Guide to Dayforce Entitlements
/blog-guide-to-dayforce-entitlements
2025-09-17
Entitlements in Dayforce are the foundation for managing time-off, leave, and other employee benefit balances.
They determine how employees accrue, use, and track their time against policies such as vacation, sick time, and personal leave.
Getting entitlements right ensures compliance, accurate payroll, and a better employee experience.
Table of Contents:
Introduction to Entitlements in Dayforce
Types of Dayforce Entitlements
Accrual Methods
Key Configuration Considerations
Interaction with Scheduling & Payroll
Common Challenges & Best Practices
Employee Self-Service
1. What Are Entitlements in Dayforce?
Entitlements represent the rules and balances that govern an employee’s eligibility to take time off or use a benefit.
They define:
Accrual rules (e.g., hours earned per pay period, annual allotments).
Carryover limits (what balances move into the next year).
Eligibility criteria (e.g., based on employee type, union, or tenure).
Usage restrictions (such as minimum notice or waiting periods).
2. Types of Entitlements
Dayforce entitlements are typically set up for:
Vacation / Annual Leave – Standard time-off earned and used.
Sick Time – May have legal requirements depending on location.
Personal or Floating Days – Extra time off not tied to vacation or sick categories.
LOAs (Leaves of Absence) – Maternity, parental, medical, or other extended leaves.
Other Custom Benefits – Such as volunteer days, wellness time, or sabbaticals.
3. Accrual Methods
Different companies use different accrual strategies.
Dayforce supports:
Lump-Sum Grants – Employees receive their full entitlement at the start of the year.
Per-Pay-Period Accruals – Time is earned gradually with each pay run.
Anniversary Accruals – Based on hire date milestones.
Tenure-Based Accruals – Accrual rates increase after certain service thresholds.
4. Key Configuration Considerations
When setting up entitlements in Dayforce, you’ll want to define:
Proration Rules – For new hires or terminations mid-year.
Carryover Limits & Expiry Dates – To enforce policy compliance.
Negative Balances – Whether employees can go into the red.
Eligibility Groups – Narrowing entitlements to specific employee classes.
Compliance Alignment – Ensuring policies meet federal, provincial/state, or union rules.
5. Interaction with Scheduling & Payroll
Entitlements are tightly connected to other Dayforce modules:
Scheduling – Prevents scheduling employees during approved leave.
Payroll – Ensures payouts for vacation or leave align with balances.
Timesheets – Allows employees to request time off against available balances.
6. Common Challenges & Best Practices
Organizations often face issues when entitlements are misconfigured.
Some common pitfalls include:
Employees seeing incorrect balances.
Carryover not processing properly at year-end.
Different accrual rates for union vs. non-union staff not being reflected.
Leave policies not aligned with local labor laws.
Best practices for Dayforce Entitlements include:
Documenting all policies before setup.
Running parallel testing before going live.
Reviewing entitlements annually for compliance.
Using reporting to audit usage and ensure accuracy.
7. Employee Self-Service
Employees can view and manage their entitlements in the Dayforce self-service portal:
Balance Tracking – See vacation, sick, and other balances in real time.
Request Submission – Submit time-off requests with visibility into availability.
Approval Workflows – Managers can approve/deny requests with entitlement rules enforced.
Key Takeaways
Configuring Dayforce Entitlements correctly ensures compliance and transparency across your organization.
Whether you’re implementing Dayforce for the first time or reviewing existing policies, understanding entitlements is a key step in optimizing your workforce management.
Need help with Entitlements in Dayforce? Talk with one of our Dayforce experts.
