Meal Compliance FAQ
Answers to common setup and operating questions about Meal Compliance.
For what the app is and how to set it up from scratch, see the
Meal Compliance Overview.
Setup
Do I need Time & Attendance running before Meal Compliance works?
Yes. Meal Compliance reads break records from Time & Attendance to detect behavior patterns, and it reads only breaks whose break type is named exactly Meal Break — a meal break recorded under any other break type is not counted. A break counts as taken once it is completed and as skipped only when its record is marked skipped; a meal break that is planned but never started is not counted either way. Detection also runs only while autonomous actions are on in Meal Compliance settings (they are off by default) — with them off, no break pattern is detected, whatever Time & Attendance records.
Does the E-Signature app need to be enabled for waivers to work?
No. When Offer e-signature collection is on in your Meal Compliance settings, sending a waiver for signature generates a PDF and routes it through the E-Signature app. If you have not enabled the E-Signature app, the “Send for Signature” action tells you which app to enable. You can still create waivers and use the Activate action to put them in force after collecting a signature outside the platform.
Permissions and access
Who can create and invalidate waivers?
Administrators, HR admins, and Meal Compliance app admins have full access to all employees’ waivers. A manager can create or invalidate a waiver only for their own direct reports. Employees cannot create waivers, but they can withdraw their own waiver — or decline one sent to them — from My Breaks on desktop or phone.
Who can see the Compliance Gaps report and CSV export?
Only administrators, HR admins, and Meal Compliance app admins. Managers do not have access to compliance reports. These reports name individual employees and their break behavior across the organization.
What can employees see in the app?
Every employee sees a My Breaks tab showing their own waiver status, recent break-behavior history, and a signing link for any pending waiver. They cannot see other employees’ waivers, break behavior, or compliance data. The My Breaks page is also available on mobile.
Day-to-day
How does behavior detection decide whether someone is waiving or taking meal breaks?
While autonomous actions are on in Meal Compliance settings, the system reads completed and skipped breaks of the Meal Break type from Time & Attendance over the detection window (default 14 days, configurable 7–90); a meal break that was planned but never started is not counted. Each day is scored: taken if all meal breaks were completed, waived if all were skipped, or mixed if some were completed and others skipped. When 70% or more of days are waived, the pattern is classified as Waiving. When 70% or more are taken, it is Taking. Below that threshold, or when there are fewer days of data than the Minimum days for reliable detection setting (default 3, configurable 1–14), the pattern is Inconsistent.
What happens when a waiver is sent for e-signature?
The system generates a PDF with voluntary-consent language, the employee’s name, jurisdiction, location, validity dates, and any per-meal-period elections. It creates a signature request through the E-Signature app and emails a signing link to the employee. The waiver moves to Pending signature and activates automatically when the employee signs. An employee with no email address on file can’t receive a signing link, so Send for Signature isn’t offered for them — collect the signature on paper and use Activate. While a link is out, the waiver page shows when it was sent and when it expires, and Resend signing link sends the employee a fresh copy.
Can I edit a waiver after creating it?
No. Waivers cannot be edited. If the details are wrong, discard the draft (or invalidate a waiver that was already sent or put in force) and create a new one. This is by design — a signed legal document should not change after the fact.
What happens when a waiver expires?
A background sweep runs every 4 hours and marks date-expired waivers as Expired. Before that, a renewal reminder goes to the employee and to their manager (default 14 days before expiry, configurable 1–60 days), unless a newer signed waiver already continues their coverage. Once expired, the waiver stops counting as active. If the employee is still skipping meals, they reappear in the Compliance Gaps report — as long as behavior detection is running (it runs only while autonomous actions are on).
What does “Auto-Invalidate on Behavior Change” do?
It is off by default, and only takes effect while autonomous actions are on. A detected behavior change is proposed in the AI Console for an admin to approve when the detection’s confidence meets Minimum confidence (default 95%), the day’s action cap has not been reached and AI is not paused; otherwise the change is still recorded under Behavior Alerts on the dashboard, but no card appears. With this setting on, approving it ends the employee’s waiver when their pattern has shifted to the opposite of what the waiver states — for example, a waiver saying they skip meals while detection shows they now consistently take them — and the employee is told their waiver was ended. Too little break data is never treated as a change. With this setting off, the behavior change is logged and can trigger an alert, but the waiver stays in force.
When something looks wrong
Why isn’t behavior detection finding any patterns?
First, check that Enable autonomous actions is on in Meal Compliance settings: behavior detection runs only while it is. Detection also needs meal-break clock punches in Time & Attendance. If employees are not recording meal breaks — or if the detection window is shorter than the Minimum days for reliable detection setting — no patterns are classified. Check that Time & Attendance is active and that employees record their meal breaks under the Meal Break break type — breaks of any other type are not read.
I turned on “Offer e-signature collection” but Send for Signature says the E-Signature app isn’t enabled
The Offer e-signature collection setting in Meal Compliance is separate from having the E-Signature app enabled for your organization. Both must be true. Ask an administrator to enable the E-Signature app in Admin → Apps → All Apps.
An employee says their waiver was invalidated but nobody did it manually
A waiver can end without a manager clicking Invalidate in three ways: an admin approved a behavior-change action in the AI Console while Auto-Invalidate on Behavior Change was on, a form-version retirement (when an administrator re-collects waivers on a newer form), or the employee withdrew or declined it themselves. The waiver’s detail page states which one it was.
My dashboard shows 0 behavior alerts but the Behavior Alerts card lists employees
The dashboard tile counts behavior changes from the last 7 days. The card also shows only changes from the last 7 days. If the numbers disagree, a sweep may have just run. Refresh the page — the count and the list are drawn from the same 7-day window.
Autonomous mode
How does autonomous mode work?
Autonomous mode is off by default. When enabled, an AI loop runs every 4 hours to analyze each employee’s break pattern; that analysis is what finds compliance gaps and behavior changes. Behavior-change actions (such as invalidating a waiver) are proposed in the AI Console and require admin approval before they execute. Expiry reminders and gap alerts are sent by the separate reminder pass described below, not queued for approval. You control how much it does with three settings: Minimum confidence (80–100%, default 95), Max actions per day (1–500, default 50), and Trust level (Probation, Standard, or Trusted; default Probation).
Do I need autonomous mode turned on to get expiry and gap reminders?
Not for expiry reminders: they are sent every 4 hours for every organization with Meal Compliance enabled, whether or not autonomous mode is on, unless Send proactive reminders is off or Automation Hub’s Pause All is in effect. Compliance-gap alerts are different — they depend on behavior detection, which runs only while autonomous mode is on. With it off, no new behavior is recorded, so gaps and gap alerts dwindle as the last 30 days of recorded behavior age out.
Licensing and limits
Does Meal Compliance require a licence?
Yes. It is disabled by default. An administrator enables it for your organization from Admin → Apps → All Apps.
What are the configurable ranges and limits?
| Setting | Range | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Detection window | 7–90 days | 14 |
| Minimum days for reliable detection | 1–14 | 3 |
| Default waiver expiry | 30–730 days | 365 |
| Expiry reminder lead time | 1–60 days | 14 |
| Minimum confidence (autonomous) | 80–100% | 95 |
| Max autonomous actions per day | 1–500 | 50 |
| Waiver notes | up to 2,000 characters | — |
| CSV export | up to 10,000 waivers per download | — |
| Autonomous run cadence | every 4 hours | — |
| Break compliance enforcement mode | Off, Observe or Enforce | Observe |
More help
- Meal Compliance Overview
- Ask AI — the assistant answers Meal Compliance questions from these articles.