How Should HR Handle Late Arrivals from Senior Employees Who Stay Late?

Hi, I'm Niharika, working as an HR executive in a pharmaceutical company. Here, some higher-ranking employees come late to the company. They say that if they can stay after working hours in the evening, then they can also come late in the morning. What should I do in this matter?

Hi Niharika,

Normally, an employee has to work for 9 hours a day. If they work over and above 9 hours, it is due to their workload or incomplete tasks, and their extra hours will not be counted. The management needs to have clear policies regarding these situations.

If your company has flexible timings, then it shouldn't be a concern. If they are maintaining average working hours, that should be fine. If you are clear on the log-in and log-out time, then convey the same and tell them that they should be in the office on time and need not stay back late unless it is very much required.

Regards,

If the high-ranking officials are logging stipulated hours per week as per your company policy and don't have any complaints from their higher officials, then you don't need to worry. :)

There can be some flexibility given to employees for their work-life balance, but if you feel that they are setting a bad example for others, then you can gently bring it to the management's notice. The management will look into the issue more seriously to determine what these people are spending their time on, such as:

a. meetings with overseas clients
b. work overload
c. doing their personal work during office hours, etc.

Hi,

Try to have flexible timing in your organization. This will solve the purpose. If you don't have flexibility, then you must have some policies framed with the consent of a senior person in HR. This will help to control the situation.

If your company has flexible timing, you can apply the same approach or ask them (preferably through email correspondence or any written statement) to adhere to the company's office timing procedures.

Nenju

Hi, My Dear Friends,

Could you please send anybody Form 23? It's related to the Inspector of Factories.

Regards,
Hareesh

We have established a policy that allows three instances of lateness for an employee in a month. More than three instances of lateness will result in half-day CL, and exceeding five late occurrences will be considered a full-day CL. Memos are issued for lateness exceeding five instances. This system is effective.

Regards,
Sdd

Niharika ji,

Are there any standing orders in your company? If not, please establish them promptly as rules are the same for every category or class. Ensure that this is communicated to all higher-class employees.

Bharat Kaushik
OM ASSOCIATES

I accept what Mr. Amit has suggested. You need to take management views on handling such situations. You can either have flexible times or you can cut half a day CL in case of 3 late comings. But as you said that they are senior employees, management should address this issue as it is a delicate link.

Hi,

Please check with your management about the timings. Is that to be carried out for everyone? If so, it's very simple. You just have to get confirmation from the top management regarding the timings and then implement the framework. Please do check and let me know so that I can assist you.

Thank you.

Dear,

An organization should have logging rules for in and out so that we won't find any controversies with anyone. We have smart card rules in our company to rectify these problems.

Regards, Selva Nathiya Management Executive [Login to view]

Hi Niharika,

If they are maintaining their daily work hours by staying back and working late, then I don't think you have to do anything, as the productivity is not declining.

BR Ramneet

How contradictory that companies expect employees to be on time in the morning but don't care about timings in the evening. If the company wants its employees to follow policy, then this is also a policy not to stay after stipulated office timings.

Anyways, there is no harm in late coming as long as it is not affecting the work. The prime concern should be the timely completion of work. If that doesn't suffer, then no one should be worried about this.

Some leeway is always given for senior officers; as their productivity is not based on hours of work (unlike piece-rated or time-rated workers) but rather on the decisions they take which have far-reaching implications for the company.

You must have noticed that seniors spend more time outside their offices - in meetings, conferences, tours, etc. As a matter of fact, they are considered to be on duty 24x7. If something requires their attention, they can be reached anytime; and they, in fact, give much more time than otherwise stipulated and have many more responsibilities thrust upon their shoulders. In the smallest possible time, they have to make decisions which can make or mar a company.

For such people, the time spent inside the office is inconsequential. You need not be bothered about such things as it is well-known to the higher management. There are always exceptions to everything, and you should consider it as such.

Regards.

Hi,

Please check if your business requirements demand that employees stay late in the evenings and also ensure that their deliverables and targets are being met. If everything is okay, then I don't think you need to enforce strict timings on them. Employees should always be given the freedom to work, and the organization should be strict about deliverables and targets. Profits are determined by meeting deliverables and targets, not by employees staying late or adhering strictly to timings in the organization.

