- Casual
- Weekly
- Factory
- Touring
- Other
Overview
Where an employee’s day starts and ends varies based on their work location, and other factors such as travel and lobby calls.
For some employees, this is straightforward, such as those who always work in the office, from home or on the warehouse floor.
For Touring employees, MPH’s mobile workforce presents unique challenges for shift start and end times!
Regardless of where an employee is working, all employees are required to be clocked-in for work hours using the company’s nominated time tracking software, QuickBooks Workforce. Tracking time accurately is a legal obligation and ensures employees are paid correctly.
That means both the company and employees must apply this policy to clocking in and out.
Work Locations
Working in the Warehouse
Working in the Warehouse means any work undertaken on the warehouse floor at MPH’s Melbourne HQ.
Working in the Office
Working in the Office means any work undertaken in the office spaces at MPH’s Melbourne HQ.
Working at a Job Site
Working at a Job Site means any work undertaken where an MPH Job is being set up, operated, or packed down, and any work not at the MPH Warehouse. Site inspections are included.
Working from Home
Travel
Regular Commute
A Regular Commute is defined as recurring travel between a place of residence and a place of work. For MPH employees this means travel between:
- Their home or accommodation; and
- the MPH Warehouse; or
- a Job Site; or
- an airport.
Employees do not clock on for their Regular Commute and are not paid however, a Vehicle Allowance may apply for employees who are being accommodated distantly to Jobs and using their personal vehicle to travel to and from the Job Site.
Some examples,
👉🏼 Vitto lives in Frankston (an outer suburb of Melbourne) and uses public transport to get to the MPH Warehouse. It takes 2.5 hours to travel to MPH.
Vitto’s travel to the warehouse is not paid as this is a Regular Commute to work.
👉🏼 Craigos is from Sydney and working on a Job at QPAC in Brisbane; he’s being accommodated by an MPH client at a hotel 10min from the Job Site.
Craig catches an Uber from his accommodation to the hotel, and back, each day. This travel is considered a Regular Commute.
Craig’s day starts and ends at the Job Site and that is where he clocks-in and out for his workday (but in this example, Craig is entitled to submit a claim to reimburse his Uber expenses, which will be reimbursed in full as he is not in his City of Residence).
👉🏼 Carly is schedule to fly from Sydney to Melbourne for Job prep, but she lives 1.5h from Sydney airport. Carly’s travel to the airport is a Regular Commute and is not paid. She will be paid from 1h before her scheduled flight departure time.
Travel during the course of a workday
If an employee is required to travel for work during their workday they are clocked-on and a Vehicle Allowance may apply if operating a personal vehicle, for example,
👉🏼 Mason arrives at the MPH warehouse, loads a truck, then drives his own car to the Job Site in Geelong to continue his workday. This is not a Regular Commute; Mason is on the clock while he is travelling and the Vehicle Allowance also applies (Mason makes a reimbursement claim for the kilometres travelled).
👉🏼 Jarrod is requested by the Technical Supervisor to leave a Job Site to pick up some urgently required tarps to protect MPH equipment from rain at an outdoor gig. They take their own car as there’s no work vehicle available, they remain clocked-on for the duration of the trip and can claim a Vehicle Allowance for the kilometres travelled.
Where employees start their workday, and clock-in, is dictated by the Schedule and may only be varied with the express permission of their manager.
Examples
| Travel between | Condition / allowance paid |
|---|---|
| Home and MPH warehouse | Regular Commute;
|
| Home and Job Site | Regular Commute;
|
| MPH provided accommodation and Job Site | Regular Commute;
|
| MPH warehouse to Job Site | If workday was scheduled to start at the Warehouse;
|
| Job Site A to Job Site B |
|
| Job Site and Warehouse or Accommodation for personal reasons | Eg. Chose to park car at the Warehouse, forgot a personal item. Heading out to buy lunch or run a personal errand.
|
Air travel
When employees are required to travel by air to or from their work location this will either be Tour Travel Hours or a Tour Travel Day.
Employees are clocked-in for Tour Travel Hours but are not required to clock-in for a Tour Travel Day.
Tour Groups (“lobby call”)
When a formal call time is scheduled for employees to meet at a designated location and undertake certain duties together, they are considered to be traveling as part of a Tour Group.
Employees’ clock-on when they arrive at the designated meeting point and at the scheduled time. This is often referred to as a “lobby call” but may not always been in a hotel lobby!
Traveling as a Tour Group is defined as:
When the Production Schedule requires people to meet at a designated location and time to complete travel duties together (for example, group check-in/out for a flight, or meeting in a hotel lobby for group transport), and then travel on the same mode of transport together (for example, a flight, a bus).
It is not considered a Tour Group when:
- Two or more people share an Uber between the airport, hotel and a venue voluntarily
- A “production runner” is available but not required to ferry employees between accommodation and a venue
- Carpooling; two or more employees choose to travel in a personal vehicle to a Job site
- Two or more people travelling on the same flight meet to undertake check-in together but there is no requirement per the Production Schedule to do so
- Employees may choose to check-in together, but this is not considered a Tour Group
Scheduled Start Times
The Scheduled Start Time is the shift start time nominated in the Workforce Schedule.
Employees are paid from the Scheduled Start Time.
If an employee chooses to start work early, they are not paid for that time, and it is strongly discouraged by the company.
If an employee arrives to work after their Scheduled Start Time (i.e. they are late to work) then they are paid from the time they are Ready to Work and clocked-in.
