A method for calculating employee compensation includes associating sets of attributes with pay categories. An employee's shifts are split into sub-shifts, responsive to work parameters. A set of attributes is determined for each sub-shift. Each set of attributes is a unique combination of attributes. Sets of attributes are associated with pay categories through a pay category mapping matrix which maps each set of attributes to one or more pay categories. The pay categories with which the set of attributes associated with a particular subshift is associated are then determined responsive to the mapping. A total compensation for an employee is then determined for a pay period by adding the amounts determined for each subshift of the pay period. A compensation qualifier can be associated with each pay category, such that determining compensation for an employee for the sub-shift responsive to the assigned pay category, is in turn responsive to the employee's base pay and the compensation qualifier. One or more pay categories can be tracked. For each tracked pay category, an overflow threshold is specified that is a maximum amount of time that can be accrued in the pay category. A second pay category is specified to receive any amount of time originally assigned to the tracked pay category which is in excess over the threshold. This can be done over various time periods, such as per day or per week.