Raghunath

Hi Niharika,

I am also working in a pharmaceutical company in Himachal Pradesh. We have implemented a late coming policy that is applicable to all levels of employees. This policy is related to the discipline of the company and cannot be tolerated. If employees are working late hours, it is due to the nature of their duties and work style; however, this does not mean they can arrive late as well. As part of the HR department, it is our responsibility to handle such cases consistently.

Baljeet Sahotra
Manager HRM

Normally, this kind of issues appears in all organizations. However, you need to keep an entry book at the security level and analyze each employee, such as their arrival and departure times. One day, you can forward this analysis to your HR manager individually and to all top members. Initially, this may be taken personally by everyone, but later they will understand the company's policies and values. Take this issue positively and integrate it into your system. If they still resist, you can escalate it to Senior Management, who can monitor and address these areas smoothly. Approach this in a positive manner and good luck.

Sridhar

Hi, this is Venkat. In my view, you have to do your job. Don't consider anyone, whether he is a senior or junior. In my organization, I am implementing late coming deductions for even the DGM. Go ahead and do your job as per policy.

Any advisors coming late should be asked to wear a funny cap, and they will need to wear it for the whole day. This playful approach can help remind them of the importance of punctuality in a lighthearted manner.

Most multinational companies do not tolerate it if their employees are late in the morning, especially for those who work late in the evening and still manage to complete their assignments on time.

All companies should prioritize "Work-Life Balance" for their employees.

Regards,
Rahul

In my past company, the same thing happened. It was noticed by the CEO. Then, he set the working hours for normal workers from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM (first shift). For Managers and executives, the hours were set from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM. I did not face this problem during the second shift. You need to convince your top management regarding this issue and adjust the working hours accordingly. Timing is crucial for the company.

Thank you.

Hi Niharika,

These days, many of the companies are switching or have already switched their gears to "FLEXI WORK HRS". It's all about the quality of work rather than the man-hours spent in the office. In the case of Senior Managers/Officials, they have a different set of targets to achieve, which often keeps them away from the office. I guess your higher management would be aware of their work hours, so don't be so concerned.

If your company has flexible timing for seniors and requires at least 8 hours of duty, then there is no issue. However, if your company enforces strict timing and employees arrive after 12:30 pm or 1:00 pm, you can mark it as a half-day according to the company policy.

"Hi, I'm Niharika, working as an HR executive in a pharmaceutical company. Here, some higher-ranking employees arrive late to the company. They mention that if they are willing to stay after working hours in the evening, they should also be allowed to arrive late in the morning. What should I do in this matter?"

Hi Niharika,

You are treading on dangerous waters. First, who brought this up? HR or management, or are you trying to rein them in. Managements generally give senior people the option of flexi time (not in writing but implied). The seniormost person in HR/admin should bring it to the management's notice and take a call. As an HR executive, maybe you are trying to bring in uniformity. Middle-level workers may have grumbled against this, but you can't do much. Anyway, if you want to go ahead, go with recorded instances (should not be difficult) and have a backup job (for you if required).

Dear Niharika,

As you mentioned, this problem should have been taken seriously by you as well as senior management. The logic they are providing is not realistic. They are staying back late hours for their job duties, which is their fault for not completing their work on time. They will have to come on time, as fixed by management for all employees.

Thank you,
Rajesh Sharma

Niharika ,
It depend on your company policy .if you have flexible timing then its fine or else you can take a mail from them regards to late coming as it would be easy for you during audit .
Or
If ratio is high .You can draft a policy for flexible timing…..with approval from your senior.
Regards,
Surjit Singh

Hi Niharika,

If the condition is like that, then you can reply to them saying, "If you go late from the office, it means you are dedicated to the company, and if you come late, it means you are not following the office protocol :)." I usually do it. :icon10:

Warm regards,
Deepak

Hi Niharika,

You can't ask your seniors for any type of issues like late coming which should be asked by their departmental senior person coordination with respective of that level your hr person.
Here, you go through
1) Prepare a note details of name and designation of persons, no.of late coming and supporting document of their duty correction form (if available).
2) Send this note to your seniors clearly in writing ‘ please advice on this matters'.
3) Follow their advice. Because senior HR person always well versed with all HR related activities.

