Employee Attendance Policy

An employee attendance policy is a corporate document that clearly specifies general attendance and associated topics at your firm. It is commonly included in your handbook. Employee attendance standards should also specify how workers will be penalized if they fail to adhere to them.

7 Sections in Your Attendance Policy

It’s basically a cost of doing business whether your workers take permitted time off or have an excused absence. Controlling the expenses of unexcused absences, on the other hand, may help you improve your Conclusion and boost employee morale. Here are the most crucial aspects to include in your attendance policy to ensure that it is successful, fair, and legally compliant.

1. Defined terms

Although I’ve seen many policies do so, you don’t necessary to add a separate definitions section. It’s easier to understand if you define the words used at the start of each section. This will guarantee that everyone is on the same page and that no words are misunderstood. Employees may get irritated and unclear about when they have broken a policy due to ambiguity.

2. Lack of presence

Implementing a clear and straightforward attendance policy will help your firm overcome absence tendencies. In some small firms, it may seem unnecessarily formal, but as you’ll see, a strong employee attendance policy benefits both the company and the employee.

Absence is defined as an employee’s failure to report to work at the specified time. Then, distinguish between two sorts of absences:

• Employees are excused from work when they book time off with their management and follow the company’s PTO policy, or when they have an emergency and notify their manager before the start of their shift.
• Unjustified absence: When an employee fails to report to work on time and fails to notify their manager or supervisor prior to the start of their shift, regardless of the cause.

You must now specify the penalties for breaking this policy. You may declare that if an employee has more than three unexcused absences in a thirty-day period, he or she would face disciplinary action, up to and including termination. You might also stipulate that workers with an unexcused absence have their PTO balance taken automatically.

It’s critical to define these phrases and their ramifications so that your staff are aware of your expectations. If these criteria aren’t clearly defined, you can find yourself continually understaffed since some individuals just don’t show up.

What If I Told You

The 2020 absenteeism rate across all sectors was 3 percent, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic health issues cost companies about $35 billion each year in lost productivity due to employee absences. Employees who overslept missed the train, or were caught in traffic are not included in this calculation.

3. Promptness

Begin by clarifying what your company’s definition of tardiness is. We recommend adding a period as well, so it looks like this:

Tardiness arises when an employee is more than five minutes late for the start of their shift or after returning from a break in their duty. In each case, the employee must warn their boss before the start of their shift that they will be late. Notifying a manager is not a reason for being late.

Then decide on what you want to happen if there are any infractions. Violations of this policy more than five times a month, you might say, will result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

When your team is late, it’s critical to hold them responsible. Your company relies on your staff to be available when and when you need them. If they’re late, work may be delayed, clients may be disregarded, and other staff may be forced to fill in.

4. Departure Prior to Schedule

An early departure is the polar opposite of tardiness. Here’s an example of phrasing: Any employee who leaves a shift for the day — or for a break — more than five minutes before the planned end of their shift or the start of their break — must tell their management; nonetheless, the absence will be unjustified.

Because they’re so closely connected, we think the sanctions for infractions should be identical to those for tardiness. This part guarantees that workers are aware that they must remain for the duration of their shift. Without this clear expectation, your workers may feel free to come and go as they like, causing havoc in your workplace.

5. Disciplinary Actions

While each section’s possible discipline is defined above, we also want to offer a clear method for how discipline is implemented. This is critical because it keeps your organization out of legal issues by ensuring that all workers are subject to the same disciplinary processes. It is more probable that everyone will get the same treatment if there is an organized mechanism in place.

The following stages may be included in a disciplinary procedure:

• First offense: a verbal warning
• The second infraction is: Warning in writing
• Suspension and a final written warning for the third infraction
• Termination is the fourth infraction.

Job Abandonment

You should add a job abandonment clause in your contract to protect your organization if an employee fails to report to work for a prolonged length of time that you specify.

When an employee fails to report to work for three or more consecutive working days without telling their supervisor, this is known as job abandonment. The employee will be judged to have willingly ended the work relationship if these requirements are satisfied.

If an employee hasn’t turned up to work in a long time, your organization may use this section to remove them off the books. Naturally, you should contact the employee’s emergency contact list to check whether they’re okay, and you should do so as soon as they don’t show up for work. However, now that this part has been added to the law, you are completely within your rights to separate from an employee in a manner that may render them ineligible for unemployment benefits.

7. Employee Appreciation

Employee acknowledgements are important parts of any corporate policy that are often disregarded. When you establish a policy that affects an employee, you should have them sign the policy to confirm that they have read it and agree to be bound by its provisions.

If your firm ever needs to hold an employee responsible under the provisions of the policy, you may do so since you have their signature on the policy in their personnel file. It is not needed by law to have workers sign a policy or handbook; it is just good business practice.

How to Make a Reasonable Attendance Policy

You’ve figured out the major points of your employee attendance policy, but now you want to make sure it’s equitable. Customizing it to your individual company goals and culture is the best approach to do so.

