How Should I Handle Employee Dissatisfaction Over New Salary Deduction Rules?

Hi all the seniors,

I'm facing a problem of dissatisfaction among the employees in my company. Most of them are dissatisfied with the rules I have implemented to maintain discipline in the office and adhere to the proper time schedule. I have converted days into hours and decided to adjust salaries accordingly. Individuals working more hours will receive 1.5 times their regular pay for the extra hours, while those working fewer hours will have their salary deducted for each hour missed. Some employees find this rule unacceptable. I implemented this policy starting this month but have not actually deducted any salaries; I have only shown the calculations to the employees.

Two employees asked for their salaries to be deducted as they believed the company was being lenient by not enforcing the deductions for 2 or 4 hours of missed work. They returned the deducted amount to me. I am having difficulty convincing them and am very confused about how to handle returning this amount to the manager. I seek advice as I do not want to disappoint the employees or offend my superiors.

Regards,
Fauzia
AISPL

Dear Fauzia,

As per the Act, you cannot compel any employee to work more than 8 hrs. In special cases, it may be necessary, but for that, you have to pay overtime to employees. What I feel is that this kind of enforcement will cause harm rather than good. This approach will not make them more disciplined; instead, you should consider other alternatives. Otherwise, you may end up losing your employees this way.

Regards,
Pankaj

Hi Fauzia,

I think the response you are getting from the employees is very apt for the system that you have implemented. Don't get me wrong. What is important for the company is the contribution from the employees and not the time spent at the office. There may be some who, in order to get a higher salary, will just sit back late, while others may work during regular hours and finish off the work on time.

Now it's up to you to decide whether you want employees who make timely and valuable contributions to the company or those who just spend long hours in the office using all the available facilities.

All the best!

Even I agree that merely staying late does not mean productive work has been done during either normal working hours or thereafter. Let the normal overtime rules remain, with the supervisor validating the need for overtime.

Do not deduct money for people who are coming late or leaving early, but if this happens, for example, three times a month, deduct half a day's CL (a suggestion).

Jeroo

Dear Fauzia,

I think the rule you have made is not feasible. Employees are quite smart nowadays. Don't make rules based on hours of working; instead, assign tasks and assess performance on a monthly or quarterly basis. Make your system KRA-based or performance-based. With the rule you have made, an employee can be in the office during working hours but may not be working. We should focus on the productivity of an employee.

Now, you may face a problem in retracting the rule you have made. I suggest you call a meeting with employees from different departments and help them understand that the rule is in place to monitor productivity. Create some measures and deliverables to define their tasks.

All the very best,
Farhat

Hi to all,

Thanks for your valuable suggestions. You are right; I will not deduct the salary. Instead, I will warn them and deduct their points in the monthly performance appraisals. Here, except for a few, all have an ego problem. Though I tackle them tactfully, sometimes I am unsuccessful. Now, I will think of some other way...