This is a proofed for you in future if any problem arises by those late coming employees.
:-P

Hi Niharika,

Regarding this, there are two options in my opinion:

1. You talk to your HOD to communicate with the management regarding this issue and ask them to formulate a circular for requesting higher-ranking officials to enter timely. This way, you can also understand the management's motive.

2. You can take the initiative to start flexible timing in your organization. When your HOD discusses the matter with management, suggest presenting a proposal for flexible timing.

Thank you.

Though many companies have implemented flexible timings either on a daily basis or on a weekly basis. One more idea to counter late coming is to propose a Perfect Attendance Bonus allowance (@ Rs. 1000/- p.m) as additional motivation for all employees to report punctually. Any deviation from punctuality would mean the loss of the said amount in that particular month.

Hello Niharika,

First, you need to analyze why they are working late hours. If it is not necessary to work late hours, arrange a meeting and tell them straight away. Before that, you have to prepare an HR policy along with involving those people.

Natarajan

Hi Pro Management Consultants

Hi Niharika,

The office timing policy generally depends on the kind of industry you are in. For example, for media companies, they allow employees to work flexible hours. If you do not have such a policy (being a pharma company), you can deduct their PLs/CLs accordingly. In our company, for every three late marks, employees will lose half of their PL, and in case of zero PL balance, there will be a loss of pay. Try to implement this with prior approval from your supervisor.

Hi everybody,

Please guide me as I am newly joined in an IT firm with around 30 contract/consultant employees. Would anyone help me regarding leave, in-time, and out-time specifics for contract/consultants in IT HR?

Regards,
Divyanjali

Hello Niharika,

I think the way to handle this issue could be by having flexible timings with a time limit. Maybe the reporting time can be between 0730 and 0930, and the closing time between 1600 and 1800. However, the total weekly working hours prescribed by your company should be met. If there is a need for further late coming or early going, that could be with the permission of their superiors.

Best Regards,
Dass.

What is the mind of the organization? Does it feel that rules are very important and not to be compromised under any circumstances? Alternatively, does it think procedures don't matter much as long as expectations are delivered?

There are no right or wrong answers. What the management seriously believes in, everyone has to fall in line. So, first, find out the mind of the management. It doesn't really matter what Niharika thinks or any member of this site thinks. The key is what the management thinks. Remember, most of the senior officers comprise the management. So, if they don't believe in something, either you have to bring them along to your point of view with facts and justification or go along with the management view. Otherwise, you would be a misfit fighting a losing battle. The ultimate aim, remember, is the effective performance of the organization and not ego trips of individuals.

Regards, Rationalraj

Hi Niharika,

We often receive such complaints. How we deal with this is - The timing of an employee must be based on the job and the objectives he has to meet while doing that job. If a job has a fixed TAT, then yes, the timings must be strict. But if it is not, then we must only see whether he/she is able to complete the job within fixed deadlines (defined). Keeping this in mind, some executives are given the liberty to have a little flexibility in their timings, but we make sure that all such employees understand the importance of keeping their superiors and team informed in advance if they are coming late.

Saurabh

This is not uncommon. A workplace cannot be run like a school at times. The senior managers, by default and by virtue of their roles, consider themselves to be special. In such instances, the HR person must be careful in presenting the rule book. The top management must also support the process. Invariably, the senior managers are exempted from such structured shift timings. If that is the case in your situation, you are advised to take it easy as the management finds it acceptable.

Hi Niharika,

It's a routine matter in any organization. I would suggest the following steps:

1) Prepare an incoming and outgoing entry to trace the exact timing.
2) Establish a policy specifically for latecoming, allowing up to 3-4 late marks of 1/2 hr each per employee. After that, they will be charged 1 day of LWP, etc.
3) Create a policy for late-night working staff. For example, employees working until 9 pm can come in 1 hour late the next day, and for those working until midnight, they can come in 2 hours late, and so on.
4) Develop a pre-sanction format for staying in the office for late-night work, with reasons duly approved by their respective Department Heads.

