Is It Legal to Deduct Salary for Frequent Late Arrivals? Seeking Advice

Dear Seniors & All,

Kindly help me in knowing if there is a law allowing salary deductions for three late marks. The reason I ask this is that many senior and executive-level employees in my company arrive late for work. The office timing is from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm with a grace period of 20 minutes. However, many employees arrive post 10:30 am and still receive full pay without any deduction.

I have convinced my management team to implement a deduction of half a day's salary for the third late mark without adjusting it against the employees' privileged leave. Please advise if my stance is correct.

Awaiting your reply and legal advice.

Regards,
Ms. Ruth Hosmani

There is no such law; it's the HR policies of the organization, which may vary from company to company. If you have a defined policy and employees are well-aware, then you are well within your right to act according to what is written in the policy. Though before taking any harsh action, just keep in mind that nowadays organizations start believing in flexible working hours.

I would like to suggest intimating employees that the maintenance of discipline in any organization is of prime essence, and it has been observed that employees are habitually coming late. Request to strictly adhere to working hours; otherwise, we will be constrained to initiate disciplinary actions besides marking them absent or any other penalty as defined in your policy.

Thank you for your help. We do not have any employees at the blue-collar level, and the real reason is to ensure that if I deduct the salary of the latecomer, the employer or the company should not be penalized by any legal action.

Yes, I am implementing this to address latecoming issues and to maintain proper work hours, as many employees have been consistently late, resulting in less than 8 hours of work. I have an ID card punch-in and punch-out system to track employee attendance accurately.

As the sole HR personnel for this company, I am responsible for managing all HR activities and seek assistance to ensure that both my company and employees receive equal benefits.

Regards,
Ruth H

Normally, managerial-level employees can arrive a little late so that their assistants can reach the office on time and prepare their office or desk for work. They would then leave the office a bit early, allowing their assistants to wrap up without any delays. There is no specific law regarding the tardiness of employees. Only the company's HR policies can address this issue through appropriate circulars, amendments in the HR manual, and necessary notifications that should be circulated to all employees. After providing some grace period, deductions can be implemented for late arrivals. To track their office attendance accurately, it is advisable to introduce a biometric attendance system (fingerprint) for both clocking in and out.

Thank you.

Can you please give a few more details as below:

1. What domain is your company in (e.g., IT, Telecom, etc.)?
2. You have mentioned the late-coming culture that's prevalent but haven't mentioned its effect on collective or individual performances. Please elaborate on this aspect too.

In general, while any rule or policy is laid down by HR to bring about some sort of structure into the operations, it is also important to remember the limitations of the rule or policy. This is where 'flexi working hours' suggested by Apoorva comes into the picture, especially since you mention that you don't have any blue-collar workers.

One phrase that is commonly used in the IT industry (mostly, but not limited to this sector or domain alone) is for the HR policies to be "Employee-friendly."

Regards,
TS

I would suggest that instead of salary deduction, why can't this be a mandatory practice that every employee must complete their full hours every day irrespective of their login time? This can help in keeping employees motivated.

Best Regards,
Mujeeb

Circular for Marking of Attendance

Just like every train needs to arrive and depart from a station at a fixed time, similarly, every employee of the company is required to arrive and depart from the place of work on time and work for a minimum of 48 hours per week (54 hours with a lunch break).

Over a period of time, the management of your organization has observed that employees of the company, in large numbers, are misusing the leniency of the management towards employees and have developed the habit of either coming late, going early, or leaving during duty hours. This has resulted in delays in the completion of work and/or missing targeted deadlines for the completion of assigned work. This has also resulted in increasing indiscipline amongst the staff members.

In view of the above and in order to restore much-needed discipline amongst staff members, the management of your organization has installed and made operational the Biometric Face Attendance Reader cum Recorder on 09/02/2012 at both the showroom and service center with the following rules of attendance:

1. The attendance recorded in the Biometric Face Attendance Reader cum Recorder shall be the basis for calculating the salary and wages earned by a particular employee for a particular month. Therefore, each and every employee has to use the Biometric Face Attendance Reader cum Recorder for recording their time of arrival and departure from the office without any choice of their own.

