UKG Pro WFM Pay Rule and Work Rule Configuration Checklist

To configure UKG Pro Workforce Management (formerly UKG Dimensions) pay rules and work rules correctly, start from written pay policy, map each policy to a paycode, then build work rule building blocks and combination rules, and prove every rule with timecard test cases before payroll ever sees the result. Configuration order and testing matter more than any single setting.

Key takeaways

  • Pay rules control how time is processed for each employee; work rules apply specific processing to shifts. Keep that split clear in your design.
  • Write the policy matrix first. Every overtime, differential and premium needs an owner, a trigger and a paycode before anyone opens setup.
  • Combination rules decide what happens when overtime, zones and schedule deviations overlap. Most expensive pay errors live there.
  • The FLSA sets the floor: time and one half the regular rate for hours over 40 in a fixed 168 hour workweek. State law and contracts add to it.
  • Test with real edge case timecards and sign off on expected versus actual hours, not on screenshots of settings.

What is the difference between pay rules and work rules in UKG Pro WFM?

UKG's own documentation draws the line clearly. In the Paycodes help topic, pay rules "control how time and attendance information is processed for each employee," while work rules "are combinations of work rule building blocks that apply specific pay rules to shifts." Pay rule building blocks are not shift dependent. Work rules are.

In practice, that means an employee is assigned a pay rule that reflects their pay population (for example, nonexempt hourly in one state under one union contract), and the work rules attached to that pay rule determine how a particular shift is paid. A charge nurse who works a regular day shift and then picks up an on call shift may hit two different work rules in the same week, under one pay rule.

The design mistake we see most often is building one pay rule per department because that is how the org chart looks. Pay rules should follow pay policy, not reporting lines. If two departments share overtime, rounding and holiday treatment, they can share a pay rule, which cuts maintenance and testing later.

Which building blocks do you need to configure?

UKG's Combination Rules help topic lists the building blocks that interact in a work rule. Use this table as your inventory, and confirm the exact names and options in your own tenant, since setup screens vary by release and by what your organization licensed.

ComponentWhat it doesQuestions to answer before configuring
PaycodesOrganize time or money employees earn and identify spans of time for payrollWhich payroll earning code does each paycode map to? Does it count toward overtime?
Punch roundRounds punches and enforces shift start and end timesWhat interval, and does it average out over time for employees?
OvertimesDefine weekly, daily or consecutive day overtime thresholdsWhich jurisdictions add daily overtime? Which paycodes count toward the limit?
ZonesTime intervals such as evenings or weekends that earn differentialsDo differentials apply to the whole shift or only minutes inside the zone?
Schedule deviationsDifferentials for work before or after schedule, or unscheduled shiftsIs early or late work paid at a premium, or flagged only?
Rest Between ShiftsPremiums for work during an expected rest periodDoes any contract or local law require a rest premium?
MajoritiesApply one hour type to a shift that qualifies for several zonesShould a mostly overnight shift be paid entirely at the night rate?
Combination rules and paycode distributionsDecide how overlapping conditions are paid and which time counts toward overtimeWhen overtime and a weekend zone overlap, what paycode wins?

How should you build the policy matrix before configuration?

A policy matrix is a spreadsheet with one row per pay population and one column per rule. It becomes the source of truth for the implementation partner, payroll and your auditors.

Columns that belong in the matrix

  • Pay population name and the employees it covers (FLSA status, state, union, job family).
  • Workweek start day and time. This must match the workweek you use for FLSA purposes.
  • Rounding interval and grace periods, with the policy document reference.
  • Overtime thresholds: weekly, daily, seventh day, and which paycodes count toward each.
  • Differentials and zones, with rates and whether they are flat amounts or percentages.
  • Meal break deduction rules and how a missed or short break is handled.
  • Holiday eligibility and holiday worked premium.
  • Target payroll earning code for every paycode.

Common matrix mistakes

  • Leaving the "counts toward overtime" column blank for PTO, holiday and on call paycodes. Every paycode needs an explicit yes or no.
  • Treating automatic meal deductions as harmless. If employees work through the break, that time is still hours worked.