I believe these measures will assist you in managing such employees.

Regards,
Viju

There are no hard and fast rules. The general principle is: the necessities should flow down to up, and the discipline from up to down.

So it is for officers to set the standard in coming to the office on time. Staying late or doing more than 9 hours of work are all excuses.

The higher-ranking officers have to come to the office on time. It is a mental setup rather than just reasons. They need to be counseled appropriately for this. The perks and other benefits are all different for the common employee; hence, these things are also different. They should follow the rules.

In one of the companies where I worked, the Director and I were the only people who came in on time. We were appreciated by one and all.

True Example: In one of the companies, the Marketing Manager was also in charge of HR for some time. He used to go outside with clients and come to the factory after a drink or two. One day, he asked an employee, who was drunk, to leave the factory. The worker retorted by saying, "What is the difference between us? You drink foreign, and I drink local." The Marketing Manager was shocked. We have to be models in cases of moral character, etc.

Nagaraj

Hi. If the company policy is clear on resumption time, this should then be made clear to the senior executives who are expected to lead by example. I believe the policy cuts across all levels of staff. Exceptions should not be made for them as they likely approved the policy in the first place.

Hey, if these guys are putting in the required hours, it shouldn't be a problem. And if these guys are getting away with it, then the chance of the management being aware of this is quite high.

If you feel that others may follow suit, which would hamper the working environment, then you can either tell the management, the HODs, and leave it for them to decide or put up a proposal for time management/punching system.

Hope it helps.

Regards

Punctuality is one of the vital pillars of general organizational discipline. This should not be flouted. If the organization does not have a firm policy regarding flexible hours of work, some individuals enjoying the same are bound to irritate other employees, especially if the senior employees do not adhere to the rules; they set a bad example for others. The senior executives must lead by example and be good leaders. Further, overstaying unless warranted in extreme emergency should be viewed as inefficiency, and employees must learn to complete their jobs in scheduled time. A course or training in Time Management would also help. Propagate the usefulness and importance of punctuality, and the erring employees should be reprimanded unless they change their bad habits of coming late. Be tactful and enforce this in the better interest of your organization.

Email: pkmishra001@rediffmail.com

Rules are made to follow, whether one is junior or senior. Anyone working beyond the normal working hours needs to look into their work culture and time management. Staying late does not show efficiency or loyalty; perhaps they have other motives or problems as well. The organizational head needs to look into the matter.

Hi Niharika,

We were facing the same problem at our company. We then started daily monitoring of latecomers. At the end of the month, we would send the whole month's data to the concerned HOD and GM, and it really worked. You can also try something like this if possible.

Deepa

HR policies in an organization should be similar for everyone irrespective of their positions. There should not be any confusion in such cases. We all work with a common motive for an organization, and hence the policies should be common for everyone. I understand that there are exceptions to a few cases, but the office timings should be strictly followed by everyone. Not adhering to the policies set by the management is a misconduct. So, being an HR professional, it's we who have to keep track and escalate such cases to senior management. Let the senior management make the final call.

Correct me if I am wrong.

Regards,
Rachita

Hi,

To succeed, punctuality is a must. This is in the interest of any organization. If they are running late, it shows that they are unable to manage time. Staying late may be to cover their own incapability, for learning, or to meet incomplete goals, which can be a headache.

If higher authorities arrive late, the department's functioning may also begin late, which will greatly affect operations.

Regards,
Abhijeet Pawar
Mahindra Forgings Ltd
9822440053

Hi Niharika,

This is a universal issue faced by most of the companies. To be very frank, there is no proven solution for this because of the following reasons:

1. This activity is generally practiced by those employees whose presence in the organization is very important. They may be the key persons or decision-makers in their respective departments or sections. Primarily at lower levels, they are team leaders, group leaders, or individuals with exceptional qualities.

2. You must have or may be going to face a situation where you report latecoming to the higher management for a particular person, and it will not be heard. If you keep complaining about an individual or a group, they will simply be called by the higher authorities, given a warning every six to nine months, and that's all. No strict action will be taken against them.

