52 terms defined in plain English, grouped by where you actually encounter them.
Last reviewed August 2026 · TimeWorked · General information, not legal or tax advice
52 terms that turn up on timesheets, pay stubs and in wage-and-hour disputes, grouped by where you meet them. Where a term has a page of its own, it is linked.
Hours and time
Actual hours
Time genuinely worked, recorded to the minute, before any rounding or deduction.
Bona fide meal period
A break of normally 30 minutes or more during which the employee is completely relieved of duty. Only then may it be unpaid.
Clock in / clock out
The act of recording the start or end of a work period. Also called punching in and out.
Compensable time
Time an employer must pay for. Includes most short breaks, required training, and work before or after a shift the employer knew about.
Decimal hours
Time expressed as a number with a fractional part, where minutes are sixtieths. 7 hours 45 minutes is 7.75 decimal hours.
Exception time
Any deviation from a standard schedule — overtime, leave, a short day — that is recorded separately.
Hours worked
The statutory concept of time that counts toward minimum wage and overtime obligations. Broader than time spent on core duties.
On-call time
Time an employee must remain available. Compensable when the constraints are tight enough that the employee cannot use the time freely.
Rounding
Adjusting punch times to a fixed increment such as the nearest quarter hour. Lawful federally only if neutral over time.
Split shift
A workday divided into two or more segments separated by an unpaid, non-working interval longer than a normal break.
Straight time
Hours paid at the base rate, with no overtime premium.
Tenth of an hour
Six minutes. The billing increment used by many professional services firms and payroll systems.
Workweek
A fixed, recurring period of 168 consecutive hours chosen by the employer. Overtime is calculated within it, independently of the pay period.
Pay and rates
Base rate
The contracted hourly wage, before differentials, bonuses or premiums.
Blended rate
A weighted average rate used when an employee works at two or more hourly rates in the same workweek.
Comp time
Paid time off given instead of an overtime premium. Generally not permitted for private-sector employers in the US.
Differential
Extra pay attached to a circumstance rather than to extra hours — night shift, weekend, hazardous work.
Double time
Pay at twice the regular rate. Required by California in defined circumstances; otherwise a matter of contract.
Gross pay
Total earnings before any tax or deduction. Every figure on TimeWorked is gross.
Net pay
What actually reaches your account after tax, insurance, retirement contributions and other deductions.
Non-discretionary bonus
A bonus promised in advance or paid to a formula. Must be included in the regular rate for overtime purposes.
Overtime premium
The extra amount above straight time for overtime hours. On time-and-a-half it is half the regular rate.
Piece rate
Pay per unit produced rather than per hour. Overtime is still owed, based on a regular rate derived from total earnings.
Regular rate
Total includable weekly pay divided by hours worked. The figure overtime multiples are applied to — usually higher than the base rate.
Retro pay
A correction paid later for wages that should have been paid earlier, such as an overtime true-up after a quarterly bonus.
Shift premium
See differential.
Time and a half
Pay at 1.5× the regular rate. The standard overtime rate in most jurisdictions.
Classification and law
Exempt employee
An employee excluded from overtime protections. Requires salary basis, a minimum salary level and qualifying duties — all three.
FLSA
The Fair Labor Standards Act, the US federal statute governing minimum wage, overtime and recordkeeping.
Independent contractor
A worker in business for themselves rather than an employee. Not covered by FLSA overtime, and frequently misclassified.
Misclassification
Treating an employee as exempt or as a contractor when the legal tests are not met. A common source of back-pay liability.
Non-exempt employee
An employee entitled to minimum wage and overtime. Most hourly workers, and many salaried ones.
Salary basis
Being paid a predetermined amount each period that does not vary with the quality or quantity of work.
Salary level test
The minimum salary an employee must receive to be exempt. $684 a week federally; higher in several states.
Wage and Hour Division
The US Department of Labor agency that enforces the FLSA and takes wage complaints.
White-collar exemptions
The executive, administrative, professional, computer and outside sales exemptions from overtime.
Leave and scheduling
Accrual
Earning leave gradually — per hour worked, per pay period, or per month.
Accrual cap
A ceiling on the leave balance. You keep what you have but stop earning more until you take some.
Carryover
Leave permitted to cross into the next leave year. Often capped, with the excess forfeited.
FTE
Full-time equivalent. A schedule expressed as a fraction of a full-time year, normally 2,080 hours.
Front-loading
Granting a full year's leave allowance at once rather than accruing it.
PTO
Paid time off. Often a single bank covering vacation and sick leave together.
Predictive scheduling
Local laws requiring advance notice of schedules and premium pay for late changes.
Use it or lose it
A policy zeroing unused leave at year end. Unlawful in states that treat accrued vacation as earned wages.
Pay cycles and admin
Arrears
Paying for a period after it has ended. Nearly all payroll runs in arrears.
Biweekly
Every 14 days — 26 paydays a year, always on the same weekday.
Lag time
The gap between a pay period closing and the payday, allowing time to process timesheets.
Pay period
The span of time one paycheque covers. Distinct from the workweek used for overtime.
Payroll cut-off
The deadline for submitting timesheets before a payroll run closes.
Semi-monthly
Twice a calendar month on fixed dates — 24 paydays a year, on a drifting weekday.
Timesheet approval
Sign-off by a manager confirming recorded hours. Does not override the obligation to pay for time actually worked.
True-up
A later adjustment correcting an earlier estimate, such as overtime recalculated after a bonus is allocated.
The four that cause the most trouble
Workweek vs pay period. Overtime is calculated per workweek. A biweekly cheque covers two workweeks and they are assessed separately — see pay periods explained.
Base rate vs regular rate. Overtime multiplies the regular rate, which includes bonuses and differentials — see the regular rate of pay.
Salaried vs exempt. Being paid a salary is one of three conditions for exemption, not a synonym for it.
Decimal hours vs hours and minutes. 7.45 is not 7 hours 45 minutes — see the minutes to decimal chart.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a workweek and a pay period?
A workweek is a fixed 168-hour period used to calculate overtime. A pay period is the span one paycheque covers. They often differ, and overtime is always assessed per workweek.
What does non-exempt mean on a pay stub?
That you are entitled to minimum wage and overtime protections under the FLSA. Exempt means you are excluded from them, which requires meeting a salary basis test, a salary level test and a duties test.
What is straight time?
Hours paid at the base rate with no overtime premium — the hours below your overtime threshold.
What does true-up mean in payroll?
A later correction to an earlier figure. The common case is recalculating overtime after a quarterly bonus is allocated back to the weeks it was earned in.
What is a blended rate?
A weighted average used when someone works at two or more hourly rates in the same week: total earnings divided by total hours worked.
What does FTE stand for?
Full-time equivalent — a schedule expressed as a fraction of a full-time year, normally 2,080 hours. Someone working 32 hours a week is 0.8 FTE.