Who’s it for: Administrators
Platform: Sense HR
Available on: All plans
Before you begin
Make sure you:
☑️ Have administrator permissions
☑️ Understand how working time is structured in your organisation
☑️ Know whether employees work fixed hours, flexible hours, shifts, or rota-based schedules
☑️ Know whether employees clock in/out
Overview
Working hours configurations define how working time is structured in Sense HR. They are reusable setups that can be assigned to one or more employees and are used by the system to control:
Contracted weekly hours
Working and non-working days
Planner and calendar behaviour
Holiday entitlement calculations
Public holiday handling
Event booking rules and booking durations
Multi-week and rotating schedules
Once assigned, working hours configurations are used consistently across planners, calendars, entitlement, reporting, and booking logic.
To reduce setup time and ensure consistency, Sense HR includes a comprehensive set of system default working hours configurations, based on the most common UK working arrangements.
In most cases, you should select one of the system defaults, rather than creating a configuration from scratch.
Navigation path
Sense HR > Settings > Calendar & Planner > Working Hours
Best practice: use system defaults first
System default working hours configurations are designed to cover the majority of UK roles and working arrangements.
Recommended approach:
Review the available system default configurations
Select the one that most closely matches how the employee works
If needed, use More actions (⋯) > Copy to create a tailored version (only edit the default directly if you’re sure it won’t be reused)
Only create a new configuration from scratch if no default is suitable
💡 Tip:
Copying a near-match default is faster and helps keep working hours consistent across your organisation.
For guidance on editing or creating configurations, see:
Clock in / clock out considerations (important)
When choosing a working hours configuration, it’s important to consider whether employees will clock in and out.
Configurations with Daily times
Some system default configurations include specific daily start and end times (for example, 9:00–5:30 or defined shift times).
These configurations are suitable for employees who clock in and out, because:
Start and end times are already defined under Daily schedule > Daily times
Daily hours can be calculated directly from clocking data
Break rules are applied consistently
Time tracking and event durations align correctly
Use these configurations for:
Shift-based roles
Operational teams
Any role where employees record attendance using clock in/out
Configurations without set Daily times
Other working hours configurations do not define daily start and end times. They may specify daily hours without fixed times, or they may omit a daily schedule entirely and rely on contracted hours only.
These configurations:
Are suitable for non-clocking roles
Support flexible or trust-based working arrangements
Rely on contracted hours rather than attendance times
They are not suitable for clock in/out, because:
There are no defined daily times to anchor clocking entries
Clocked time cannot be reliably matched to the schedule
Use these configurations for:
Office-based roles that don’t clock in/out
Flexible working arrangements
Roles where only entitlement and calendar and planner structure are required
Best practice
If employees are required to clock in and out, choose (or copy) a working hours configuration that includes defined daily start and end times.
If employees are not required to clock in and out, you can use either a configuration with defined times or one without fixed times, depending on how structured their working hours are.
This ensures:
Accurate time tracking
Correct contracted hours
Reliable entitlement calculations
Fewer booking and attendance errors
System default working hours configurations
System default working hours configurations
Sense HR includes a set of system default working hours configurations based on the most common UK working arrangements. These defaults are designed to help you choose a suitable starting point quickly, without needing to build configurations from scratch.
Each configuration defines working time using one of the following approaches:
Daily times – predefined start and end times (with optional breaks)
Daily hours – hours per day, without fixed start/end times
No daily schedule – contracted hours only, or fully variable
How time is defined determines whether a configuration is suitable for clock in / clock out roles.
🖊️ Important:
Only configurations that include defined daily start and end times use Daily Times and are suitable for clock in / clock out.
Configurations without start and end times may still define daily hours or contracted hours, but should not be used for clocking.
Below, each configuration is described in terms of:
• Typical use
• How time is defined
• Whether it is suitable for clock in/out
💡 Tip:
System default configurations that include daily times come with predefined start and end times. These are intended as sensible starting points and can be adjusted if your organisation uses slightly different hours.
Standard office-based patterns
Best for: desk-based roles with predictable working days
These configurations reflect common UK office working patterns. Most include predefined daily times, which can be used for clock in/out if required, but they’re often used without clocking.
1. Mon – Fri (8:00–4:30)
Standard full-time office schedule (37.5 hours).
Default daily times: 08:00–16:30 with a 60-minute break (editable).
2. Mon – Fri (8:00–4:00)
Shorter full-week pattern (35 hours), common in schools and councils.
