How missed-break pay works#
For: Admin | Manager You’ll need: A break policy that pays for missed breaks — see What the break policy settings do.
Some jurisdictions owe extra pay when a meal or rest break is missed — California, for example, one hour of pay per workday and kind. A break policy can work those hours out for every workday, and the payroll reports carry them. Here’s how the hours are counted, what excuses them, and where they show.
Set it up#
On the break policy’s page, under ‘Pay for missed breaks’:
‘Missed-break pay’ — ‘Per workday and kind’ owes the amount once per workday for each kind of break with a break that owes; ‘Per workday’ once per workday; ‘Per missed break’ for every break that owes; ‘The missed minutes’ the minutes not given — a missed, late or early break’s length, a short break’s shortfall — times the amount.
‘Amount’ — the hours per unit, or the factor on the missed minutes.
‘Extra pay for’ — ‘Meals’, ‘Rest breaks’ or ‘Meals and rest breaks’.
‘A late or early break owes it too’ — a missed or short break always owes; a late or early one only with this on.
‘A voluntary skip excuses’ — whether a person’s answer that they chose to skip or shorten a break excuses the pay, for ‘Meals’, ‘Rest breaks’, both, or ‘None’.
A workday here is the period the policy groups work into: a shift, a calendar day or a stretch of continuous work. Missed-break pay needs the recorded-break check switched on.
The break questions#
Every choice except ‘No extra pay’ asks up to two questions after a clock-out — at the kiosk, in the app, or on the person’s own time entry on the web — one for each kind of break the policy has rules for:
“Did you get every meal break you were entitled to today?” — ‘Yes’, ‘I chose to skip or shorten one’ or ‘Work prevented one’.
“Did you get every rest break you were entitled to today?” — ‘Yes’, ‘I chose to skip or shorten one’ or ‘One wasn’t provided’.
The answers record what happened. They never waive a break — a waiver stays on the person’s profile. A later answer replaces the earlier one. See How to answer the break questions.
What owes and what’s excused#
Each workday and kind gets one of three statuses:
‘Payable’ — the hours are owed. An unanswered question stays payable unless a manager records a reason.
‘Excused’ — ‘Yes’, a manager’s reason, or a voluntary skip where ‘A voluntary skip excuses’ covers the kind explains it: no hours.
‘Pending’ — the day’s break check has no verdict yet, for example while a later shift of the same day is still to come: no hours yet.
‘Work prevented one’ and ‘One wasn’t provided’ never excuse. Hours are rounded to hundredths and never stored: correct a break or record an answer, and the next report shows the new figure.
Where the hours show#
‘Payroll summary’ — ‘Missed meal pay (h)’ and ‘Missed rest pay (h)’ per person, the payable hours of the workdays in the period. Add them with ‘Manage columns’; the CSV and XLSX downloads always include them.
‘Payroll detail’ — one row per workday and kind, dated by its workday, with ‘Missed-break pay (h)’, its status, the answer and the manager’s reason.
The hours stand outside worked time, overtime and gross pay: your payroll applies the rate.
How it affects approval#
Where the questions are asked, automatic approval waits for them after a clock-out at the kiosk or in the app. A break issue then holds automatic approval until an answer or a manager’s reason explains its kind, and ‘Work prevented one’ next to a recorded unpaid meal holds it until the meal is corrected. A manager’s ‘Approve’ is never held. See How to review break answers.
Verify it worked#
Open Reports → Payroll detail for a period with a missed break. A row for that workday names the kind of break and shows the hours and their status.