Who Gets It — Department and Role Rules
What this tab does: Define which employees this overtime policy applies to by setting applicability rules based on department, role, location, or other criteria. This is the final tab before submitting the policy.
What You'll See
The tab heading reads "Who gets this overtime policy — Define which employees this policy applies to". Below it is a rule builder interface with an "+ Add rule" button.
Two important notes appear in yellow boxes at the bottom:
⚠️ "This section lets you choose which employees the policy should apply to. You can add conditions like specific departments, roles, or office locations. Only the employees who match these conditions will be affected by the policy."
⚠️ "Overtime will not be applicable on auto present and flexible attendance policy."
Understanding the Rule Builder
What It Does
The rule builder lets you create conditions that determine which employees are covered by this policy. Think of it like a filter: only employees who match ALL the conditions you set will have this overtime policy applied to them.
How to Add a Rule
- Click the + Add rule button
- A new rule row appears with:
- A "Not" label (indicating exclusion logic is available)
- A "Select field" dropdown (searchable) to choose the criteria type
- A 🗑️ red delete icon to remove the rule
- Click "Select field" and choose a criteria type (e.g., Department, Role, State)
- After selecting a criteria type, a second dropdown appears to select specific values
- Select the specific value(s) for that criteria
- Repeat to add more rules if needed
Available Criteria Types
The dropdown offers the following criteria types (searchable with the search box):
| Criteria | Example Usage |
|---|---|
| Role | Apply only to employees with specific roles (e.g., "Manager", "Executive") |
| Designation | Apply only to specific designations (e.g., "Senior Engineer", "Analyst") |
| Department | Apply only to "Engineering" and "Operations" departments |
| Employee | Apply to specific individual employees by name/ID |
| Employment Type | Apply only to "Full-Time" employees (exclude contractors, interns) |
| State | Apply only to employees in a specific state (e.g., "Maharashtra", "Karnataka") |
| Branch | Apply only to employees at a specific office branch |
| SBU | Apply only to a specific Strategic Business Unit |
| Pay Cadre | Apply only to employees in a specific pay grade/cadre |
| Employee Type | Apply only to specific employee categories |
💡 Multiple values: You can select multiple values within a single criteria. For example, selecting both "Engineering" AND "Operations" under Department means the policy applies to employees in either of those departments.
Multiple Rules (AND Logic)
When you add multiple rules, they work with AND logic — an employee must match ALL rules to be covered.
Example:
- Rule 1: Department = "Engineering"
- Rule 2: Location = "Mumbai"
- Result: Only Engineering employees based in Mumbai get this policy. An Engineering employee in Delhi or an Operations employee in Mumbai would NOT be covered.
Settings Icon
The gear icon (⚙️) next to "Select Applicability Criteria" provides additional options for managing your rules, such as clearing all rules or switching between AND/OR logic modes (if available).
No Rules = Policy Applies to Everyone
If you don't add any rules and leave the criteria empty, the policy will apply to all employees in the organization by default.
💡 Tip: If you want the policy to be universal (everyone gets the same OT rules), simply skip adding rules and proceed to submit. Add rules only when you need to restrict the policy to specific groups.
Important Notes
Note 1: Applicability Scope
The yellow info box reminds you that only employees matching the conditions will be affected. This is a safety reminder — if you accidentally set a narrow filter, some employees may not have any overtime policy applied to them.
Note 2: Auto Present & Flexible Attendance
Overtime will NOT be applicable on employees with:
- Auto Present attendance policy — where attendance is automatically marked without punch-in/out
- Flexible attendance policy — where employees have no fixed shift boundaries
💡 Why? Overtime calculation relies on comparing actual working hours against a fixed shift. Without a defined shift or actual punch records, the system cannot determine whether an employee worked "extra" hours.
⚠️ If employees on auto-present or flexible policies need overtime: You'll need to change their attendance policy to a shift-based one first, or manually process their overtime outside the system.