Default daily times: 08:00–16:00 with a 60-minute break (editable).
3. Mon – Fri (9:00–5:00)
Traditional office hours (35 hours).
Default daily times: 09:00–17:00 with a 60-minute break (editable).
4. Mon – Fri (9:00–5:30)
Most common modern UK full-time pattern (37.5 hours).
Default daily times: 09:00–17:30 with a 60-minute break (editable).
5. Mon – Fri (40 Hrs)
Flexible full-time arrangement with no fixed start or end times.
Defines daily hours only (8 hours per day).
Not suitable for clock in/out.
Flexible and public-sector patterns
Best for: organisations that support flexible or non-standard working arrangements
6. Flexi Time (Core Hours)
Designed for flexible working with core availability periods (for example, mid-day core hours).
Uses daily hours rather than fixed start/end times.
Not suitable for clock in/out in its default form.
If clocking is required, start from a standard office-based configuration instead.
7. 9 Day Fortnight
Full-time hours worked across nine days over a two-week cycle (every second Friday off in default).
Default daily times defined; weekly hours averaged across the cycle (editable).
Suitable for clock in/out.
8. Compressed Week (4 Days)
Full-time hours worked across four longer days (typically Mon–Thu).
Default daily times and breaks defined (editable).
Suitable for clock in/out.
Shift-based patterns
Best for: operational, facilities, and service roles
These configurations are specifically designed for shift work and always include daily times, making them suitable for clock in/out.
9. Early Shift
Morning operational cover (default Mon-Fri).
Default daily times: 06:00–14:00 with a break (editable).
10. Late Shift
Afternoon and evening operational cover (default Mon-Fri).
Default daily times: 14:00–22:00 with a break (editable).
11. Night Shift
Overnight working pattern (default Sun–Thu).
Default daily times: 22:00–06:00 with a break (editable).
Extended and rotating shift patterns
Best for: 24/7 operations, healthcare, emergency services
These patterns rotate across multiple days and include daily times, with hours averaged across the full rotation cycle.
12. 12 Hr Shift – 3 on / 3 off (Day)
Day shifts worked in a repeating 3-on / 3-off cycle.
Includes predefined 12-hour daily times (editable).
13. 12 Hr Shift – 3 on / 3 off (Night)
Night shifts worked in a repeating 3-on / 3-off cycle.
Includes predefined 12-hour daily times (editable).
14. 4 on / 4 off (12 Hr)
Four consecutive 12-hour shifts followed by four days off.
Includes predefined 12-hour daily times (editable).
All of these are suitable for clock in/out.
Part-time and specialist patterns
Best for: reduced or limited working arrangements
Clocking suitability varies.
15. Part Time – Half Days
Shorter daily working periods (e.g. mornings only).
Default daily times defined (editable).
Can be used for clock in/out.
16. Weekend Only
Saturday and Sunday working only.
Default daily times defined (editable).
Can be used for clock in/out.
17. Term Time Only
Working limited to school term dates.
Schedule varies by term.
Not suitable for clock in/out.
18. Hybrid 3 Office / 2 Home
Location-based pattern with standard office hours.
No schedule defined but can be configured to include daily times or daily hours.
Rota-based and variable-hours patterns
Best for: roles where working time is variable or controlled externally.
19. Rolling Rota (Retail)
Actual shifts are controlled by a rota and all days marked as working for calendar & planner booking functions.
Times vary.
Not suitable for clock in/out via a fixed schedule.
20. Casual / Zero Hours
No guaranteed weekly hours.
Hours vary.
Not suitable for clock in/out.
21. Annualised Hours
Hours are spread across the year rather than defined weekly.
Not suitable for clock in/out.
22. No Working Pattern
No working hours configuration is assigned.
Use only where there is no predictable structure or contracted hours.
Choosing the right configuration (at a glance)
If your staff are… | Commonly used configurations |
Desk-based office workers | Mon–Fri (9:00–5:30) or (8:00–4:30) |
Councils / public sector | Flexi Time or 9 Day Fortnight |
IT / modern teams | Compressed Week |
Warehouse / facilities | Early or Late Shift |
Security / logistics | Night Shift or 4 on / 4 off |
NHS / care | 3 on / 3 off |
Parents / part-time staff | Part Time – Half Days |
Retail / hospitality | Rolling Rota or Weekend Only |
Casual staff | Casual / Zero Hours |