Absence duration from average working hours
For an all-day absence, the All-day duration setting determines how many hours are credited per absence day. The four average methods use previously recorded working time. They differ in which days and reference period contribute to the average.
You can find the setting under Organization → Contracts → Absence Types, in the time settings of the relevant absence type.
The four calculation methods
In the formulas below, working hours means the total eligible working time within the reference period. Calendar days means the days within that period, minus the previous absence days described below.
| Selection in JobDone | Calculation per full absence day | Reference period |
|---|---|---|
| Average Working Hours in Year | Working hours ÷ days with eligible work entries | Up to one year before the absence, starting no earlier than the contract start. |
| Average Working Hours in Calendar Year (5 Day Week) | Working hours ÷ calendar days × 7 ÷ 5 | Up to one year before the start of the consecutive absence. |
| Average Working Hours in Calendar Year (7 Day Week) | Working hours ÷ calendar days | Up to one year before the start of the consecutive absence. |
| Average Working Hours in Calendar Weeks | Working hours ÷ calendar days × 7 ÷ 5 | The configured number of weeks before the start of the consecutive absence. |
The main difference: Average Working Hours in Year counts only days with eligible work entries. The calendar methods also count days without work entries, such as weekends or days off. The five-day variants convert this calendar average to five days per week. They do not filter work entries to Monday through Friday.
The yearly variants look back up to one year. The period is not fixed to January through December. The weekly variant looks back by the configured number of weeks; it does not consider only completed Monday-to-Sunday calendar weeks.
Example: One 10-hour workday, followed by sickness
An employee starts their contract on Monday of the first week. During that week, they have one approved, completed work entry of 10 hours. On Monday of the second week, they are recorded as sick for a full day. There are no other work entries or previous absences.
There are therefore seven calendar days before the sick day, but only one day with a work entry.
| Method | Calculation | Hours for the sick day |
|---|---|---|
| Average Working Hours in Year | 10 h ÷ 1 workday | 10 h |
| Calendar year, five-day week | 10 h ÷ 7 calendar days × 7 ÷ 5 | 2 h |
| Calendar year, seven-day week | 10 h ÷ 7 calendar days | approx. 1 h 26 min |
| Calendar weeks, for example with a four-week lookback | Only 7 calendar days have passed since the contract started: 10 h ÷ 7 × 7 ÷ 5 | 2 h |
The first method returns 10 hours because the only previous workday lasted 10 hours. A full year of work entries is not required.
If the contract started earlier, the calendar methods may include more days without work entries. This can reduce the daily value. With the first method, days without work entries do not reduce the average.
Which entries are included?
- Approved, completed work entries that have not been deleted are included.
- For the first method, multiple eligible work entries on the same day are added together to form a daily total.
- Individual work entries lasting more than 20 hours are excluded from these average calculations.
- Scheduled shifts and contractual target hours do not replace recorded work entries. Without eligible work entries, the average is 0 hours.
Contract start and previous absences
For the calendar methods, the lookback starts no earlier than the beginning of employment since the last gap between contracts. Consecutive contract periods can therefore contribute to the same reference period.
Previous absences using the same average method are considered together for the calendar methods; for the weekly variant, the configured number of weeks must also match. The previous absence days identified this way are deducted from the calendar period. This does not mean that all previous absences are deducted automatically.
For consecutive absences with matching settings, the start of the absence chain is used as the reference point. The lookback therefore does not simply move forward with every additional sick day.
Absence duration and time accounts
The formulas above explain the calculated daily value of an all-day absence. Its effect on actual time, target time or overtime is additionally determined by the contract configuration. For more information, see Contracts and Creating and approving absences.