Rostered Day Off (RDO)

How to set up and manage RDOs in your platform

RDOs, or Rostered Days Off, can have different meanings across various industries and businesses. In Hospitality, it typically refers to a scheduled day off work.

In foundU, however, RDOs are specifically related to an automated process where a part of a worked shift is accrued as time off instead of being paid out to an employee.

This practice is prevalent in the Building and Construction Industry. If you're unsure whether this applies to you, you can refer to Fair Work using this link.

This article will cover:

• Considerations before you start
• How to set up RDOs in your Award
• RDOs on Employee Profiles
• Redeeming an RDO balance
• Reporting RDO balances
• FAQs

 Permission Reminder: Access to manage Awards is permission-controlled and generally only managed by super users for security purposes. Admins will need the 'View Awards & Agreements' and 'Edit Awards & Agreements' in order to make changes. 

Setting Up RDOs

Before you start

RDOs, or a Rostered Days Off, is a practice where employees accumulate paid time off for a portion of their shift instead of being paid for the time worked.

Your platform has the ability to automate this process so that RDO hours will accrue for your employees each time the employee works more than a specified number of hours per day.

How do RDOs work?

In your Award setup, you can add RDO rules to apply to specific Awards and Operations. These rules will be triggered automatically on an employee's payslip each time a shift that meets the criteria is approved.

We'll use the following scenario to look at how to roster for an RDO and how your platform applies RDO rules. 

SCENARIO

Clara, a rostering manager, is looking to roster Angela on a roster for the Bailey Group Operation, which uses RDOs. 

We will use the following Award and RDO rules for the Bailey Group Operation:

• Maximum ordinary hours per day is 8. 
• RDO accrual will trigger after 7.6 ordinary hours per day.
• RDO hours will accrue for 0.4 hours.
• Hourly allowances will be calculated before RDO. 

What considerations does Clara need to take when rostering Angela for RDO?

• Clara will need to roster Angela for at least 8 hours per day. 
  • RDO triggers when ordinary hours for the day exceed 8  (7.6 OTE + 0.4 RDO). 
• Publish and approve shifts as per usual. 

How does the platform apply Angela RDOs?

Each time Angela's shifts are approved and the total ordinary hours for that day exceeds 8, the platform automatically converts the last 0.4 hours into an RDO accrual. 

Using the Awards Test, we can see that Angela's approved shifts above have:

• The total ordinary hours for each day are 7.6.
• The total RDO hours for each are 0.4. 
• Hourly allowances applied per day are 8 (7.6 OTE + 0.4 RDO accrual).

Additionally, we can see that: 

• RDO accrual has been applied for the split shift on Thursday, as 8 ordinary hours total have been approved for that day. 
• Overtime has been applied for Friday due to 2 additional approved hours (10 total).

 

Permanent Employees and RDOs

If you are planning to set up automated RDO rules in your Award, the rules will apply to all employees with positions from that Award regardless of employment type.

For your permanent employees, there are several considerations when using RDOs and how they work with other leave entitlements (Annual Leave/ Personal Leave etc).

• • Other leave entitlements are accrued when RDO hours are redeemed, not when RDO accrual hours were worked. 
  • RDO accrual doesn't happen when other leave types are redeemed.
  • Special consideration may be taken when setting up employee work patterns for Salaried employees.

If you need help deciding if the RDO process is best suited for your platform, please don't hesitate to reach out to our support team or your implementation manager. 

  For some businesses, they may refer to RDOs as a different process. For instance, if your permanent employees accrue paid time off whenever they exceed their ordinary hours, rather than receiving paid overtime. If this is the case, please refer to our article on Time Off in Lieu. 

How to set up RDO rules in an Award

RDOs are created by adding RDO rules to an Award. These rules include options for setting how many hours need to pass for RDO to trigger and the accrual rate.