This generally happens everywhere and there is no way of eliminating it, especially for those in technical sections, such as engineers, foremen, chargemen, heads, chiefs, etc.

I am telling you, this behavior is even tolerated in companies like Tata Steel, TCE, Jindal, etc.

The only way to reduce the number of latecomings is by:

1. Reacting immediately when someone comes late by showing a bit of anger or reprimanding in front of everybody.
2. Advising your boss (a helpless fellow who cannot reduce latecoming since the work has to be completed in time) that whenever he finds a mistake in the work of such employees who have made latecoming a habit, he should use words like "Neither do you complete your job on time nor come to the office on time, you are a useless fellow" while scrutinizing their work in front of them. This method actually works with most employees.

The method mentioned above aims at brainwashing such employees by embarrassing them for their behavior.

However, if an employee is exceeding their commitments, then their latecoming can be overlooked. I am telling you this because some time ago, I was also a latecomer for around 5 years. After that, I left the job, started my own company, and found the above method to be very productive.

For my firm, I have devised a formula for the total number of working hours in a week (minimum 48, maximum 56). If somebody stays for a longer duration, it is adjusted with the next days or we pay them for the extra duration.

I hope this may help you.

Regards,

Rahul Vijay
rahul@eastindiacorporation.org

What do your HR Manager/General Manager HR/Vice President HR feel about this? If it is a high-ranking manager who is unpunctual and if your senior officials do not feel anything about it, it is better to keep quiet and let your seniors handle it.

Vivek Hattangadi

Niharika,

My opinion is that we have to look into the actual problem. Is the actual problem late coming of senior staff or their attitude? To me, their logic does not seem right, but the person who is asking them this question should also be justified. This cannot be black and white; it has to be seen in the larger perspective of their attitude towards their work and the company at large. We can force people, but the whole idea of HR is to create joy in working. If there are issues arising out of their late coming, then we must discuss with them and appraise them of those issues. If they are senior and committed, they will advise solutions also...

As senior members have rightly pointed out, such matters should be handled by senior persons like the Director of HR.

It is difficult and unnecessary to explain to shop floor HR personnel and junior HR staff the reasons for a senior person arriving late. For example, the senior person may have flown in from another city that same morning, and the flight could have been delayed. They might have attended a late-night marketing get-together with channel partners or an urgent morning meeting with the Board of Directors. There could be numerous reasons that do not need to be shared or disclosed.

I believe it demonstrates a negative perspective to have the impulse to "discipline" senior members of the organization whose responsibilities and performance metrics are different.

The best course of action for a junior HR manager is to report the issue to their superiors and allow them to address the matter, focusing on more critical and immediate needs, rather than monitoring the arrival and departure times of very senior officers in the organization.

The real issue seems to stem from a lack of clearly defined delegation of authority and its communication. Consequently, junior HR officers may believe they have jurisdiction over everyone and can enforce standards of discipline and punctuality on all individuals.

Regards.

Niharika,

It is better for you to talk to your Head and discuss the strategy that needs to be adopted to curb this practice. If you keep the higher-ups in the picture, the problems will not creep up in the future. If need be, formulate some policies or rules and regulations to curb this practice, but taking the confidence of your Boss and then of the Higher up is very essential. You may also bring up this point in the meeting and let the senior people themselves decide what is required to be done.

I hope these suggestions will solve your problems to some extent. All the best.

Mahender Singh
HR

Hi Niharika,

There is no special clause for late going in any organization, since the senior position itself indicates it is a high position. They have to stay overtime to finish off the day's work or sometimes on a priority basis, like visitors coming to the office, etc. The seniors are supposed to stay back.

Whatever the time of leaving the office does not hold water here because all are expected to attend the office on time, and sometimes seniors are required to attend the office a little early and not late, since their job profile is such.

Late staying is not considered, even though employees are working more than 9 hours. This situation will happen in most organizations. Therefore, don't make excuses if they are coming in late.

Bala Krishna

User input: Reply: Better to monitor the attendance of the higher-ranking employees. If their performance is crucial, prioritize it over their working hours.