Action Buttons (Final Tab)
Since this is the last tab, the action buttons are different from previous tabs:
| Button | Color | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| Review Policy | Blue (outline) | Opens a summary preview of the entire policy across all tabs — lets you double-check before submitting |
| Reset | Red | Clears the applicability rules on this tab |
| Previous | Grey/Blue | Goes back to the Overtime tab |
| Submit | Blue (filled) | Saves and activates the policy. This is the final step! |
💡 Always click "Review Policy" first! It gives you a complete overview of everything you've configured across all 6 tabs. This is your last chance to catch any mistakes before the policy goes live.
Step-by-Step: Setting Up Applicability
For all employees (no restrictions):
- Leave the rule builder empty (don't click + Add rule)
- Click Review Policy to preview the full configuration
- Click Submit to activate the policy
For specific employee groups:
- Click + Add rule
- Select a criteria type from the first dropdown (e.g., Department)
- Select one or more values from the second dropdown (e.g., "Engineering", "Operations")
- (Optional) Click + Add rule again to add another condition
- Click Review Policy to preview
- Click Submit to activate
After Submitting
Once you click Submit:
- The policy is saved and appears on the Listing Page
- Depending on your configuration, this policy starts applying to the selected employees from the defined effective date.ly applies to all matching employees
- Overtime calculations will use this policy from the next attendance cycle
You'll be redirected back to the Overtime Policy List page where you can see your newly created policy.
FAQs
Q: Can I assign individual employees to a policy instead of using rules? A: The rule builder works on group attributes (department, role, location). To assign individual employees, use the 👥 Assign Employees action icon on the listing page after the policy is created.
Q: What happens if two policies have overlapping applicability (e.g., both apply to Engineering)? A: An employee should ideally be covered by only one overtime policy. If overlap exists, the system may apply the most recently created or most specific policy. It's best practice to ensure non-overlapping criteria.
Q: Can I change the applicability rules after the policy is active? A: Yes — edit the policy from the listing page (✏️ icon) and modify the rules on this tab. Changes take effect from the next payroll cycle.
Q: The "Review Policy" button — does it actually submit anything? A: No. "Review Policy" only shows a read-only summary. Nothing is saved or submitted until you explicitly click Submit.
Q: What if I set rules that don't match any employees? A: The policy will be created but won't apply to anyone. You can fix this later by editing the applicability rules or using the Assign Employees action from the listing page.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Possible Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| "+ Add rule" doesn't add a row | JavaScript loading issue | Refresh the page and try again |
| Dropdown shows no departments/roles | Organization master data not configured | Ensure departments, roles, and locations are set up in the HR Master module first |
| Policy created but no employees are affected | Applicability rules too restrictive, or employees are on auto-present | Review the rules and ensure target employees match. Check their attendance policy type |
| "Submit" button is greyed out | Required fields missing on a previous tab | Go back through each tab (using Previous) and fill all required (*) fields |
| "Overtime will not be applicable on auto present" — but I need it for those employees | Auto-present doesn't record punch data | Switch those employees to a shift-based attendance policy, or process their overtime manually |
Summary: The Complete Flow
Here's a quick recap of the entire 6-tab journey:
Tab 1: Basic Info → Name it, set the date, choose cash vs comp-off
Tab 2: Week Day → How overtime/comp-off works on regular work days
Tab 3: Week Off → Same as week day? Or different rules for offs?
Tab 4: Holiday → Same as week off? Or premium rates for holidays?
Tab 5: Overtime → Set the caps and payment calculation (if any day type uses Overtime)
Tab 5b: Compensatory Off → Leave calendar, limits, sandwich rules (if any day type uses Comp-Off)
Tab 6: Who Gets It → Pick who this policy covers → Review → Submit!
💡 Note: Tabs 5 and 5b are dynamic. You may see one or both depending on whether you selected Overtime, Compensatory Off/Pay, or a mix across day types.