Summary
When to clock-in for MPH workdays;
| Work location | When and where to clock-in |
| Working from home | Clock-in at your desk when Ready to Work and at the Scheduled Start Time. Must also meet the Working from Home policy. |
| Working at the Warehouse | Clock-in in in the warehouse building when Ready for Work and at the Scheduled Start Time. |
| Working at a Job Site | Clock-in at the Job Site when Ready to Work and at the Scheduled Start Time, unless travelling with a Tour Group. |
| Air travel | Clock-in on arrival at airport. The Payroll Officer will adjust the clock-in time to be one hour before the Scheduled Departure Time. |
| Travelling with a Tour Group | Clock in at the location designated by the Production Schedule when Ready to Work and at the Scheduled Start Time. |
Clocked-in
Clocked-in means the employee has instructed Workforce to start tracking their working time, indicated by visualising the time-counting animation.
See the Using QuickBooks Workforce process for a detailed guide to using the software.
Ready to Work
Ready to Work means an employee is currently able to contribute to the completion of work tasks. Being Ready for Work means the employee arrives at the designated work site, at the scheduled time,
- Having attended to personal care tasks (coffee, toilet, phone calls, social media, etc)
- Wearing suitable work attire including PPE; and
- Having appropriately fuelled themselves for the work shift ahead; and
- Unaffected by drugs or alcohol (per Drug and Alcohol policy); and
- Physically and mentally fit to perform work per the Position Description.
For example,
✅ Taylor is scheduled to start work at 08:30 but arrives at work at 08:15 and attends to some personal care (have a coffee and go to the toilet). They are Ready to Work at 08:30, and Clock-in to start the day. YeeHaw!
❌ Jett is scheduled to start work at 16:00. They arrive at 15:45, clock-in, call their mate, have a chat to the guys painting the warehouse, smoke a cigarette and are Ready to Work at 16:25.
Not acceptable – Jett should have been ready for work at the Scheduled Start Time but at least clocked in at 16:25!
❌ Hunter is scheduled to start work on a Job site at 08:00. Eli who is scheduled to start at 07:00 on the same job picks him up on his way to work as they live in the same suburb. Eli and Hunter arrive on-site and clock-in for the day at 07:00.
Eli starts the rigging load-in and Hunter heads to catering to get a coffee, some breaky and chills (while on the clock!) until his scheduled start time at 08:00.
Not Acceptable. While Eli clocked-in correctly at his scheduled start time, Hunter wasn’t scheduled to start until 08:00 and that is when he should have clocked-in.
If an employee is requested by a client or supervisor to start earlier than a scheduled start time, this must be explicitly approved by the Duty Manager or Crew and Logistics Manager beforehand.
If the employee is Ready to Work, but cannot do any work (for example, building is locked; cannot access the internet; gate is inaccessible; truck has not arrived), the employee clocks on at the Scheduled Start Time, reports the issue to their manager, and awaits direction.
Scheduled End Times
The Scheduled End Time is the shift end time nominated in the Workforce Schedule. Scheduled End Times are a best estimate on when work is likely to be completed on that day – but may not represent the exact time a workday will end. The actual end time may be earlier or later than scheduled.
The Working Times | Rostering policy outlines provides detail on the estimated shift lengths that are added to the Schedule.
Summary
| Work location | When and where to clock-out |
| Working at the Warehouse | End the Workday when Work is Complete. |
| Working at a Job Site | End the Workday at the Job Site, when Work is Complete. |
| Working from home | End the Workday when Work is Complete. Must also meet the Working from Home policy. |
| Air travel | Clock-out at the arrival airport. The Payroll Officer will adjust the clock-out time to be 30 minutes after the Actual Arrival Time. |
| Travelling with a Tour Group | End the Workday when Work is Complete.
This may mean at the hotel, after group check-in and once handed a room key. |
Clocking-out
Clocking-out happens when Work is Complete and the employee clicks the “Clock out” button in the Workforce program, indicated by visualising the “clock on” button re-appearing and seeing the timer animation stop, sometimes accompanied with celebratory audio fanfare🎺.
See also: the Using QuickBooks Workforce guide
Work is Complete
Work is Complete means:
- There are no more tasks to be completed on the day; and
- End of shift tasks have been completed (for example, site made safe, bins emptied, etc); and
- The employee has notified their manager or supervisor they are departing (by instant message is acceptable if the manager is not available in person).
If Work is Complete prior to a Scheduled End Time, that is when the employee Ends the Workday (Minimum Call Times always apply).
Remaining at work after Work is Complete
Employees may remain at work to socialise or attend to personal care after Work is Complete and they have clocked-out but this time is not paid. For example,
✅ Taylor and their crew are scheduled to finish work at 22:30 but Work is Complete at 22:15. They End the Workday by clocking out at 22:15 but stay back to chat to for 15 mins before leaving site.
Nice! This is appropriate – the company does not pay staff for after-work socialising.
❌ Jett’s Scheduled End Time is 16:00 and Work is Complete at that time. Before Ending the Workday they call their mechanic, get a snack and have a cigarette; leaving the warehouse at 16:35 and clock out in their car at 16:40.
Not acceptable – Jett should have Ended the Workday at 16:00 when Work was Complete. Time theft is never ok ☹
❌ Hunter and their crew just finished the load-out for the last show of a tour 🥳Work is done at 00:30 when the last truck leaves. The promoter has put on an end of tour party at the venue for all crew. Hunter decides to attend while everyone else heads back to their accomm (and clocks off at the venue before leaving). Hunter stays until the end of the party and doesn’t clock out until 02:00 when back at their hotel.
Not Acceptable – Hunter should have clocked-out at 00:30 when the work was complete.