How Can We Amend Attendance Policies to Fairly Reflect Extra Hours Worked?

Dear Senior, I would like to seek your expert advice. Presently, I am working with a Media/Event organization. We generally follow flexible hours, i.e., between 8:30 to 10:45 am, an employee can punch the card, complete 9 hours of shift, and leave. If, in case, any employee punches the card, e.g., at 10:55 am, they will be marked as having taken short leave for that particular day. However, if an employee works more than 9 hours but still has their leave/salary deducted, it can be quite demotivating for them. Even after working for 10 or 12 hours of a shift, just because they arrive 10 or 15 minutes late, they face deductions. Please advise on what we can suggest to amend this rule.

I would like to clarify that late arrivals initially get adjusted from the employee's leave balance. Once leaves are exhausted, the salary gets cut. However, employees in both cases are not satisfied just because they are putting in more than 9 hours.

Proposed Amendment to Attendance Policy

In my opinion, I would suggest that we make an amendment to the rule such that any employee who is in the office for over 50 hours in any week (instead of the minimum required 45 hours) will be entitled to adjust the time beyond 50 hours up to a maximum of one hour in that week against any late coming (or against leaving early, as the case may be).

I am seeking your suggestions as well. Please advise.

Regards, Manisha Singh

Dear Senior,

I would like to seek your expert advice. Presently, I am working with a Media/Event organization. We generally follow flexible hours, i.e., between 8:30 to 10:45 am, an employee can clock in and complete a 9-hour shift before leaving. However, if an employee clocks in after 10:45 am, they will be marked as taking a short leave for that day. Even if the employee works more than 9 hours, their leave/salary gets deducted. This practice is quite demotivating for them. Despite working for 10 or 12 hours, just because they are 10 or 15 minutes late, they face deductions.

Proposed Amendments to Attendance Policy

Please advise on what amendments we can suggest to improve this rule. Late arrivals are currently adjusted from the employee's leave balance. Once their leaves are exhausted, salary deductions are made. However, employees are dissatisfied in both scenarios as they are putting in more than the required 9 hours.

In my opinion, I propose amending the rule to state that any employee present in the office for over 50 hours in a week (instead of the minimum required 45 hours) should be allowed to adjust the time beyond 50 hours, up to a maximum of one hour in that week, to offset any late arrivals or early departures.

I look forward to your suggestions. Please advise.

Regards,
Manisha Singh

You can change the shift times in your software or punching machine as per the hourly rate. This way, it will calculate only hours rather than incoming and outgoing time.

Thanks & Regards,
Ajay

There are two sides to this. On one side, as you mentioned, employees get demotivated if penalized for coming in even 10 minutes late. But on the other side, you have to consider the fact that some checks and measures have to be in place to ensure discipline and commitment. You are already enjoying the benefits of flexi-hours which, believe me, a lot of people from other companies would give an arm and a leg to have in their organizations! You have a window of 2 hours and 15 minutes. Surely, a well-meaning employee should be able to adjust within that window. If there is a genuine reason (and that will not happen very often, only about 2-3 times a month), then to accommodate for that, I support the suggestion given by Rajeev Dixit.

Also, the fact that they are working for more than 9 hours is not a good reason to walk in any time they want. Scientifically too, the first few hours are your most productive, and the company will not want to lose out on that. If somebody is staying late to finish work constantly, or if almost everybody is doing that, you may want to look at other factors to correct that.

Regards,
Manish Majumdar.

Introducing a Late Coming Form

Flexi-timings are indeed a beneficial policy that your company has implemented, especially in metropolitan areas where traffic can be a significant issue. Regarding your concerns about late arrivals, you might consider introducing a Late Coming form. An employee arriving late after a stipulated time period must fill out this form. The form should be submitted by the concerned employee to the HR department after obtaining approval from their Head of Department (HOD) or Section Head. This process will also help you understand the primary reasons for late arrivals, whether they are intentional or due to other factors.

Regards,
Gurpreet Singh

It's a good practice to follow flexible hours, but it should be done in a disciplined manner. You can suggest a half-day salary deduction for any three or four days in a month where an employee is late by more than 15 minutes after 10:45 a.m., i.e., up to 11 a.m. For any delays beyond 11 a.m., a half-day deduction can be applied for that particular day.

Regards,

Discipline and Office Timings

Discipline is discipline! No compromise. Office timings must be fixed, and one can get the benefit of 10-15 minutes grace only; otherwise, your office will become a "Fish Market" where people will come and go with no control.

Motivation and Flexibility

In the case of your office, if you are giving them flexible hours to punch in and start the day, then what kind of motivation are they looking for? When it comes to motivation, there are numerous ways to motivate staff. It is now in your hands to maintain discipline or create a chaotic environment that requires motivation in that way.

