Concept: Time Shifts

A time shift is a grouping of consecutive time blocks that apply to workers who report In and Out times. A time shift can be defined with either:

Only time worked.
Only time off.
Both.

Time shifts enable you to base calculations and validations on a worker's entire shift, whether or not the shift is fully contained within the worker's defined work day. Eligibility for time shift settings is based on worker eligibility for the time entry template on the last day of the week. The day breaker doesn't split time shifts, as it does with time blocks.

While time shifts can cross a week boundary, to ensure accurate time calculations and calendar totals, avoid time shifts that extend beyond 48 hours into the second week.

When you change time tracking eligibility in the second week of a shift that crosses from 1 week to another, use these reports to identify and view impacted shifts:

Find Shift Blocks Crossing Weeks with Eligibility Changes
View Shift Blocks Crossing Weeks with Eligibility Changes Results

If you configure daily evaluation of worker eligibility for time calculations, use the

Time Calculation Eligibility Changes

report instead.

When you find impacted shifts in the reports, you can make adjustments using the

Adjust Calculated Time

task.

Workday groups consecutive time blocks based on the type and duration of time block separations:

Meal
Break
Out

You can use a Workday-defined shift definition or create a custom definition when you configure your time entry template.

Workday defines a time shift as a grouping of time blocks, each with a maximum duration of 24 hours. When a time block ends with:

A meal or break, the next time block can start anytime within the next 24 hours to be a part of the shift. When a break is longer than 24 hours, Workday ends the shift.
An out, Workday ends the shift unless the next time block starts immediately afterward. Example: When a time block ends with an out at 10:35, and the next block begins at 10:35, Workday includes both blocks in the same shift.

Examples to enable you to determine what qualifies as a Workday-defined time shift.

Time Blocks Worked (Out Reason)	Time Shift?
08:00 - 12:00 (Break) 13:00 - 17:00 (Out)	Yes: Break duration is less than 24 hours.
08:00 - 12:00 (Out) 13:00 - 17:00 (Out)	No: Out duration is greater than zero.
08:00 - 10:00 (Out) 10:00 - 12:00 (Out)	Yes: Out duration is equal to zero.
Monday 08:00 - 11:00 (Meal) Tuesday 10:00 - 17:00 (Out)	Yes: Meal duration is less than 24 hours.
Monday 08:00 - 11:00 (Meal) Tuesday 12:00 - 17:00 (Out)	No: Meal duration is greater than 24 hours.

You can create a custom shift definition by customizing time block separations that count toward time shifts.

Example: You configure consecutive time blocks within the same shift to have separations that are less than these durations:

1-hour out.
2-hour meal.
30-minute break.

When you set maximum durations, workers can still report separations longer than the limit. When workers enter separations that exceed the maximum duration, Workday ends the shift at the time block immediately preceding the separation. The new shift starts in the time block immediately after the separation.

You can use time entry validations to alert workers when they report separations longer than a certain duration.

When you configure time shifts and group time blocks based on the beginning, end, or majority of a shift, Workday determines a shift date for each time block. You can define how Workday determines the shift date for time blocks that cross days.

Example: You configure a worker's time entry template with a maximum 1-hour meal break, and you group time blocks for shifts based on the date when the shift begins. The worker enters time from 18:00 to 23:00 on Friday. They take a 1-hour meal break, check in again on Saturday, and work from midnight to 03:00. Workday groups both time blocks into a single shift and sets the shift date of both blocks to the date on Friday.

The shift date also impacts time approval and time calculations. When you:

Create time calculations, you can base calculations that have a
Time Day Based On
prompt on the shift date.
View time blocks in the
Edit and Approve Time
or
Review Time
reports, Workday displays the reported time according to the shift date on the time blocks.

Calculated time off blocks receive a shift date when advanced shift is configured on the time entry template. Time calculations that reference shift date also use this for calculated time offs.