Support Per Contractor Working Hours Settings/ Definitions

Summary

Contractor working hours definitions are currently applied globally across all contractors, rather than being configurable per contractor. This creates limitations where contractors operate under different billing patterns.

Current System Behaviour

The system currently allows configuration of:

• One instance of Contractor normal working hours (Mon–Fri)

• One instance of Contractor out of hours working (Mon–Fri)

These settings:

• Apply universally to all contractors

• Cannot be customised at an individual contractor level

This sits alongside expanded functionality introduced in contractor response times and rate settings, but remains globally constrained.

Example:
Gas Contractors may have 07:00-16:00 billable as In Hours
Handyman may have 09:00-17:00 billable as In Hours

Currently, a compromise must be made, as the system cannot support this differentiation.

Business Impact

• Inaccurate classification of jobs as in-hours vs out-of-hours

• Incorrect rate application in some scenarios

• Operational workarounds required to align system behaviour with real-world contracts

Suggested Improvement

Introduce the ability to define working hours per contractor, including:

• Contractor-specific normal working hours (Mon–Fri) definitions

• Contractor-specific out-of-hours definitions

This could be implemented as:

• A per-contractor override of the global defaults

• With global settings retained as a fallback where contractor-specific values are not defined

Expected Outcome

• Alignment between contractor-specific agreements and system behaviour

• Improved accuracy in rate application

• Reduction in manual workarounds

• Further closure of the gap between rate cards and operational reality