If your time data feeds an external payroll, the earning code column matters twice. Our guide on integrating UKG Pro WFM with Workday Payroll walks through the mapping side.

How do FLSA overtime and regular rate rules affect configuration?

The Department of Labor's FLSA wages page states that covered nonexempt workers must receive not less than one and one half times the regular rate of pay for hours over 40 in a workweek, and that a workweek is a fixed, recurring 168 hour period. Two configuration consequences follow.

  1. Your overtime rule must use a fixed workweek. Averaging across a biweekly pay period is not permitted under federal law, even if payroll runs biweekly.
  2. The overtime rate is based on the regular rate, not the base rate. Under 29 CFR 778.207(b), nightshift differentials are included in the regular rate. If your zones pay a differential, payroll needs a regular rate calculation for weeks with overtime, and someone must decide whether UKG Pro WFM or the payroll engine performs it.

Fact Sheet #56A also lists payments that are excluded from the regular rate, such as pay for leave and holidays not worked. That list is the reason the "counts toward overtime" setting on PTO paycodes is a policy decision, not a technical default. Federal law does not require counting PTO toward the 40, but some contracts and employers choose to. We cover the trade-offs in whether PTO hours count toward weekly overtime.

How do you test pay rules and work rules before go-live?

Configuration review catches typos. Only timecard testing catches logic errors. Build a test library where each case has a scenario, the punches, the expected paycode totals and the actual result.

Minimum test cases

  • A 40 hour week with no exceptions (baseline).
  • A week that crosses 40 hours on the last day of the workweek.
  • A shift that spans midnight on the workweek boundary.
  • An overnight shift that touches two zones, to test majorities.
  • Overtime that lands inside a weekend zone, to test combination rules.
  • An early punch inside the grace period and one outside it.
  • A missed meal punch and a short meal.
  • Holiday worked, holiday not worked, and PTO in an overtime week.
  • A mid week transfer to a job with a different work rule.
  • A daylight saving time change week.

Have payroll, not the configuration team, own the expected results. When the person who built the rule also writes the expected answer, the test confirms the build rather than the policy. Track each failure to a root cause: wrong policy, wrong configuration, or wrong expectation.

Rounding deserves its own cases. Under 29 CFR 785.48, rounding to the nearest five minutes, tenth or quarter hour is accepted only if it averages out so employees are fully paid over time. Run a sample of real punches through your proposed rule and compare rounded to actual minutes. Our article on stopping time theft in UKG Ready, Dimensions and Pro covers the punch behavior side, and our UKG guides hub collects related configuration guides.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can one employee have more than one work rule in UKG Pro WFM?

Yes. An employee is assigned one pay rule, but work rules apply to shifts, so a single employee can have shifts paid under different work rules in the same week. This is common for people who cover on call, training or a different job. Test transfers carefully, because overtime must still be calculated across the whole workweek.

Should rounding be configured in UKG or at the time clock?

Configure rounding in one place only, and document where. Double rounding, once at the device and again in the punch round building block, creates drift that is hard to audit. Whichever layer you choose, test real punch samples to confirm the rule averages out and does not consistently reduce paid time.

Do shift differentials change the overtime rate?

Usually, yes. Federal regulation 29 CFR 778.207(b) states that nightshift differentials are included in the regular rate, so weeks with both differentials and overtime typically need a weighted regular rate. Decide whether UKG Pro WFM or your payroll system calculates it, then build a test case that proves the result.

How often should pay rules be reviewed after go-live?

Review whenever a policy, contract or law changes, and do a full review at least once a year against the policy matrix. Pull a report of paycode totals by pay rule and look for unexpected values, such as overtime in populations that should rarely see it. Every change should go through the same test library used at implementation.

Next steps for your configuration review

  1. Build or refresh your policy matrix and get payroll and legal to sign it.
  2. Inventory current pay rules and work rules and retire any that no longer map to a policy.
  3. Write expected results for the ten minimum test cases and run them in a non production tenant.
  4. Decide and document where rounding and the regular rate calculation happen.
  5. Set a change control process so future rule edits are tested before they reach production.

Last reviewed: October 2026.

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