Before applying RDO rules, there are a few key considerations to keep in mind, these include:

• • RDO rules are set at the Award Level, as such it cannot be tailored per employee. 
  • RDO rules will apply to all positions in an Award, so if you have some employees who receive RDOs and others who do not you may require multiple Awards. 
  • RDO rules are set per Operation, so if you have multiple Operations, multiple rules will need to be set. 
  • RDOs trigger automatically, once an employee's hours exceed the max ordinary hours worked, RDO will automatically be applied.

How to set up RDO rules in an Award: 

1. From the main menu, navigate to Awards & Agreements.
2. Select the name of the Award you wish to add RDO rules to, then select RDO. 
3. Select the required action:
   • To add a new rule, select Add New Rule.
   • To edit an existing rule, select the edit icon (pencil).
4. Complete the following fields:
   • Operation - which Operation does the RDO rule apply. 
   • Accrual - portion of the shift to be accrued as RDO. 
   • OTE Hours Worked - the number of hours worked a day before RDO hours are accrued. 
   • Calculate Hourly Allowances - there are 2 options for this:
     • Before RDO is taken - hourly allowances will include RDO time in the calculation. 
     • After RDO is taken - hourly allowances will exclude RDO time in the calculation. 
5. Select Save. 

SCENARIO

We'll use the following example to look at how an RDO rule can be added to an Award.

Delilah is looking to set up/ check the RDO rules for the Bailey Group Operation. What does Delilah need to do?

• She can go to her Building & Construction Award
• From the Award, check the RDO rules to review any rules set for Bailey Group. 

The image below shows this example, we can see that:

• The RDO rule is for the Bailey Group Operation, so it will apply to all positions worked for this Operation. 
• RDO will trigger after 7.6 hours per day worked. 
• RDO will accrue for 0.4 hours.
• Hourly allowances will be calculated for 8 hours (7.6 worked + 0.4 RDO accrued).

Managing employee RDOs

Managing employee RDO balances

RDOs can be found and managed from the employee's profile along with other leave entitlements.

However, unlike other types of leave that are added as part of the position workflow, generating pay in a week with RDO accrual hours will trigger the initial entitlement to appear in the employee's profile.

If an employee works for 2 separate Operations this will mean they will have 2 separate RDO entitlements against their profile. This is because RDOs are split per Operation. 

Each time an employee works excess OTE hours that accrue RDO hours, their RDO balance on the profile will be increased after the corresponding pay run is processed.

In the example below, Angie has an RDO balance for Bailey Group. This RDO entitlement was automatically added to Angie's profile after her first pay was generated (that contained RDO accural hours) for work performed for Bailey Group. 

If you find you need to edit or adjust RDO hours to an employee's RDO entitlement, this can be done via an edit on the employee's profile as any other entitlement can.

How to update an employee's RDO balance: 

1. From the quick menu, navigate to People > Approved People, and select the employee.
2. From the employee profile, navigate to Employee Card > Employment Type > Entitlements.
3.  Select the edit icon (pencil) to edit RDO.
4. Update the RDO balance and save by selecting the tick icon. 

  Hot tip: After updating an employee's RDO balance, navigate to Payroll > Pay and reprocess any draft payslips to apply the update.

Redeeming an RDO accrual

The RDO process in foundU has a unique setup that distinguishes it from other entitlements. As a result, RDO accruals can only be redeemed through a payslip edit, ensuring a more secure and reliable process. 

Unfortunately, this means that RDOs cannot be redeemed via leave application (either by the employee or manager) or by adding to a shift in Approve shifts. 

  Hot tip: To assist in communicating an RDO redemption to your payroll team, we advise using shift comments when approving shifts, as these can be exported to CSV for easier viewing. 

