtime policy, you assign it to one or more timesheet groups.

Create an overtime policy

How to create more overtime policies that you can assign to a timesheet group.

Edit an overtime policy

How to make changes to an existing overtime policy.

Assign employees to an overtime policy

How to add employees to an overtime policy.

Delete a time off policy

No longer need an overtime policy? You can delete it.