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How To Write An Attendance Policy [Template]

By Caitlin Mazur - Aug. 17, 2022
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It happens to everyone. You wake up late, you hit traffic, or an emergency pops up, and suddenly, you’re late for work. Being late for work is okay occasionally; however, attendance is incredibly important to maintain your professionalism and responsibilities to your team. That’s why attendance policies are so important.

When it comes to employee attendance, even small things can add up. When employees don’t show up or are late to work, productivity can plummet significantly. Of course, the occasional absence is acceptable, but you may want to outline your expectations for your employees in an attendance policy.

Key Takeaways:

  • When writing an attendance policy for your company, first consider the current work culture.

  • It’s important to think through nuances when writing an attendance policy. Something like a ‘zero-tolerance’ attendance policy would put most individuals out of a job that does not bode well for your business.

  • Your attendance policy should help your employees meet clear expectations as a member of your team. This means you must develop your policy based on reality and develop realistic and achievable expectations.

  • By including realistic disciplinary actions in your attendance policy, you can enforce this policy more easily.

What Is an Attendance Policy?

An attendance policy is a document that outlines a set of rules that are put in place by the company to improve employee productivity, reduce absenteeism, and set clear expectations for employees. A good attendance policy includes guidelines regarding taking leave, tardiness, and absences. It should also include repercussions for poor attendance.

The attendance policy is typically set in place to inform employees of the importance of being present for work on time. Use this to educate employees as to why regular attendance and punctuality improve productivity. As your business scales or you take on more employees, a fair employee attendance policy is important to keep your business running smoothly.

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Before Writing an Attendance Policy

Begin by taking into account the current work culture. If you are approaching this after your employees have gotten relaxed about showing up on time or simply don’t show up at all, it’s important to remember that employee behavior will not change immediately. This may require a shift in your overall company culture.

Before you begin writing your policy, be sure to talk with your leadership team and ask how they currently enforce employee attendance as well as their overall expectations. Some leaders may have different expectations, and this should be taken into consideration when drafting the policy.

There may be other factors impacting attendance, such as family responsibilities, remote privileges, or being a student. It’s important to think through all of these nuances when writing an attendance policy. Something like a ‘zero-tolerance’ attendance policy would put most individuals out of a job that does not bode well for your business.

Remember, the attendance policy should be created to help your employees meet clear expectations as a member of your team. This means you must develop your policy based on reality and develop realistic and achievable expectations for your entire team.

How to Write an Attendance Policy

An attendance policy might sound like an easy document to create, but based on the previous section, there are plenty of things to think about before you even start writing. First and most importantly, you’ll want to make sure you, HR, and the leadership team agree on the definition of certain things, including:

  • Absence. An absence is typically when an employee misses a day of work but has informed their manager and the team they will be absent from that shift. This offers the team adequate time to find coverage. Your policy might specify an absence must be notified to their manager X days or weeks prior to the absence.

  • Unscheduled absence. This is when an employee is unexpectedly absent but only notifies their employer directly before their shift. An unscheduled absence is typically utilized when there is an emergency or another unexpected cause and is typically much less common than regular absences.

  • Tardiness. How your company defines tardiness can vary from employer to employer. This may be a few minutes after your shift begins or up to a half hour or hour after your shift begins. Depending on your needs and the structure of your company, there may be different definitions of this.

  • No-show. Typically no-show means the employee did not inform anyone they would miss work but still does not show up. Depending on your company and the employee’s reasoning, the punishment for being a no-show could be severe or even termination.

  • Sick day. Most organizations offer their employees an allotted time for sick days. Your organization may require a doctor’s note to verify the legitimacy of this time used or not, but either way, these are typically reserved for employee illness.

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Disciplinary Actions for Attendance Policies

Although we wish everyone would take rules and policies seriously, there is always the potential for the opposite. To combat this, including realistic disciplinary actions in your attendance policy is important. These shouldn’t be based on personal beliefs or individual expectations but should be to enforce the overall plan for everyone.

Be sure to do some research on what common statistics are for absences, especially in your industry. Then, consider using these as guidelines to draft your own disciplinary components while adjusting where necessary based on your business and the needs of your employees. Some disciplinary actions may read as follows:

  • If an employee shows up 5 minutes late, this may be considered tardiness. However, if an employee shows up 30+ minutes later, this tardiness will be considered a “no show.”

  • After three tardies in a month, an employee may be subject to disciplinary action. This gives your employees a clear marker as to how many tardies they’re allowed within a month’s time.

  • If an employee has three no-shows in a year, they may be subject to termination. Again, this gives your employers clear expectations and also sets an appropriate consequence for no-shows.

Attendance Policy Template

If you’re wondering what a template for an attendance policy looks like, we’ve created a sample template that you can use below:

Overview
Employees employed at Company are expected to arrive in a timely manner to work each day. Regular attendance and punctuality are expected to keep your team and Company operating smoothly. Below, please find our attendance policy. If you have any further questions, please contact Stacy@hrdepartment.com.

Policy
Regular attendance is expected of each employee at Company. Employees must report to work as scheduled, on time, and prepared to start the day. Employees are expected to remain at work for their first shift. Tardiness, early departure, or other absences from scheduled hours must be avoided unless there are emergency circumstances.

Absence
An absence is defined as a missed day of work for an employee when they are scheduled to work below. There are two types of absences:

  • Excused absences are when the employee provides up to a week’s notice in advance of the absence, which is approved. The employee must have sufficient PTO to cover the absence.

  • Unexcused absences are when any of the above conditions are not met, such as an illness or emergency.

An unexcused absence is counted as one occurrence towards discipline under this policy. Employees with two or more consecutive days of excused absences because of illness or injury must provide their direct manager with a doctor’s note or be eligible for disciplinary action. Additionally, employees must use sick-day leave for these absences.

Tardiness and Early Departure
Employees must arrive to work and back from their breaks on time. If they are unable to arrive in a timely manner, they must advise their supervisor immediately. If an employee must leave their shift early, they must also advise their supervisor immediately. Additionally, tardiness and early departure count towards one-half occurrence of disciplinary action.

Disciplinary Action
If the employee accrues two or more occurrences of unexcused absence in a month, this will result in disciplinary action. Ten or more occurrences over a year will result in termination.

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Attendance Policy FAQ

  1. What is a reasonable attendance policy?

    A reasonable attendance policy is one that takes into consideration all employee needs and lifestyles to create a realistic and sustainable policy.

  2. How do you write an attendance policy?

    To write an attendance policy, first, consider your company culture and then define terms that are agreed upon by your leadership team. Finalize your document and rules and consider what disciplinary action you want to put in place.

  3. Why is an attendance policy important?

    An attendance policy is important because it emphasizes the significance of being present and on time for work each day.

Author

Caitlin Mazur

Caitlin Mazur is a freelance writer at Zippia where she has written 140+ articles that have reached over 1 mil viewers as of June 2023. Caitlin is passionate about helping Zippia’s readers land the jobs of their dreams by offering content that discusses job-seeking advice based on experience and extensive research.

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