Management by exception means that you do not check every record, only the deviations from norms set in advance. For time registration and payroll checks, this comes down to a set of fixed rules, such as a missing check-out or more than 9 hours in a day, that automatically alert the right person.
An example: a company with 80 employees on different sites easily processes more than 1,600 daily records a month. Reading them all takes days and still misses errors. Looking only at the exceptions often leaves just a few dozen.
Why it gets expensive when deviations only surface during payroll processing is explained in our article on deviations that are confirmed too late (in Dutch). This article is about the rules themselves: which ones, with which threshold and for whom.
In this article you will read what management by exception is, how it works, which exception rules fit Belgian time and payroll data, how to set and review thresholds, which pitfalls to avoid and who handles which deviation.
What is management by exception?
The principle is more than a century old. Frederick W. Taylor described the “exception principle” in Shop Management (1903). The manager receives concise, comparative reports in which only the exceptions to averages or standards are marked. This covers both remarkably good and remarkably bad results.
A well-known later elaboration is the book Management by Exception: Systematizing and Simplifying the Managerial Job by Lester R. Bittel (McGraw-Hill, 1964). In accounting, the method is applied today to budgets and costs.
The translation to time registration and payroll in this article is our own practical interpretation. The idea stays the same: you decide in advance what is normal, and only what deviates from it needs attention.
How does management by exception work in practice?
Management by exception rests on a norm, a threshold and a clear way of handling deviations. Small deviations are resolved low in the organisation; only significant deviations go to management. Thresholds can be amounts, percentages, frequencies or ranges.
- Norm: what do you expect? For example a daily schedule of 8 hours, or one meal voucher per day worked.
- Threshold: from what point is a deviation worth a look? For example more than 9 hours in a day.
- Alert: the system automatically flags every record that exceeds the threshold.
- Handling: the person responsible confirms, corrects or escalates the deviation, with a short reason.
- Follow-up: you regularly check whether the norms and thresholds are still right.
Everything within the norms goes on to payroll preparation without extra checks. This way you spend your checking time on the records that really matter. In an audit, you also have an overview of which exceptions occurred and how they were resolved.
Which exception rules do you use for time registration and payroll?
The table below brings together rules that lend themselves well to automatic checks. Some are based on Belgian working time legislation, others are your own control rules. The example thresholds are a starting point, not a legal value, unless explicitly stated.
| Exception rule | Alert when | Basis or reason |
|---|---|---|
| Missing check-out | A record is still open the next morning | Without an end time, the hours worked are wrong |
| More than 9 hours per day | Daily total above 9 hours | Overtime: in principle 50% overtime pay, 100% on Sundays and public holidays |
| More than 40 hours per week | Weekly total above 40 hours | Overtime on a weekly basis, with the same overtime pay rules |
| Daily maximum of 11 hours | Daily total above 11 hours | Legal daily limit, also when overtime is permitted |
| Weekly maximum of 50 hours | Weekly total above 50 hours | Legal weekly limit, also when overtime is permitted |
| Internal limit of 143 hours | Counter of overtime hours not yet compensated approaches the limit, for example from 115 hours | When the limit is reached, compensatory rest in principle comes first |
| Voluntary overtime quota | Annual counter approaches 360 hours, or 450 hours in hospitality with a registered cash system | Since 1 April 2026; requires the employee’s prior written agreement |
| Meal vouchers and days worked | Number of vouchers differs from the number of days actually worked | Sickness, holidays, public holidays, compensatory rest and temporary unemployment do not count |
| Check-in far from the site | Location at check-in is further than, for example, 1 km from the site address | Possibly the wrong site selected or checked in on the way |
| Leave or sickness on a day worked | Hours worked on a day with approved leave or a sickness report | One of the two records is wrong |
| Expenses without receipt | Expense claim without a photo of the receipt or invoice | Without a receipt, payroll cannot verify the reimbursement |
Be careful with overtime: not every hour above 9 or 40 hours gives overtime pay. Since 1 April 2026, an employee can work up to 360 voluntary overtime hours a year, or 450 in hospitality with a registered cash system. Voluntary overtime requires no compensatory rest, and for part of it “gross = net” applies: no overtime pay, no social security contributions and no tax. The alert “more than 9 hours” therefore means: check which regime applies.
For meal vouchers, a company with different work schedules may use an alternative calculation based on hours: hours worked divided by the normal daily working time. This is only allowed if it is set out in a collective labour agreement or the work rules. In that case, record that calculation as the norm, otherwise the rule produces false alerts.
Sector agreements per joint committee may contain different or stricter limits. Only add them as an extra rule after you have checked the text of your own agreement.
How do you set thresholds and when do you review them?
A threshold must be sharp enough to catch real errors, but not so sharp that every small deviation triggers an alert. This step-by-step plan gets you started.
