> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.filexpress.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Labor rules

> Workdays, overtime, surcharges, and tolerances by country, and how worked hours are classified

Labor rules define how FileXpress interprets attendance: which hours are day or night hours, how many regular hours a workday has, from when an hour is overtime, how much each type of hour is surcharged, and what tolerances apply to tardiness. They are used to calculate [schedule compliance](https://docs.filexpress.app/en/docs/rrhh/cumplimiento.md) and the hours breakdown proposed in [payroll](https://docs.filexpress.app/en/docs/rrhh/nominas.md#attendance-review).

They are configured in **Human Resources → Labor rules**.

> [!WARNING]
>
> The country templates (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Colombia) are a **starting point** based on each country's Labor Code. They are not a substitute for legal advice: the company must **validate them with its labor advisor** and adjust them to its collective agreement, internal regulations, or recent changes in the law before using them to pay.

## Country template or own rules

* If the company **has no rules of its own**, its country's template is used and the screen indicates it with the notice *"The company uses the country template"*.
* To adjust any value, first **copy the template** and then edit it. From that moment the company's rules apply.

**1. Go to Human Resources → Labor rules → Copy from country template**

**2. Choose the country, the template, and the Effective from date**

**3. Copy**

A company-owned validity period is created with the template's values. If there was a previous open validity period, it is closed the day before.

**4. Edit current to adjust the values**

### Validity periods

Rules are stored by **validity period** (*from* date and, optionally, *to* date). This way a change in law does not alter the calculation of previous months: a new validity period is created that starts on the date of the change. There cannot be two active validity periods that overlap.

> [!NOTE]
>
> When you edit rules that already have attendance calculated in their validity period, the results are **recalculated automatically** (up to the last 90 days). Days included in a processed or paid payroll are not modified.

## What is configured

| Section | Parameter | Description |
| - | - | - |
| **Time bands and workday** | Time zone | Local time used to interpret clock punches. |
| | Day band | Start and end of the day band; the rest of the day is night. |
| | Mixed workday rule | When a workday with day and night hours is considered entirely night (see below). |
| | Daily and weekly regular maximum | By workday class: day (D), night (N), and mixed (M). Anything above is overtime. |
| | Week starts | Day the week starts on for the weekly limit. |
| | Default rest days | Used for employees **with no assigned schedule**. |
| **Overtime and surcharges** | Measure against | Daily workday, weekly, or both. |
| | Overtime caps (daily, weekly, total daily) | They only generate **warnings**; they do not trim hours. |
| | Requires approval | Overtime is only paid once approved in [Schedule compliance](https://docs.filexpress.app/en/docs/rrhh/cumplimiento.md#overtime-approval). While pending, it is not included in the suggested amount or in payroll. |
| | Surcharges | Additional percentage for regular night, day overtime, night overtime, rest day, and holiday. |
| | Combination | **Additive** (surcharges are added) or **multiplicative** (they are multiplied). The screen shows the resulting multiplier for each case. |
| **Breaks and tolerances** | Paid break | Whether lunch or break time counts as worked. |
| | Check-in / check-out tolerance | Grace minutes before counting tardiness or early departure. |
| | Absence if tardiness exceeds | Optional: tardiness above these minutes is recorded as an absence. |
| | Rounding | Unit and mode for rounding clock punches. |
| | Minimum hourly wage | To warn when an hourly employee's rate falls below it. |
| **Leave and vacation** | Vacation day count | **Calendar** or **Business days**. Defines how many days a vacation request deducts (see [Leave and vacation](https://docs.filexpress.app/en/docs/rrhh/permisos.md#how-days-are-counted)). |
| | Other leave day count | **Calendar** (default) or **Business days**, for the other leave types. |

> [!NOTE]
>
> **Business days** deducts the rest days of the employee's current schedule (or the default rest days if they have no schedule) and full-day holidays. The Guatemala and Colombia templates count vacation in business days; El Salvador's, in calendar days. A change in the count applies to new requests.

## How hours are classified

For each employee and day, FileXpress takes the check-in and check-out punches and compares them with their [schedule](https://docs.filexpress.app/en/docs/rrhh/horarios.md), the [holidays](https://docs.filexpress.app/en/docs/rrhh/feriados.md), and these rules:

**1. Hours worked**

The time between check-in and check-out (or between each pair of punches) is calculated. If the break is unpaid and the employee did not clock it, the shift's break is deducted.

**2. Day or night**

Each minute is labeled according to the day or night band it falls in. A shift can cross midnight: the hours of the next day are labeled with their own date (for example, the hours after 00:00 on December 25 are holiday hours).

**3. Workday class**

According to the country's rule, the workday is **day**, **night**, or **mixed**. In El Salvador and Guatemala, if the night hours reach the threshold, the whole workday is treated as night. In Colombia there is no mixed workday: each hour keeps its band.