2. In case the Biometric Face Attendance Reader cum Recorder is out of order and/or out of service due to any reason whatsoever, the procedure of signing manually along with the time of signature shall have to be used on a daily sheet as per the present practice in force, and such a sheet needs to be delivered to the management on a daily basis.

3. Regular and punctual attendance, completion of assigned work, and meeting the targets set by the principal shall have a bearing on the continuation of employment, profit-linked annual performance-based bonus payable, if any, and annual performance-linked increment to every employee.

4. The management has full rights to make modifications/alterations/substitutions to any or all of the above provisions.

5. This arrangement comes into force with immediate effect.

6. Every employee has to sign this circular as a token of having read this very carefully and understood the same completely.

7. In case of any doubt, every employee is free to consult the management.

Use of Biometric Face Attendance Recorder

S. Arrival Departure Result

No.

1 Not used at time of arrival Not used at time of departure Employee did not come to duty and hence marked absent

2 Not used at time of arrival Used at time of departure Employee came abnormally late to duty just for marking attendance and/or did not work for the full day and hence marked absent

3 Used at time of arrival Not used at time of departure Employee came to duty just for marking attendance and left immediately and/or thereafter without doing any work and hence marked absent

4 Came late and/or left early by 0 to 15 minutes (including 15 minutes) on up to 3 occasions every calendar month Shall be marked half-day leave for every three occasions provided the total hours per week is 48 hours or more

5 Came late and/or left early by more than 15 minutes to 30 minutes on up to 3 occasions every calendar month Shall be marked full-day leave for every three occasions provided the total hours per week is 48 hours or more

6 Came late or left by more than 30 minutes To be marked absent for the day

7 Came late and/or left early and total working hours per week fall short of the prescribed 48 hours limit without a lunch break and 54 hours per week with a lunch break Double the shortfall hours shall be marked absent. E.g., if total working hours come to 44 hours, in such case, the shortfall is 4 hours, and one day leave shall be counted.

8 Remaining absent without prior information to management Absent and cannot be set off against any other day's working

9 Three Half/Full day leaves get marked due to late coming and/or leaving early Employee under censor/watch continuously till his performance improves.

10 Came late and/or left early due to company's work The note of the same needs to be got recorded from the management in the attendance register on the next first available opportunity

11 Outdoor duty within the city and/or out of station duty The note of the same needs to be got recorded from the management in the attendance register on the next first available opportunity

12 Camps/Melas/Exhibitions The attendance needs to be marked on a separate sheet for each day with arrival and departure time and the sheet handed over to management the very same day

It is not possible to use a tabular format here, therefore please cast the table at your end. You may please go through the attachment.

Implementing a Strict Attendance Policy

In order to maintain strict discipline in the organization, employees of all levels should mark their attendance and departure times through a punch-card system. There should be no relaxation of rules, even for senior executives. Furthermore, disciplinary actions should be taken against those who are habitually late to set examples for others on the consequences of such indiscipline.

You have misunderstood that for 3 late comings, there will be a one-day salary cut. It is not so. For 3 late comings, one day leave will be debited in the leave account of such late-coming employees. Thus, such an employee would lose one day of leave in their account. If such a debit is not possible due to the non-availability of leave in their account, then the salary can be cut therefore. This is the correct position.

Attendance and Timekeeping Policy

Please check your company policy on attendance and timekeeping administration.

On a related matter, managers are normally given the privilege to arrive late. This is based on the premise that they sometimes, if not always, stay late as well. Additionally, managers are compensated not only for their physical presence but also for their managerial skills, such as their ability to lead, plan, organize, motivate, and control their teams. They are also on call at any time.

Thanks, and I hope this information helps.

Regards,
Onilrem - Philippines

More than three days late (continuously) shall be taken seriously, and HR has the authority to issue a show-cause notice to that employee. After three show-cause notices, the employer has the right to terminate the employee.

Regards,
Sumit

You have made a mistake according to your company's rules, so you should not compare yourself with others. However, discrimination is illegal as per the law. If you need any evidence, you may challenge their deduction.

