Workweek

What Is a Workweek?

A workweek is any seven, consecutive 24-hour periods established by an employer, for a total of 168 hours in a workweek.

The workweek may start on any day of the week. For example, some employers may choose to start their company’s workweek on Monday and end on Sunday, while others will start on Thursday and end on Wednesday.

On an individual basis, a workweek may refer to the number of hours an employee works during those seven consecutives 24-hour periods. For example, most full-time wageworkers work 40 out of the 168 hours. 

For hourly workers, any additional time worked beyond 40 hours during a workweek is categorized in payroll as overtime pay and paid at an increased rate.

Meanwhile, salaried employees, also known as “exempt”, employees, have no limit to the number of hours they can work during a workweek, receiving a fixed salary no matter how many hours they work.

Can I Change My Company’s Workweek?

You can change your business’s workweek, but there must be a legitimate reason for doing so. For example, let’s say your business was previously closed on Monday, and you used that as the start of your workweek. Then, you decide to remain open on Mondays and instead close on Saturdays. In that case, you would want to change the beginning of your workweek to Saturday.

A word of caution: changing the workweek too frequently may make it appear as though you’re trying to avoid paying your employees overtime wages.

How Do I Choose When to Start My Workweek?

Employers should start their company’s official workweek on a day when their employees don’t work. It is much easier to calculate payroll when your employees are not actively gaining hours.

For example, say your business is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 AM to 7 PM. While the workweek would technically start on Tuesday for your employees, having an official start on Monday will make it easier to differentiate overtime hours from regular hours.

Using Multiple Workweeks

But what if your business runs seven days a week? The best way to approach this is to create multiple workweeks that apply to different groups of employees.

For example, say your business has three different work schedules: Monday through Friday, Tuesday through Saturday, and Wednesday through Sunday. Each of those work schedule groups could have different workweeks, starting on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday respectively. This would allow you to calculate overtime and regular pay on a day those employees do not work.