June 19th 2024, Release Note: WFM UK | Scheduling: 'Scheduling Times' Warning Trigger, Allocation of Tips for Agency Staff

Summary

Select the release feature from the table below to be taken directly to that section of the release note.

Release date for both features: June 19th 2024

'Scheduling Times' Trigger Warning

• Enabled by default? - Yes
• Set up by customer admin? - No
• Enable via support ticket? - No
• Affects configuration or data? - Yes

What’s Changing?

A new warning interval called 'Scheduling Times' has been added. This interval allows the setup of warnings based on specific shift start or end times for employees of a certain age (under 16, for example).

Reason for the Change

To help meet compliance with UK legal requirements for young workers, such as not scheduling work beyond certain hours, mandatory rest periods, and work hour limits.

Customers Affected

All Scheduling customers.

Release Notes

• Go to Settings > Admin configuration > Warning triggers 
• Use the Interval drop-down and select Scheduling Times

Fig.1 - New Interval warning trigger - 'Scheduling Times'

All the fields are mandatory for creating a new warning trigger of this type.

• Name - the name of the warning trigger
• Warning Message - this message will be displayed in the 'Warning' tab on the Scheduling page, once the event is triggered
• Max Value - the default placeholder is 22:00 (using 24h format HH:MM)
• Apply to employees? -select an age group - Under 16s, Under 18s, or Over 18s
• Apply warning when?
  • Schedule After - if a shift goes beyond the specified time 

  • Schedule Before - if a shift starts before the specified time

The triggered warnings are 'soft' warnings, meaning that the warning message(s) will display but the scheduling manager will still be able to create the shifts.

Fig.2 - Warnings tab on the Scheduling page

Examples
The cutoff time (end of business day) is 05:00 and the Schedule After max value is 01:00
This will be considered as 1:00 on the next calendar day but the same business day

The shift ends at 02:00 - the warning will be triggered

The shift ends at 06:00 - the warning will not be triggered

The shift ends at 23:00 - the warning will not be triggered

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The cutoff time (end of business day) is 05:00 and the Schedule Before max value is 07:00

The shift starts at 6:00 - the warning will be triggered

The shift starts at 1:00 - the warning will not be triggered (it will be considered as 1:00 the next calendar day but same business day)

Allocation of Tips for Agency Staff

• Enabled by default? - No
• Set up by customer admin? - Yes
• Enable via support ticket? - No
• Affects configuration or data? - Yes

What’s Changing?

A new field has been introduced on the contractor rate level called Allow Expenses to mark agency staff who are eligible for staff expenses such as tips. Also, tronc points can be allocated for each contract rate. This information is sent to the HR module (if the customer is integrated) for use in the Tronc distribution module. For more details, please see this release note.

On the 'Manage Payments' screen, agency staff are now displayed and staff expenses can be distributed.

Reason for the Change

To ensure compliance with the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023. It addresses the need for more nuanced management of service charges and tips within the hospitality sector, ensuring that Fourth customers can seamlessly adapt to the changes without disrupting their payroll and HR processes.

Customers Affected

All Scheduling customers.

Release Notes

• Go to Settings > Agency Management Settings > Contract Rates
• Select Edit against the required contract rate or Create New
• Tick the box against Allow Expenses

With this setting applied, users will be able to assign expense values to contractor shifts on these rates. 

• Tronc Points Value - Tronc points are part of the staff expenses pool that the contractor rate should receive. The Tronc points distribute tips and service charges fairly among staff. Each point, ranging from 1 to 100, equals a share of the total collected

If not integrated with Fourth's HR and Payroll solution, this field will not be visible.

Fig.3 - Allow expenses and tronc points value

Manage Payments

• From the main Scheduling page, use the Manage drop-down and select Payments

The contractor shifts created for 'Allow Expenses' contractor rates will be displayed.

The 'Distributed Total' is the sum of each type of staff expense - tips/bonus or other - for employees and agency workers. The number displays in red when under or over the total, and green when it is the same. If the agency is part of the external shift pooling then the name of the worker will appear next to the agency name. In the example below (Fig.4) there is only the agency name.

In Fig.4, the agency workers have a 'Distributed Total' of 15 and then in Fig.5 a standard employee also has a 'Distributed Total' of 15. The sum is 30, equalling the overall 'Total' so the 'Distributed Total' is displayed in green.

Fig.4 - Agency workers, distributed tips 

Fig.5 - Employee's distributed tips 

For HR and Tronc-integrated customers, each time a contractor shift is created or updated, the information is sent to those modules with the shift duration and the Tronc points needed for the Tronc module distribution.

Contractor Shift Expenses Report

• A new report is available under Reporting > Contractor Shift Expenses Report

All users with the permission 'View Reconciliation Report' will have access to this new report.

Fig.6 - Contractor shift expenses report

• To generate the report, make a selection from the Agencies drop-down and select a date range (28 days max)
• Then, to download the report, select OK

Fig.7 - Running the Contractor Shift Expenses Report

The report lists shifts for all Locations that the user has access to, with the following details:

Shift Expenses, Agency Name, Foreign ID, Start/End Date of the Shift, Staff Expenses Type, and Distributed Value (distributed staff expenses in the 'Manage Payments' screen).

The report includes both paid and unpaid breaks, with unpaid break durations removed from the shift length to calculate the correct shift cost.

Shifts are ordered by Location and then by working days.

If the 'Distributed Value' (from the Manage Payments screen) is 0, the contractor shift will still be included in the report.