Overtime eligibility

Overtime in Alpaca is controlled by two switches: one at the organization level, one per worker. This article explains both, and how the overtime premium shows up on the Payroll page.

Overtime is opt-in for the organization

Overtime is an opt-in feature enabled per organization. If your clinic does not have it turned on, no overtime is calculated, no overtime badges appear on the Payroll page, and the per-worker eligibility flag has no effect. Email support if you need it enabled.

The per-worker flag

Overtime Eligible is set on the worker's payroll contract. You set it when adding the team member, in the Pay Information step — a switch labelled Overtime Eligible, described as "Enable if this team member is eligible for overtime pay". Afterwards it is visible on the worker's profile under Pay Rates → Payroll Contract → Overtime Eligible.

As a rule of thumb: non-exempt hourly staff (most BTs and RBTs) are eligible; exempt salaried staff usually are not. This is a legal classification, not a preference — if you are unsure for a particular role, take advice before setting it.

How the premium is calculated

Alpaca sends the payroll provider your per-day hours and rates. The provider works out the overtime from those, applying the applicable rules for the worker's state, and returns 1.5× and 2× hours with the resulting amounts.

The number Alpaca adds on the Payroll page is the overtime premium — the extra above straight time — not the full overtime amount. That is because the table's hours × rate figure has already paid those hours at their base rate. Adding the whole overtime amount would pay the base wage twice.

Where you see it

• A summary badge at the top of the Payroll Details page for the period.

• Per-worker overtime hours and amounts on each row, folded into that worker's total pay.

• 1.5× and 2× hour counts shown as informational badges on the TOTAL row.

For an unconfirmed run these figures are a projection and can move slightly before the run is confirmed. Alpaca allows a small tolerance when comparing the table to the payroll run so that rounding differences are not reported as discrepancies.

Why an overtime-eligible worker might show no overtime

• Their hours in the week did not cross the threshold. Overtime is calculated weekly, not per pay period — a heavy first week and a light second week may produce overtime even though the fortnight looks normal, and vice versa.

• The hours have not been signed or verified yet, so they are not in the run at all.

• Overtime is not enabled for your organization.

• The worker's payroll contract has Overtime Eligible switched off.

Overtime and leave

Leave policies that accrue based on hours worked can be configured to include or exclude overtime hours — the choice is on the policy, not on the worker. See Configuring leave time accruals.

Still stuck? Email support@alpacahealth.io and we will take a look.