Should you pay rostered hours or clocked time?

Updated 28 September 2026

Once your team clocks in, you have to decide which hours you pay: exactly what the clock says, or what was rostered. There are three common approaches.

1. Pay clocked time

Clock-in to clock-out, less the breaks recorded. A 28-minute break on an 8-hour shift pays 7.53 hours.

Good for: workplaces without rosters, or where start times genuinely vary. Watch out for: people clocking in early and chatting before their shift, or forgetting to record breaks. Ask at clock-out whether the break was taken.

2. Pay rostered hours

The roster is paid whatever the clock says: a 9–5 with a 30-minute break pays 7.5 hours. Arriving late, leaving early and staying back are flagged for a manager to adjust.

Good for: hospitality and retail with stable rosters. It’s predictable, and early clock-ins don’t creep into pay. Watch out for: genuine extra time. Someone who stays back 40 minutes to close should be paid for it, so review the “stayed back” flags.

3. Clocked time, less the rostered break

Real start and finish times, with the rostered break always taken off (a longer break comes off in full). If someone worked through their break, they say so at clock-out and a manager checks it.

Good for: teams whose hours vary but whose breaks are set.

Rounding

Some businesses round clock-in and clock-out times to the nearest few minutes for pay. If you do, keep the raw times alongside and check that rounding is allowed for your award or contract and doesn’t consistently favour you. See timesheet rounding explained.

Whatever you choose

Tell your staff which method you use.
Keep the punches as they happened, even when you pay the roster.
Review flags before approving, so exceptions are paid fairly.

How Vaultime helps

Vaultime supports all three (Settings → How clocked time is paid) and shows both clocked and paid hours on every entry, so nothing is hidden. See how rosters and clock-in work together.