Part-Time History and Short-Time Hours History Files

A zero value on Working Hours (together with a part-time or partial retirement assignment category) triggers a Part-Time

History file to indicate this employee is not a full-time worker. Returning 0 in the PTHRS field would generate an error, so

0.25 hours is defaulted into it. This 0.25 value is accrued each week, irrespective of the hours worked that week, as long as the worker is on a zero-hours contract.

The 0.25 hours that accrues each week in Part-Time History is automatically adjusted in either the single or accumulated

Short-Time Hours History file. (Specify whether you are reporting single or accumulated hours in the Short-Time Hours File Type field at PSU or legal employer level.)

In the following example, the zero-hours worker contract starts 1 June, and they work this pattern in June:

WEEK BEGINNING	HOURS WORKED
2 June	0 hours
9 June	8 hours on Wednesday
16 June	8 hours a day, Wednesday to Sunday (40 total)
23 June	0 hours
30 June	8 hours on both Monday and Tuesday (16 total)

The Part-Time History file is generated with a STRTDTE of 1 June and a PTHRS of 0.25, which accrues each week.

If your organization reports hours using the Short-Time Hours History (Accumulated) file, the value reported in the ADJHRS field is the total hours worked each week minus the 0.25 PTHRS hours:

WEEK BEGINNING	STRTDTE	ENDDTE	ADJHRS
2-Jun - 8-Jun	02-Jun	08-Jun	-0.25
9-Jun - 15 Jun	09-Jun	15-Jun	7.75
16-Jun - 22 Jun	16-Jun	22-Jun	39.75
23-Jun - 29 Jun	23-Jun	29-Jun	-0.25
30-Jun - 6 July	Reported in July		N/A

The start date of the week (reported in the STRTDTE field) is determined by the day specified in the Start of Week field at either PSU or legal employer level.

If your organization reports short-time hours by the day, a -0.25 adjustment is reported on the Saturday of each week. The actual hours worked are reported each day without any 0.25 deduction (unless there are working hours on the Saturday, in which case the deduction is applied).

So, using the same example as above, this is how the worker is reported in the single Short-Time Hours History file:

ST HOURS	EFFDTE	ADJHRS	COMMENT
2-Jun - 8-Jun	07-Jun	-0.25	Saturday Adjustment applied
9-Jun - 15 Jun	11-Jun	8
N/A	14-Jun	-0.25	Saturday Adjustment applied
16-Jun - 22 Jun	18-Jun	8	N/A
N/A	19-Jun	8	N/A
N/A	20-Jun	8	N/A
N/A	21-Jun	7.75	Saturday Adjustment applied - includes deduction from hours worked that day
N/A	22-Jun	8
23-Jun - 29 Jun	28-Jun	-0.25	Saturday Adjustment applied
30-Jun - 6 July	Reported in July		N/A

Additional Considerations:

When a zero-hours worker starts or ends a contract mid-week, the adjustment of -0.25h is applied for the entire week. There is no proration.
If a zero-hours contract ends before the end of the week (Saturday) the adjustment is applied on the last day of the zero hour contract.
When an employee on a zero-hours contract is on non-qualifying/non-reckonable service for a complete week, or that absence starts before and ends after a weekend (when the 0.25 adjustment would be made), the adjustment of -0.25 is not applied for that week.

For details on setting up grade rates for hourly workers, see Grade Rates with Hourly Amounts