The Vertec standard hours system (including vacation, salary, overheads) is based on settings that are linked to a point in time. We call these settings presets.

A setting sets a specific value (e.g. standard time) from a specific point in time. The value is valid until a setting overrides the same value at a later point in time.

The settings are created on the user group and the user groups are assigned to the users. If an individual user has settings that differ from the group, these settings are created on the user as an override of the user group setting. The setting on the group represents 100% employment and is automatically scaled for the user according to the level of employment.

The permission to set values is linked to the right to the class Editor preset:

The settings are located both on the user group and on the individual user in the Settings subfolder:

For better clarity, the list is grouped and separated by green bars:

• Group 1 – Working time and holiday requirements
• Group 2 – Bringing forward
• Group 3 – Overloads
• Group 4 – Expenditure

New settings can be created either via the star line or with the right mouse button > New.

The user settings list is hierarchically sorted according to the following criteria:

• Date (ascending)
• To date (descending)
• Group preset before editor preset
• Standard group before special group

In this context, it is important to distinguish the sorting of the settings from the effect of the settings:

• When sorting the presets, “Group preset before user preset” only means that if both are on the same date, the group preset comes first in the list.

Differ the rules on how the settings are applied:

• A user preset always takes precedence over a competing group preset.
• If this should no longer apply, the corresponding user preset must be given an end date. From then on, it will no longer be applied and the group preset will be reinstated.

If a setting changes, you can insert a new setting and specify when the setting will apply.

The default is always the value that is set. For example, if you want to set the holiday credit to 160 hours from 01.01.2023 but the weekly working time is still 40 hours, you only need to change the holiday credit in the new setting:

In this case:

• from 01.01.1990: weekly standard time 40:00 h, holiday credit 200:00 h
• from 01.01.2023: weekly standard time 40:00 h, holiday credit 160:00 h

The hours:minutes values are entered separated by a colon. For example, a target daily time of 8 hours and 15 minutes is entered as 8:15. This is mandatory and does not depend on how you otherwise record hours in Vertec.

If desired, the values can also be entered in hundredths of a minute. These are separated by a dot, i.e. a daily target time of 8 hours, 14 minutes and 30 seconds is entered as 8:14.50.

Settings that affect all users (in this group) are typically vacation cut-off date, weekly standard time, and vacation.

If such settings apply to all employees throughout the company, it makes sense to define them on the default user group.

If you have different settings for different employees, it is best to create a separate user group for each combination of holiday deadline, weekly standard hours, and vacation.

Please make sure that the settings per employee are clear, so that the groups do not contradict each other.

The holiday cut-off date determines when the annual holiday credit is valid. It is set on the user group:

• Standard (1.1. of the year): The holiday deadline is 01.01. of each year. This is in most cases the standard and is pre-set by Vertec.
• Date (Day.Month): A field will appear where you can enter a date in the form DD.MM. The effective date will then be this date each year.
• Entry date: The holiday cut-off date is the entry date of the individual employee, each new year. For example, if the employee entered on April 1, 2022, the holiday cut-off date is April 1 of each year.

If the user is in more than one group, the following applies:

The default (1.1. of the year) is considered normal. If something else is specified on a group, this takes precedence for the assigned users.

It is important that the user is only in a group that is different from the default.

If the cursor is in the field Weekly standard hours, a small button with three dots appears. Clicking on this button opens the dialog for editing the weekly standard hours.

The values can be entered:

1. by specifying the standard hours for each day

2. by specifying a weekly standard hour

Please note that the specified values on user groups always apply to an employment level of 100%. Partial payments of e.g. 80% cannot therefore be set up via a user group, but must be set directly on the individual employees.

The vacation credit is set on the group by entering a value in the Vacation field. On the individual user, this vacation credit is scaled according to the level of employment.

The following settings are made for the individual employees: If the employment level is not 100%, salary, overheads (can also be set to user group at most), as well as for short-term deviation, e.g. unpaid vacation.

The corresponding group presets are greyed out and cannot be changed here. However, presets that are set on the individual user take precedence over group presets.

Insert a new row for salary and/or overheads and specify the date from which the value is effective.

Salary and overheads are set by entering the value in the respective field. If it is not an annual salary (or annual overheads), but a monthly statement, the Monthly checkbox must be set activated.

Insert a new row for the standard weekly time and specify when you want it to apply.

If the cursor is in the field Weekly standard hours, a button with three dots appears. Clicking on this button opens the dialog for editing the weekly standard hours.

The values can be entered in three different ways:

1. By specifying the standard hours for the individual days

2. By specifying a weekly standard hour

3. By indicating the level of employment

The employment level refers to the stored group specification, which applies to 100%, in the example above 42:30 hours.

If something else applies to an employee for a short period of time, you can insert a row with a date and a To date setting. The setting then applies only to that time period.

In the example: The employee takes unpaid leave in March 2016.

On the settings page of the individual employee there is a button Calculate values for period...

This allows the calculation of target time specifications, vacation and public holidays, wage entitlement, etc. of the employee for any time period:

Specify the desired period and click on the Calculate button. The values are shown in the white part of the window.

If you do not want to calculate overtime and holiday balances for a user, e.g. for hourly employees, you can set this on the user main mask.

For the calculation of vacation in a specific period, the default system for vacation values is used. First, it is determined whether there are different applicable vacation settings in the period to be calculated (e.g. new vacation settings per mid-year). If yes, the period is divided and the vacation credits are calculated proportionally for each setting. If only one setting is applicable (normal case), the vacation credits for the desired setting are calculated in one step.

The default value for vacation is usually an annual value and must be converted to the specified period. To do this, you need the quantity of days in the year. Because there are leap years, it is essential which year is used for scaling. The relevant year is determined based on the next past vacation date, based on the start date of the period to be calculated. The vacation date is usually the 1.1 of a year, but Vertec can specify this differently.

The calculation of the holiday credit is done with the help of the OCL operator getHolidaypreference, which is already available on the user. Internally, the user uses basically the same logic as described above. However, if the period to be calculated extends beyond the holiday reference date (usually 1.1.), then the calculation is done in individual steps, each adapted to the holiday reference date limits.

This is necessary so that even in leap years the sum of holiday requirements for subperiods corresponds to the holiday requirement for the entire period.