HRDG 4610 - Tours of Duty - Section B

Last Modified: April 15, 2024
Subchapter 4610
Tours of Duty
Section B - Weekly and Daily Scheduling of Work

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Establishment of Workweeks

Agency Administrators or their designee will establish for each full-time employee by regulation:

  • A basic workweek of 40 hours that does not extend more than 6 days of the administrative workweek, and
  • A regularly scheduled administrative workweek that consists of the employee's established 40-hour basic workweek, plus the period of regular overtime work, if any, required of the employee.
Establishment of Work Schedules

When establishing work schedules ensure that:

  • Assignments to tours of duty are scheduled in advance of the administrative workweek over periods of not less than 1 week;
  • The basic 40-hour workweek is scheduled on 5 days, Monday through Friday when possible, and the 2 days outside the basic workweek are consecutive;
  • The working hours in each day in the basic workweek are the same;
  • The basic non-overtime workday may not exceed 8 hours;
  • The occurrence of holidays may not affect the designation of the basic workweek; and
  • Breaks in working hours of more than 1 hour may not be scheduled in a basic workday.
Tours Without Definite Hours

When it is not practical to prescribe a regular schedule of definite hours of duty for each workday of a regularly scheduled administrative workweek, the head of the agency may establish the first 40 hours of duty performed within a period of not more than 6 days of the administrative workweek as the basic workweek. This tour should not be used for the convenience of the employee.

A first 40-hour tour of duty is the basic workweek without the requirement for specific days and hours within the administrative workweek. All work performed by an employee within the first 40 hours is considered regularly scheduled work for premium pay and hours of duty purposes. Any additional hours of officially ordered or approved work within the administrative workweek are overtime hours.

Employees also may be assigned to a first-8-hour indefinite tour of duty if the required workdays are known, but the hours of each day are not.

Establishment of Flexible and Compressed Schedules

When the Administrator or his/her designee establishes a flexible or compressed work schedule, he/she will establish a basic work requirement for each employee. A flexible or compressed work schedule is a scheduled tour of duty and all work performed by an employee within the basic work requirement is considered regularly scheduled work for premium pay and hours of duty purposes

Note: For detailed information on specific tours which are available, refer to the section of the Guide dealing with the specific tour.

Work Schedules Must Correspond to Work RequirementsThe Administrator or his/her designee will schedule the work of his/her employees to accomplish the mission of the agency. The head of the agency will schedule an employee's regularly scheduled administrative workweek so that it corresponds with the employee's actual work requirements.
Rescheduling Workweek to Correspond with Work RequirementsWhen the supervisor knows in advance of the start of an administrative Workweek to workweek that the specific days and hours actually required of an employee in that administration workweek will differ from those required in the current administrative workweek, he/she will reschedule the employee's regularly scheduled administrative workweek to correspond with those specific days and hours (5 CFR 610.121 [b][2]). Refer to the section of the Guide dealing with the applicable tour for more specific guidance. The supervisor will inform the employee of the change, which will be recorded on the employee's T&A report, in the “Established Workweek and Hours” block.
Travel on Official TimeTo the extent possible, travel should be scheduled during duty hours. When this is not possible then, at the employee's request he/she will be provided a statement recording the reasons travel was not scheduled during duty hours and overtime was not authorized.

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