Overtime approval record
An approval record is the ledger behind the requests. One line per occasion, showing hours asked for, hours actually worked, who authorised them and what they were for. Kept monthly, it answers questions the individual forms cannot.
Maintained by whoever owns the roster, and read at month end. The request form authorises. This log accounts.
Additional hours log — ____________ (month) Date | Employee | Authorised hours | Hours worked | Reason code | Authorised by | Settled as __ / __ | Employee name | __.__ | __.__ | Incident / deadline / cover | Manager name | Pay / time off __ / __ | Employee name | __.__ | __.__ | Incident / deadline / cover | Manager name | Pay / time off Month total | | __.__ | __.__ | | | Reason codes should be a short fixed list. A free-text reason column cannot be counted, which defeats the log.
How to fill it in
- Keep both hour columns. Authorised against worked is the single most useful comparison in the sheet. One column loses it.
- Use a fixed list of reason codes. Four or five codes. Then you can count them, and the count tells you which part of the operation is short-staffed.
- Name the authoriser every time. Patterns by manager appear fast, and they are usually worth a conversation.
- Close the log at month end. Draw a line, total it, and start a new sheet. A log that never closes never gets read.
The hours behind this log come from the attendance record in PeopleMuster, where each date carries check-in, check-out and total working hours. Where the hours come from.
Questions people ask about this letter
How long should this log be kept?
Follow your own record-keeping period. Working-time records have a statutory retention period in many countries, and it is not the same one everywhere.
What does it mean when worked hours keep exceeding authorised ones?
The estimate is wrong or the approval is a formality. Either way the gap is the finding, and it is worth more than the totals.
Should time in lieu appear in the same log?
Yes, in the settled column. Splitting it into a second sheet hides how much of the extra time is still owed.