Attendance Bonus Confusion: Does Paid Leave Affect Eligibility?

Attendance Bonus Inquiry

Please help me out regarding the Attendance Bonus. To my understanding, an attendance bonus can only be availed if an employee has 100% attendance in a month. However, what if an employee has taken a leave from their paid leave entitlement?

Thanks & Regards,
Smita

Attendance bonuses can be given only when an employee has not availed any leave for a period of time. The attendance bonus policy differs from one organization to another.

Regards,
Swathi G
HR Executive

Dear Smita,

Attendance Bonus acts as motivation for employees and helps reduce unplanned leaves, aiding in better staffing and manpower planning. However, as mentioned by Mr. Khosla, no specific act specifies the same.

Such bonus policies are predominantly found in IT and ITES industries.

As no act has defined it, organizations create their own policies regarding the Attendance Bonus or incentive.

Generally, Attendance Bonus is paid to employees who do not take any unplanned or unapproved leave in a particular month. Those who utilize their planned leaves are eligible for the Attendance Bonus or Incentive.

Some organizations have slabs or buckets for Attendance Bonus or Incentive. For example:

- If an employee has No Unplanned Leaves: Rs. 1500
- If an employee has 1 Planned Leave: Rs. 1350
- If an employee has 2 Planned Leaves: Rs. 1200
- If an employee has 3 Planned Leaves: Rs. 1000
- If an employee has 3-5 Planned Leaves: Rs. 800
- If an employee has more than 5 Planned Leaves: Rs. 500
- If an employee has 1 or more Unplanned Leaves: Rs. 0

Similarly, some IT/ITES companies also provide Shift Incentives to motivate employees to work late, overnight, or early morning shifts.

I hope I have provided clarity on the subject.

Regards,

Rahul Chhabra

Dear Smita,

As suggested by several members, the Attendance Bonus (AB) scheme is dependent upon the company policies.

Some companies offer AB for 100% attendance, while others permit 1 day of planned leave (provided the employee has leave credits).

There is also a unique scheme where the AB progressively increases for every month of punctual attendance. For example, the AB starts at Rs. 200/- in January, and for every month of correct attendance, the amount multiplies to 400, 600, and so on, reaching 2400 in December. However, if there is a break in attendance in any given month, it resets to Rs. 200/- in the following month.

If an employee earns AB consecutively for the first half of the year (Jan - Jun), they receive Rs. 1200/- (6 months x Rs. 200/-) + an additional Rs. 1200/- bonus. This pattern repeats in the second half of the year if the employee is regular. If the employee maintains regular attendance for the entire calendar year, they earn Rs. 2400/- (12 months x Rs. 200/-) + Rs. 1200/- half-yearly bonus + Rs. 2400/- annual bonus = Rs. 6000/- in December. This system motivates employees to maintain regular attendance and discourages absenteeism to avoid significant loss of earnings in December.

The scheme can always be fine-tuned for the second, third successive year, and so on, as per your policies.

M.V. Kannan

Hi Everyone,

Actually, it purely depends on organizational policy and industry culture. But one thing I want to discuss is the motto of attendance allowance. It is to reduce absenteeism and increase productivity. If employees are going on leave through the proper channel, then you can prepare for future situations. So, plan out what will be the effect on your culture.

Regards

Attendance Bonus Eligibility

Availed leave is considered as leave in the punctuality category. Therefore, only those who have been present 100% of the month are eligible for a bonus!