- Start with the legal limits from the table; there the threshold is already fixed.
- For counters, choose an early alert, for example at 80% of the internal limit or the quota, so there is still time to adjust.
- First let the rules run for one month without notifying anyone, and count how many alerts each rule produces.
- Adjust one of your own control rules if it mainly flags legitimate situations, for example a location radius that is too small for a large site.
- Review all thresholds at least every quarter, and whenever the legislation, an agreement or your work organisation changes.
You can safely set legal limits such as 11 hours per day or 50 hours per week lower for an early alert. Never set them higher than the legal value.
Which pitfalls should you avoid?
- Too many alerts. If a team leader gets twenty alerts every day, he clicks them away without reading. A few rules with a good threshold work better than many rules with a poor one.
- Weak norms. A norm that does not match the real schedule mainly produces noise. If a team works a different schedule, it needs its own norm.
- Approving without a reason. A deviation accepted without explanation cannot be justified afterwards. Always ask for a short motivation.
- Blind trust in what stays within the norm. A small monthly sample remains useful, because an error just below the threshold would otherwise never stand out.
- Looking only at bad exceptions. Taylor also looked at remarkably good results. A team without a single deviation may also point to records that nobody fills in.
The reviewer matters too. A system shows the exceptions, but someone has to assess them correctly. Whoever handles alerts superficially leaves real problems unsolved.
Who handles which deviation?
Assign each deviation to whoever can assess it fastest. On site, that is usually the team leader or site manager, who knows who was there and until what time. In the office, that is payroll, who knows the rules for overtime pay, quotas and benefits.
- Team leader or site manager: missing check-outs, check-ins far from the site, leave overlapping with hours worked and expenses without receipt, preferably on the same or the next working day.
- Payroll: overtime above 9 or 40 hours, the voluntary overtime regime, the counters for the internal limit and the quota, and the number of meal vouchers.
- HR or management: breaches of 11 hours per day or 50 hours per week, and any deviation that keeps recurring for the same employee or team.
Also agree on a deadline. For example: the team leader handles his alerts by the 25th of the month, payroll the rest by the last working day. Whatever is still open then goes to payroll preparation with a clear status.
Whether a general registration obligation will apply from 2027 is not yet certain: there is only a preliminary draft, no law. Read more in our article on mandatory time registration in 2027. The rules above already work with the records you collect today.
How MyVIRO helps
MyVIRO collects the data these exception rules work on: check-in and check-out, hours per day and per site, leave, sickness reports with a certificate and expenses with a photo of the receipt. The location is recorded only at the moment of check-in or check-out, never outside working hours.
In the back office, you immediately see missing check-ins, deviating locations and open approvals, before payroll preparation starts. Validated data then flows to your HR, ERP or payroll system. MyVIRO does not calculate wages itself.
- See how MyVIRO works, from check-in and check-out to full self-service
- Discover how validated records flow to VIRO for pre-payroll
- Read why every correction should leave a trail in our article on explainable AI and audit trails (in Dutch)
Request a demo and discover how your team leaders only need to review the deviations from now on.
Read also
- Monthly payroll preparation checklist: what to send your social secretariat
- Mandatory time registration from 2027? What is certain, what is not, and what you can do now
- HR administration in Excel: the risks and how to switch to an HR app
Frequently asked questions about management by exception
It means managing on the basis of exceptions. You set norms and only pay attention to what deviates from them, while the rest goes through without extra checks.
No, it is a working method and not a legal obligation. The legal limits on working time and overtime pay do apply, and this method helps you check them systematically.
Not always. Regular overtime above 9 hours a day or 40 hours a week in principle gives 50% overtime pay, or 100% on Sundays and public holidays. Since 1 April 2026, part of the voluntary overtime falls under the gross = net regime, without overtime pay.
Start with about ten rules, as in the table in this article. Only add new rules once the existing ones produce few false alerts.
Then the person responsible confirms it with a short reason, for example an urgent repair that took longer. That way it remains clear afterwards why the hours were accepted.
At least every quarter, and whenever the legislation, a sector agreement or your work organisation changes. If many alerts from a rule turn out to be justified, the threshold is probably too strict.
Sources
- Belgian Federal Public Service Employment, Labour and Social Dialogue, Working time and reduction of working time (in Dutch): werk.belgie.be
- Frederick W. Taylor, Shop Management (1903), scanned edition: tekniskkulturarv.dk
- Lester R. Bittel, Management by Exception (1964), library record: ci.nii.ac.jp
- Steven Bragg, What is management by exception? (AccountingTools, 14 July 2026): accountingtools.com
Author: Jean-Philippe Delberghe at MyVIRO. Published on 23 October 2026. Last updated on 23 October 2026.
This article is an informative explanation and not legal advice. Consult your social secretariat for your specific situation.