Creating a Break Policy

In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the process of creating and managing break policies in the Citadel web portal. Whether you need to establish a new break policy, add or remove rules from an existing policy, or assign policies to departments or individual user profiles, this article provides step-by-step instructions for efficient break policy management.

To complete the steps in this article, you must be an administrator or have the necessary view and/or edit permissions enabled. If you believe you should be able to complete the steps and are not able to, reach out to your account administrator to discuss updating the settings for your Role.

All changes made to a policy will apply to all users assigned to that policy. 

Create a new break policy:

1. Log into your Citadel web portal.
2. Click on Policies in the side menu.
3. Go to the Break section.
4. Click the Add New button.
5. Enter a Policy Name for the break policy. This name is displayed when adding policies to users or departments.
6. Select the type of break from the dropdown list:
   • Rest
   • Meal
7. Select whether the break is paid. If the break is paid, you have the option to add how much of the break is paid.
8. Select the punch type for the break:
   • Standard - users will punch in and out for their break using a time clock, smartphone app, or web portal. If you select standard, you can set a minimum break length to prevent employees from clocking back in early.
   • Auto - the break will automatically be applied to time cards. You will need to select if the break is reoccurring, how long after the user punches in that the break is applied, and how long the break is.
9. If you have multiple breaks, add another rule by clicking + Add a New Break Rule. Each policy can have one Meal Break rule and multiple Rest Break rules that are applied automatically if they do not contradict i.e. two rules at the same time.
10. Once all break rules have been added to the break policy, click Save.

Add a break rule to an existing break policy:

1. Log into your Citadel web portal.
2. Click on Policies in the side menu.
3. Select the break policy you want to update. 
4. Click + Add a New Break Rule and enter the details for the Meal or Rest break. 
5. Once all the break Rules have been added to the break policy, click Save.

Remove a break rule from an existing break policy:

1. Log into your Citadel web portal.
2. Click on Policies in the side menu.
3. Select the break policy you want to update.
4. Click X Remove to delete the break rule.
5. Click Save to update the policy.

Add a break policy to a department:

1. Log into your Citadel web portal.
2. Click on Places in the side menu.
3. Go to the Departments section.
4. Select the department to which you want to assign the break policy.
5. Click on the Policies subtab.
6. Click + Assign or Replace Policy on the top right-hand side of the page.
7. Select Break.
8. Select the policy you want to assign from the dropdown menu.
9. If there was no previous policy of that type, the new policy will be automatically added.
10. If there was a previous policy of that type, confirm the changes by clicking Confirm and Assign to apply the policy changes.
11. Click Save to update your changes.

Note: If a person has a policy type already assigned, adding or replacing a policy at the department level will not override the individual policy. You will need to update the person's policy accordingly.

Add a break policy to a user's profile:

1. Log into your Citadel web portal.

2. Click on People in the side menu.
3. Select the user to whom you want to assign the break policy.
4. Click on the Policies subtab under their name.
5. Click + Assign or Replace Policy on the top right-hand side of the page.
6. Select Break.
7. Select the break policy you want to assign from the dropdown menu.
8. If there was no previous policy of that type, the new policy is automatically added. If there was a previous policy of that type, confirm the changes by clicking Confirm and Assign to apply the policy changes.
9. Click Save to update your changes.

A note about auto punches:

• Automated meal and rest punches will be applied at specific time intervals. For instance, if a 30-minute meal break will be automatically applied after 4 hours, then the meal will be applied from 4 hours to 4 hours 30 minutes. If the employee only works to the 4 hour mark, the meal break will not be applied. 
• Only one reoccurring break rule can be automated per break policy. Automated breaks cannot overlap.