**4. Regular or overtime**

The first hours worked, up to the day's limit, are **regular**; the rest are **overtime**. The limit is the lower of the scheduled shift's hours and the legal maximum for the workday class. If overtime is also measured weekly, the day's regular hours cannot exceed what remains to reach the weekly maximum.

**5. Day type**

Hours worked on a **rest day** or **holiday** go to those categories, keeping the regular/overtime split.

The result is **12 categories**: regular or overtime × day or night × normal day, rest day, or holiday. Each one has its multiplier over the regular day hour.

### Examples with the templates

> [tab] El Salvador
>
> Day band from 06:00 to 19:00. If a workday has **more than 4 night hours**, it is entirely night. Daily maximum: 8 h day, 7 h night, 8 h mixed. Multiplicative surcharges: night +25 %, day overtime +100 %, night overtime +150 %, rest day +50 %, holiday (asueto) +100 %.
>
> | Situation | Classification | Multiplier |
> | - | - | - |
> | Schedule 08:00–17:00 with 1 h lunch; works until 19:00 | 8 regular day hours + 2 day overtime hours | ×1 and ×2 |
> | Shift from 22:00 to 05:00 | Night workday: 7 regular night hours | ×1.25 |
> | The same shift, but leaves at 06:00 | 7 regular night hours + 1 night overtime hour | ×1.25 and ×2.5 |
> | Works from 14:00 to 22:00 (3 night hours, does not exceed 4 h) | Mixed workday: 5 regular day hours + 3 regular night hours | ×1 and ×1.25 |
> | Works 8 day hours on a holiday (asueto) | 8 regular day hours on a holiday | ×2 |
> | Works 8 day hours on their rest day | 8 regular day hours on a rest day | ×1.5 |

> [tab] Guatemala
>
> Day band from 06:00 to 18:00. If a workday has **4 night hours or more**, it is entirely night. Daily maximum: 8 h day, 6 h night, 7 h mixed. Additive surcharges: day and night overtime +50 %, rest day and holiday +100 %. Regular night hours carry no surcharge (offset by a shorter workday). The break in a continuous workday counts as worked.
>
> | Situation | Classification | Multiplier |
> | - | - | - |
> | Shift from 18:00 to 00:00 | Night workday: 6 regular night hours | ×1 |
> | The same shift, but leaves at 02:00 | 6 regular night hours + 2 night overtime hours | ×1 and ×1.5 |
> | Schedule 14:00–21:00 (3 night hours) | Mixed workday: 7 regular hours | ×1 |
> | The same schedule, but leaves at 22:00 | Night hours reach 4: the whole workday becomes night (max. 6 h): 6 regular hours + 2 overtime hours | ×1 and ×1.5 |
> | Works 8 day hours on a holiday | 8 regular hours on a holiday | ×2 |
> | Does 1 day overtime hour on a holiday | 1 day overtime hour on a holiday | ×2.5 (1 + 0.5 + 1) |

> [tab] Colombia
>
> Day band from 06:00 to 19:00 (since December 25, 2025). There is no mixed workday: **each hour is paid according to its band**. Maximum of 9 h per day and 42 h per week (since July 15, 2026). Additive surcharges: night +35 %, day overtime +25 %, night overtime +75 %, Sunday or holiday +90 % (since July 1, 2026). Warnings if more than 2 overtime hours per day or 12 per week are exceeded.
>
> | Situation | Classification | Multiplier |
> | - | - | - |
> | Schedule from 14:00 to 22:00 | 5 regular day hours + 3 regular night hours | ×1 and ×1.35 |
> | The same schedule, but leaves at 23:00 | The above + 1 night overtime hour | ×1.75 |
> | Works 8 day hours on a rest Sunday | 8 regular day hours on a rest day | ×1.9 |
> | Does 1 night overtime hour on a holiday | 1 night overtime hour on a holiday | ×2.65 (1 + 0.75 + 0.90) |
> | Has already accumulated 42 regular hours in the week and works Saturday | All of Saturday is overtime (weekly limit) | ×1.25 or ×1.75 |
>
> The Colombia templates have several validity periods that follow the calendar of Law 2101 of 2021 and Law 2466 of 2025 (night start time, weekly workday, and Sunday surcharge).

> [!NOTE]
>
> Multipliers are over the value of the regular day hour. How they convert into money depends on the [employee's pay type](https://docs.filexpress.app/en/docs/rrhh/empleados.md#pay-type).

## See also

* [Schedules](https://docs.filexpress.app/en/docs/rrhh/horarios.md) and [Holidays](https://docs.filexpress.app/en/docs/rrhh/feriados.md)
* [Schedule compliance](https://docs.filexpress.app/en/docs/rrhh/cumplimiento.md) and [overtime approval](https://docs.filexpress.app/en/docs/rrhh/cumplimiento.md#overtime-approval)
* [Leave and vacation](https://docs.filexpress.app/en/docs/rrhh/permisos.md)
* [API: Labor rules](https://docs.filexpress.app/en/docs/api/rrhh/reglas-laborales.md)


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