How to redeem an RDO on a payslip:

1. Navigate to Payroll > Pay, locate the payslip and select edit from the dropdown menu.
2. Scroll down to the bottom of the position box to locate the RDO field. 
3. The RDO field manages all RDO accruals and redemption for this payslip. Edit this field to apply an RDO redemption. 
   • RDO - there are two options for this field. 
     • Rostered Day Off (RDO): Redeem - this will be the default for RDO. 
     • Rostered Day Off (RDO): Cashout All - this will cash out all accrued RDO. 
   • Hours - specify the number of hours to be redeemed. 
   • Rates - the hourly rate being redeemed. By default, this will be the employee's base rate. 
   • Amount - this will display the dollar value being redeemed. This field cannot be edited. 
   • Accrued This Cycle - displays the hours of accrued RDO in the pay period. 
4. Navigate to and select Calculate Totals to update payslip totals.  
5. Select Update Payslip to apply changes and leave a comment. 
6. Process pay as usual.

  This section outlines the process for redeeming RDO as part of a standard payroll. If you are looking for information on processing RDO for terminations, please refer to your article on Employment Termination Payments (ETP).

RDO Reporting and FAQs

RDO Accrual Report

For your reporting needs, we offer the RDO Accrual Report. This report allows you to view your employees' current accrual balance (in hours and dollar value) for RDO per Operation and Award.

How to generate the RDO Accrual Report:

1. From the quick menu, navigate to Reports > Financial.
2. Under Accruals & Liabilities, select RDO Accrual.
3. The RDO Accrual Report will automatically generate to show all RDO balances.  However, you can filter this report by applying the following filter options:
   • Operations - to filter for a specific venue/ client. 
   • Candidates (Employees) - to search for a specific employee. 
   • Awards - to search for all employees under a specific Award. 

  Hot tip: This report cannot be exported. You can export your employee's RDO balances from the People Menus > Bulk Actions, and you can even save your selections for quick access.

FAQs

Can my employees see their RDO balance and submit RDO applications in the Employee App?

Because of the distinctive nature of RDOs within the platform, your employees cannot view or apply to redeem RDOs from Time Off in the Employee App.

However, employees can check their current RDO balance from their most recent payslips.

Do RDO hours accrue when redeeming an RDO accrual or leave hours?

RDO is accrued when an employee's ordinary hours per day exceeds a specified number (usually 7.6 hours). As RDO accrual hours are not OTE hours, an employe will not accrue RDO hours if they redeem 8 hours of RDO. The same occurs with leave entitlements, RDO hours will not accrue.

As RDO is redeemed via a payslip edit, it does not automatically accrue. 

I have redeemed RDO hours on a payslip. Why haven't the leave accruals been updated?

When redeeming RDO on a payslip, the totals (including other leave accruals), do not automatically update. 

To update the payslip details such as leave accruals, select Calculate Totals once the RDO redemption has been applied. 

Can RDOs be added to a shift in Approve Shifts?

Unfortunately, RDOs cannot be added when approving shifts. 

If an employee requires an RDO redemption, we suggest leaving a shift comment to notify your payroll team.

Can my Admin Users submit a leave application for an RDO on behalf of an employee?

Unfortunately, RDOs cannot be submitted as a leave application and instead, they are redeemed via payslip edit. 

If an employee requires an RDO redemption, we suggest leaving a shift comment, in Approve Shifts to notify your payroll team.

Can RDOs be accrued separately against multiple positions?

No, RDOs will accrue against each Operation the shifts have been approved for, regardless of which positions accrued the RDO.

Can RDO be paid at different position rates?

RDOs are automatically paid from the employee's primary position (permanents), and the position selected for all leave entitlements (casuals).

If your employee is required to be paid at a different rate, their rate can be edited via payslip edit. 

I have redeemed an RDO on a payslip. Why hasn't superannuation been updated?

When redeeming RDO on a payslip, the totals (including other leave accruals), do not automatically update. 

To update the payslip details such as super, gross and net, select Calculate Totals once the RDO redemption has been applied. 

Why can't I see RDO in my leave report?

RDOs are not included in the leave reports. In your platform there are 2 ways to view an employee's RDO balance:

• Using the RDO Accrual Report
• Exporting RDO balances from the people menus. 

For further reading on RDO reporting please refer to the "RDO Accrual report" section above.