Cultural Perspective

We are Indians, and if our employer provides us with an Audi, a driver, a sea-facing flat, a seven-digit monthly salary, and numerous facilities, only then will we say, "Yaar kahi achi job lag jae to maza ah jae." Chill HR!

Regards.

You need to be very careful while making decisions about penalizing employees. The best way is to identify chronic misusers by monitoring attendance trends. Speak to people to understand their job roles. If there is a genuine need where an employee is facing a personal issue but is still completing assignments and coming close to the stipulated work hours, they should be given some leeway.

We were facing a similar issue. We sensitized people through regular communications, publishing reports, and counseling. Today, we don't have anyone misusing flexi timings; most people don't do such things intentionally.

Dear Manisha, It's better to consult with your time office software as I know there are two ways: fixed timings and flexi timings. They will guide you better.

Dear Manisha,

In addition to what Manish Majumdar has said, I would like to draw your attention to interdepartmental coordination as well. Discipline is a must in an organization for a smooth workflow. At times, if an employee is unavailable when required, work might suffer. Assuming yours is a process-driven organization and you have enough manpower to handle tasks, a company should never compromise on discipline.

A flexibility of 2 hours is a commendable practice. If you wish to extend this liberty further, you can consider two methods:

1. Allowing a maximum number of times an employee can arrive late, OR

2. Allowing late arrivals up to 45 minutes in total for a month and deducting half a day for every 15 minutes thereafter. For example, if an employee is late for 64 minutes:
- First 45 minutes - no deduction
- Next 15 minutes - half-day deduction
- Next 4 minutes - half-day deduction

Please understand that policies always have benefits and penalties attached to them. You cannot keep changing your policies every time after implementation based on employee feedback. HR should have a stable approach to empathize and bridge the gap between management and employees. Policies should never be one-sided.

The solution you have suggested does not highlight the potential benefits the organization may gain. Have you considered that aspect as well?

Thank you.

Discipline is discipline, and there should be no compromise with it!

According to me, based on my seven years of experience, whenever I am late, it is intentional from my side. One can receive grace for some instances with a valid explanation in writing approved by their HOD. So, as you have mentioned flexible timings, you have already provided comfort and relaxation with flexible shifts, so there is no need to stipulate a specific morning time. It is better not to change the policy. Just advise employees to adhere to it honestly, as it gives a good impression when employees are regular and disciplined.

Regards,
Ved Parkash Bawa
AM (P & A)

In my opinion, flexi-timings between 8:30 AM and 10:45 AM are quite lenient (2 hours and 15 minutes). I think that beyond this, if you still want to make it flexible, it will have no meaning regardless of the fact that they stay beyond the stipulated working hours. Employees need to be present in an organization during specified periods of time when business transactions take place. If you wish, you can have a core group of employees who must be present in the office at fixed periods of time. For the other employees, you can have time slots when they need to be present. In media/event organizations, to my knowledge, the times they leave vary, and they stay late in the evenings to complete their activities.

You will appreciate that employees may be required to answer client calls, hold meetings on a business prospect, schedule events in consultation with specialists in respective areas, etc. Hence, I feel that you need to have staggered but flexible timings (with time limits for reporting time) for categories of employees that suit the needs of the organization. The attendance system can be fine-tuned to meet such requirements.

Regards,
M.V. Kannan

I agree with Gurgaon HR regarding discipline; there should not be any compromise. I also agree with Parul Tomer. Everybody has the right to grow and pursue opportunities that offer better prospects and good returns for their efforts.

Ms. Manisha, I appreciate your concern and the suggestion you gave on calculating the total office hours per week to 50 hours. However, we should also identify employees who are reporting late most frequently. Additionally, you need to identify job roles, productive time, and assignments.

Since you mentioned you work in an advertising company, you can allocate work in a project-based manner. For example, assign a project to an employee and provide them with a comfortable time frame to complete it, especially for technical staff. For accounts, admin, and other departments, you can implement a policy of 50 to 55 hours to accommodate any lateness or early departures.

One option is to introduce a shift system. Employees could select a shift after obtaining approval from their immediate HOD with proper adjustments.

Regards,
Babudada

It's good that you have flexible punching times. There is no need to extend the punching time without conducting investigations. First, check the reason for the late arrivals. Then, determine whether all employees coming from that area are experiencing this issue or if it is only a few. This will help you understand whether the person is intentionally doing it or if it is a genuine problem affecting a group of people. Accordingly, you can take action against them. If a time change is required, then adjust your punching time to 09:00 instead of 08:30, and on the other side, to 11:15 from 10:45.