Whether your workers are habitually late, call in sick, or clock off early without warning, establishing an attendance policy will signal to them that you want to improve their behavior. They may not like it, and some may even resist you, but the correct message and support may assist.

You should be able to get everyone on board if you create this policy in alignment with your workers and general business culture. Talking to your bosses and supervisors is the greatest approach to do so. They’ll be the ones implementing the regulation, so listen to what they have to say. It sends the incorrect impression that one boss is lenient and the other is harsh.

You can assure equitable implementation of the attendance rules by putting your supervisors on the same page. This is critical to ensuring that workers are treated fairly and that your organization avoids legal issues.

Establish Reasonable Goals

Part of your conversation with supervisors may provide hints about what you should anticipate. We offered a five-minute grace period for tardiness earlier. Perhaps your bosses believe that’s too harsh and would like 15 minutes. That’s useful information, and you could agree to change your policy as a result.

It’s also necessary to be fair when it comes to punishment. It sends the incorrect message if you decide to fire staff after one unexcused absence. To be honest, one employee’s unexcused absence is really decent. You shouldn’t lose your job because you were late for work one day due to a vehicle accident, for example.

As a result, be sure your expectations aren’t working against you. Micromanaging and attempting to restrict an employee’s personal time might look like being too rigid. Employees may be compelled to look for work elsewhere as a result of this. Having more flexible expectations demonstrates to your staff that you recognize that life gets in the way from time to time and that when it happens, they will not face major job-related penalties.

Ensure that you are in compliance.

Compliance is sometimes seen as an obstacle to business development, but it really serves as a guide to assist your firm to expand while avoiding expensive investigations from the Department of Labor or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). When drafting an attendance policy, you must consider numerous aspects of employment law, including the distinction between employee categories.

Employees Who Aren’t Exempt

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) governs wage and hour laws, providing for a minimum federal hourly wage and overtime for Employees Who Aren’t Exempt. Non-exempt, usually hourly employees, must receive overtime pay for any hours worked over 40 in a single workweek. You must pay them at least the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and time and a half for overtime.

Some states have higher minimum wages and also require daily overtime pay. So, check your state’s department of labor or employment website to ensure you’re paying Employees Who Aren’t Exempt correctly.

Paying Employees Who Aren’t Exempt Correctly Under the FSLA

When workers are late or absent, some firms have a policy of deducting compensation or “charging” them. If an employee was late but still worked hours, and your employer “charged” them a fee for their tardiness, they may be paid less than the federal minimum wage, which is clearly illegal under the FLSA.

Let’s pretend Fred had an eight-hour shift today and was paid $7.25 per hour, the statutory minimum wage. Your employer has a policy of fining tardy workers $10 for each incidence of tardiness, beginning with the first. Fred was late for the first part of his shift today. Today you intend to deduct $10 from Fred’s wages. Let’s run the numbers:

7.5 (real hours worked) x $7.25 (hourly wage) = $54.38 (Today’s total gross pay) – $10 (tardy fine) = $44.38 (Today’s total gross pay minus the tardy fine) / 7.5 (actual hours worked) = $5.92 (Today’s actual hourly wage)

You have decreased Fred’s hourly income to $5.92 by “charging” him a tardiness charge. Your organization is in violation of the FLSA, which might result in significant fines and penalties.

Employees who are exempt

Let’s shift gears to Employees who are exempt, usually salaried employees, who are not paid overtime for any work performed over 40 hours in a workweek. To qualify as exempt, however, employees must also meet other criteria, like having certain job duties and making a salary of at least $684 per week. You can find all the requirements in the Department of Labor (DOL) Fact Sheet #17A.

You could wish to cut an exempt employee’s salary by a full day if they have an unexcused absence this week, but that’s also a violation of the FLSA.

According to DOL Fact Sheet #17G, every salaried employee who works any portion of a workweek must be paid the entire compensation for the week, regardless of the number of hours worked. If you choose to deduct salary, you risk converting the employee to a non-exempt worker who would be responsible to back overtime pay indefinitely.

You do, however, have choices, such as establishing an attendance policy. While you cannot take compensation from an exempt employee, you may hold them responsible and terminate the employment relationship if the practice persists.

Conclusion

Employees are expected to arrive on time. When they don’t, it causes issues for the company and its other workers. Emergencies occur, and businesses must be flexible—but only within reason. A clear attendance policy can help you hold workers responsible for their behavior while also treating everyone equitably and avoiding expensive employee lawsuits and government penalties.

Above all, keep in mind that whatever you do for one employee, you should do for all. That is the most effective strategy to keep your company compliant and your rules fair.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I create an employee attendance policy?

An attendance policy is a set of rules for employees about what they’re allowed to do in the workplace and when. It is vital that you create an effective one because it will be tough living with someone who doesn’t follow your policies, but if no one has any expectations then there won’t really be a problem.

What is a reasonable attendance policy?

A reasonable attendance policy is when someone misses a meeting or event, they are given an opportunity to reschedule.