Comp-off for overtime

How it works

1. HR sets the overtime payout to comp-off, or to the employee's choice, in the overtime policy.
2. HR sets the hours that earn comp-off: 8 hours for 1 day and 4 hours for half a day by default.
3. Requests are detected and approved in the usual way. With the employee's choice, the approver picks money or comp-off while approving.
4. On the final approval ZeniaHR credits 1 day, half a day or nothing to the employee's comp-off in the leave ledger, based on the approved hours.
5. The employee sees the credit and its expiry on My Self-Service and applies for comp-off leave when needed.
6. Unused comp-off lapses after the expiry days set on the comp-off leave type, 60 days in the recommended rules, and the oldest credit is used first.

What you can set

• Payout: comp-off, or the employee's choice.
• Overtime hours for 1 day of comp-off: 8 by default.
• Overtime hours for half a day of comp-off: 4 by default.
• Each overtime day earns at most 1 day of comp-off; below the half-day hours it earns none.
• The multipliers apply only to overtime paid as money.
• Comp-off expiry: set on the comp-off leave type, 60 days in the recommended leave rules, or never.
• Automatic comp-off for weekly off and holiday work, set on the comp-off leave type, takes those days out of overtime.

When comp-off works better than money

Comp-off suits roles where extra hours come in bursts, such as an audit week, a system cutover or a festival sale, and where people value a day off later more than a small payroll line. It also keeps overtime costs predictable. It does not suit every worker. Before offering comp-off instead of overtime wages, check whether your state rules and standing orders allow it for the workers concerned, since the OSH Code pays overtime at twice the ordinary wage rate.

Worked example: a weekend cutover at a Noida IT firm

Arjun Mehta, a support engineer at a Noida IT firm, works on Saturday 10 October, a 2nd Saturday off, for a server migration. His company's comp-off type is set to granted by HR only, so weekend work is counted as overtime, and the payout is the employee's choice. He punches in at 9:30 am, takes a 20-minute break and punches out at 3:10 pm: 5 hours 20 minutes of effective time, rounded down to 5 hours 15 minutes.

Arjun wants time off, so after his manager approves, HR picks comp-off while approving. Because 5 hours 15 minutes is at least 4 hours but under 8, half a day of comp-off is credited, expiring after 60 days. The next Wednesday he stays back 2 hours 45 minutes for a client call. Under 4 hours, comp-off would earn nothing, so HR approves that request as money, paid at the working-day multiplier in October payroll.

Running comp-off without disputes

Comp-off causes arguments when people do not know how much they have or when it expires. Make the rules visible and let the leave ledger do the counting, instead of a register kept by the team lead that nobody else can check.

• Tell staff the hours for half and full days, and that short overtime earns no comp-off.
• Set an expiry that gives people a fair chance to use the day, such as 60 days.
• Choose either automatic comp-off for weekend work or overtime for weekend work, not both.
• Remind managers to approve comp-off leave in slack weeks so credits do not lapse unused.

Frequently asked questions