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Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2026-09-18
Worker Eligibility for Time Tracking

Worker Eligibility for Time Tracking

What Are Worker Eligibility Rules?

Time Tracking eligibility rules control a worker's ability to enter time by listing the conditions they must meet to be eligible for various Time Tracking components.
Example: An eligibility rule called
In/Out Workers
 might specify that workers:
  • Are hourly.
  • Work in the company called Global Modern Services.
Eligibility for work schedules and holiday calendars, which other Workday applications share, aren't based on Time Tracking eligibility rules.
Assign worker eligibility rules to:
  • Time code groups to identify which time entry codes a worker can use to enter time.
  • Time entry templates to control the appearance of a worker's time entry calendar and its features.
  • Time period schedules to identify the dates for which workers can enter time.
  • Time calculation groups to identify the time calculations that apply to workers.
Each worker should be eligible for only 1:
  • Time entry template
  • Time period schedule
  • Work schedule calendar
A worker can be eligible for multiple time code groups and calculation groups.

When Are Eligibility Rules Applied?

This table describes when Workday evaluates whether a worker meets the eligibility criteria for a Time Tracking component:
Component
When Must Worker Meet Eligibility?
Time entry template
On the last day of the week displayed on the time entry calendar. This applies to time shift settings and to time entry methods that record or populate time for multiple days at a time. Example: Auto-Fill from Schedule.
To report time on a date, the worker must meet eligibility for a time entry template on that date. This applies:
  • To time entry methods that record or populate time for 1 day at a time. Example: Check In.
  • When you add or edit a time block for a specific date.
Workday uses 1 time entry template for week-level settings on the time entry calendar, including time shift settings and additional totals. Workday evaluates eligibility for that template in this order:
  1. On the last day of the week displayed on the time entry calendar.
  2. If the worker isn't eligible on that day, on the first day of the week. Example: The worker is terminated before the last day of the week.
If the worker isn't eligible on either day, Workday doesn't apply a time entry template for those week-level settings. Time shift settings, including shift grouping and Shift Date, don't apply.
Example: The week starts on Monday. The worker is hired on Friday and terminated on Saturday. Workday evaluates the week-level template on Sunday (not eligible) and then on Monday (not yet hired). No week-level template applies. The worker can still report time on Friday and Saturday if they meet eligibility on those dates.
When you select the
Run Time Calculation Eligibility Day by Day
 check box on the
Edit Tenant Setup - HCM
 task, Workday evaluates worker eligibility for time calculations daily. Time shift settings are the exception. They always follow the time entry template for the week.
Time entry code
(based on eligibility for time code group)
The default time entry code that Workday populates depends on how the worker records time. Examples:
  • When a worker checks in on a mobile device, Workday uses the eligibility for the default time entry code on the check-in date.
  • With Auto-fill from Schedule, Workday applies the default time entry code at the end of the week when autofilling the worker’s time entries. You can’t specify a date with this time entry method, so Workday uses the eligibility for the default time entry code on the last day of the week.
Time calculation
(based on eligibility for time calculation group)
If you don't select the
Run Time Calculation Eligibility Day by Day
 check box on the
Edit Tenant Setup - HCM
 task, the worker must meet eligibility:
  • On the last day of the week displayed on the time entry calendar (or the termination date of the worker if earlier).
  • On the first day of the week, if the worker loses eligibility for all time calculation groups due to a midweek change. Example: A worker moves from being nonexempt to exempt.
  • For biweekly time calculations, the worker must meet eligibility on the last day of the biweekly period (or the termination date of the worker if earlier).
If the worker meets eligibility, Workday applies time calculations for the entire week displayed on the time entry calendar. Example: A worker is terminated midweek. If the worker meets eligibility on the termination date, time calculations can generate calculated time blocks on days after the termination date within the same week.
If you select the
Run Time Calculation Eligibility Day by Day
 check box to evaluate worker eligibility for time calculations daily, the worker must meet eligibility on the date you select in the
Start Daily Evaluation on Date
 field. Workday applies time calculations only for days on which the worker meets eligibility.
Time period schedule
On the last day of the week displayed on the time entry calendar (or the termination date of the worker if earlier).
Time entry validation group
For an object that is 1 day or less, Workday evaluates eligibility that day. For objects longer than 1 day, Workday evaluates eligibility on the last day of the time span. Example: For validations on an object that spans 1 week, Workday evaluates the eligibility on the last day of the week.