How Should We Handle Late Arrivals? Seeking Input on a Fair Attendance Policy

Attendance Policy Request

Please provide the policy or circular for attendance because some employees in our organization are coming late routinely and are not informing in advance.

I am requesting a circular that allows a 15-minute grace period three times a month and permits a 2-hour short leave in a month. Any absence exceeding 2 hours will be deducted as a half-day absence. Additionally, being late more than three times will also be considered as a half-day absence.

Kindly provide the same.

Regards,
Pulkit

Dear Pulkit,

Attendance

- All employees of the company must register their attendance and record their movement during office hours in the manner prescribed by the management.

- Immediately upon arrival at the office, employees should sign in the attendance register maintained at the Front Office/Security Desk.

- A grace period of 15 minutes may be allowed for a maximum of 3 times in a month. Any further occurrence of late coming beyond 3 times will be treated as half-a-day leave.

- The attendance register will be closed by 10:00 am at the Front Office/Security Desk and handed over to the HR Department. (Draft if you need it)

Permission

• Employees are eligible for permission for a total of 2 hours in a month; however, permission on a given day shall not exceed 2 hours.

• If the occasion exceeds the prescribed 2 hours in a month, the exceeding hours will be considered as a half-a-day leave. The leave will be adjusted against the Leave Balance.

• If there is no leave credit, then it will be treated as LOP (Loss of Pay).

• This privilege of permission cannot be claimed as a right, carried over, or accumulated.

Regards

Your attempt to rein in certain discipline is commendable. However, instead of marking individuals as absent straight away, which involves other complications such as breaks in service, impacts on performance appraisals, and future careers, I suggest debiting their leave account after a grace period of one month. If there is no leave available, treat those days as "leave without pay" after receiving a properly completed application from the individuals concerned. Continuous latecomers should be labeled as "habitual" if they fail to make amends and adhere to your discipline rules. Ensure you include relevant clauses in your service conditions as per your Standing Orders.

Another approach could be to display a notice with photographs of habitual latecomers on your Notice Board with a suitable caption, and present them with titles like "The most untimely person" (as some magazines award such titles) with appropriate wording.

I hope you achieve your desired outcomes.

Warm regards,
Kumar.s.

Most HR professionals believe that diluting policies is common practice, but consistent late arrivals can cast doubt on your punctuality and performance. As a consequence, they may choose to deduct a day's salary for every three instances of tardiness.

Thank you.

A good way of keeping attendance is to have a swipe card system at the workplace. This way, you can get the top management to buy into your efforts of inculcating discipline within your organization. Remember, discipline has to start at the top and percolate to the lowest levels of the hierarchy. If you already have such a system in place, I suggest monitoring it on a weekly or monthly basis, depending on the staff strength.

The standard practice for late arrivals is to consider the third instance each month as half-day leave and the fourth as a full day of leave. Depending on the employee's leave balance, these instances can be designated as leave without pay, and two occurrences within a month could be regarded as a break in service. Of course, situations like a medical emergency, where an employee must visit the hospital for daily treatment, should be handled separately.

As Mr. Kumar mentions in this email thread, these conditions should be outlined in the service manual (employee handbook) that employees are required to sign upon joining the company. This step provides a legal foundation for the entire process, preventing employees from claiming ignorance of the company's rules and regulations.

Best regards,
Raj