An effective work attendance policy is perhaps the one document that ensures the profitability of your business. If left to their devices, employees can bend attendance rules to fit their personal lifestyles and schedules to the detriment of your business. To make sure everyone works when they’re supposed to, a practical work attendance policy is critical.
With today’s ‘fluid’ work schedules, having an elaborate work attendance policy is critical. The objective of a work attendance policy should be to improve productivity and efficiency within your business operations. The work attendance policy establishes guidelines that define various work metrics such as work hours, lateness for work, absences, among others.
Below are nine guidelines for creating a work attendance policy:
1. Create a method for tracking work attendance
The work attendance policy should have a way of tracking time and attendance. This could be digital via software systems or through payroll timekeeping, or any other system that’s appropriate for your business. The ability to accurately track attendance is critical for the success of any work attendance policy.
2. Clearly define employee work hours in the policy
This step should involve defining clearly what a typical workday looks like. If applicable, establish a specific start and stop time for every employee. Where shifts are required, clearly define them in your work attendance policy, indicating when they start and when they end.
If there’s no specific start or end time, establish the particular number of hours an employee is supposed to work. Where these hours vary due to the nature of your business, explain where and how hours are posted. You should also define how employees sign in or out.
3. Define absences & lateness in the work attendance policy
The work attendance policy must clearly describe what constitutes lateness for work. At what time is an employee officially late, or do you have a buffer zone before declaring an employee officially absent or late? At what stage during a workday is an employee declared absent as opposed to being late?
Your work attendance policy should also have a procedure for the replacement of a late or absent employee and for calling off. Should an employee come to work late or miss work, who should be notified?
4. Explain how the leave of absence works
A leave of absence is a prolonged time off work. Your work attendance policy should include leave-of-absence stipulations if applicable. The leave-of-absence should be approved and documented for it to stick. It should also include a list of approved absences and explicitly outline the required documentation.
Sometimes, you may need to apply for a leave of absence to attend to family or personal issues. A work attendance policy should have a clearly laid out process for requesting leave. To avoid backlash, make sure you understand why you’re asking for leave. Find out what the procedure is for requesting leave. In some businesses, this can be done via word-of-mouth. In others, the request must be documented according to the work attendance policy.
5. Set up an absence management policy
The work attendance policy should include a way to manage absences throughout your company. Absences can be costly to a business. They can severely affect profits and productivity.
While some absences, such as those resulting from injury or illness are inevitable, others may be flippant. This could end up overburdening other employees who may be asked to fill in and compensate for lost work.
6. Outline what constitutes as holiday leave
Some companies provide religious leave, floating and paid holidays. Others are closed on certain holidays without or with employee pay. If any of the above is relevant to your business, make sure it’s clearly articulated in the work attendance policy.
7. Outline employee leave benefits
A work attendance policy should clearly outline the available paid and unpaid leave for workers. This includes how and when one qualifies for leave and the amount of leave they can accrue per year, month, pay period, or week. Make sure you clearly outline the procedure for applying for leave. This should include blackout periods and deadlines for requesting vacation leave.
8. Your policy should comply with the law
Make sure your work attendance policy complies with the applicable regulations, such as the labour employment law. Understanding what labour laws apply in your jurisdiction is critical in creating a productive work attendance policy. This is the foundation upon which the rest of the document rests. Find out if there are additional laws you need to comply with; for instance, employee absences and leave. If in doubt, seek the HR’s advice.
9. Outline discipline and consequences
The final section of your work attendance policy should clearly describe what consequences and disciplinary measures should be applied should an employee violate an aspect of the policy. Document the process to be followed if an employee violates the work attendance policy. This is critical since it will protect your business from potential accusations of discrimination or favouritism. Any employee who claims they are unfairly targeted or punished can be referred to this section of the policy.