Regards,
Rajbir

I prefer my HR to send a notice if I don't complete my 40 hours of work (if 5 working days), and I would love my HR to focus on all other problems that are currently present in my facility rather than focusing on when I enter the facility.

Yes, when all employees arrive at their own time, there will be a coordination problem. In our company, we have it like this:

Business Hours: 9 AM-6 PM

Core Business Hours: 10 AM - 5 PM

It is advised for all to plan any meetings or conference calls during core business hours.

Also, we need to punch in 9 hours of work daily, including 1.5 hours as a break (lunch and two breaks).

Our HR just tracks whether we achieve the 45 hours of time punch, not what time I came to the facility.

Most of the employees come even before 9 and leave by 5, and almost all will be in the facility by 10 AM.

This gives some leniency to employees, and also employees will be productive. I believe when you touch the salary of an employee for being 10 minutes late, you are unearthing another ghost named attrition because no one likes that way.

This is just my thought.

Time Management and Salary Deductions

Whatever you are doing, time management is crucial. Article 14 states "equal before the law," so executives, senior executives, or any employer should be equal in terms of time management. As an HR professional, provide information to latecomers and offer three chances with a notice. After that, share latecomer details with a form for deduction information and strictly implement it during salary processing; this will automatically correct their timings.

Start by addressing the attendance of Heads of Departments who are late and issue deduction notices. Ensure that this information is communicated to all employees and employers to gradually reduce latecomers. I have implemented this and achieved positive results. Best of luck to you. There is no need for any legal laws; it is solely about maintaining discipline among associates.

Best regards

Managerial Approaches to Reduce Tardiness

This practice could be reduced by managerial approaches like conducting pep talks in person, meetings, and using notice boards. I never believe in high-school-type punishments as such activities tend to bring about drastic dramas instead of corrective measures. However, at the same time, it is absolutely a punishable mistake when an organization provides accommodation or the staff's house is located within reachable distance.

Dear Ruth,

Though there is no separate legal law on late arrivals, you may create a Standing Order as per the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, and have it approved by the certifying officer. The penalties and procedures may be established as suggested by our other colleagues. Am I correct? Any comments, seniors?!

P. Vathiraj
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

An employee coming late by half an hour is not a big deal. Please try to observe whether the employee is compensating for that time at the end of the day. If not, follow the legal rules and policies of the organization.

Thank you.
Regards.

To maintain the discipline and decorum of any organization, it is important to follow the timings. Whether a senior executive or a junior, a rule is a rule even for a fool! This even spoils the culture of the organization if people are not following the rules.

Please note that deductions can be made, and there is no legal rule that can stop you. Also, note that you have to strictly make rules for employees to also leave the office on time. Only when the work-life and personal life are balanced can you get the optimum productivity of employees.

Being an HR, it's your responsibility to ensure that employees are coming on time and leaving on time to ensure their welfare. Of course, employee welfare is also an important aspect. Train your employees regarding time management, to complete the said works on the said time, and also to enjoy life.

Teach your employees to take pleasure even under pressure. This will automatically set things right, and people will fall onto the right track.

Regards,
Bharghavi

Strict Enforcement of Late Coming Policy

A small suggestion: You have to strictly enforce or follow whatever late coming policy is laid down by you, after an in-depth debate with your senior management. Then this YOU will become THEY (including senior management).

Confront the problem honestly and avoid roundabouts like relaxations for seniors, biometric recording, or time with signatures at arrival/departure, etc. Because anything you do, finally, the moot question will arise - how to tackle latecomers. HRM never means that you compromise on disciplinary norms...

You are right! Weak management eventually leads to such negative attitudes. If things have reached the level of frequent deductions and lost their impact, I think that changing the person at the helm of affairs, identifying habitual defaulters, and taking strict action, such as suspending or removing them, will help. The rest will fall in line.

This situation mainly indicates that management is weak and lacks spine, no matter how big they may talk about time discipline. Please hear me out if the situation is different.

Anyone can help with the rules of salary deduction for late attendance.