Policy template
Attendance policy template
Adopt it once attendance is captured by a device or an app rather than a register, and the questions start: what counts as late, how many late marks make a half day, who can fix a missed punch and by when. It fixes the rules so that payroll runs from attendance data without argument, and gives managers a fair basis for acting on absence.
Free to use and adapt. Not legal advice: have a lawyer check anything you rely on in a dispute.
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Attendance policy
Company name
Effective from Effective from
1. Purpose and scope
This policy sets out the working hours of Company name (the Company), how attendance is recorded, and the rules for late arrival, half days, regularisation, overtime, work from home and absence. It applies to all employees on the Company’s payroll. Attendance records under this policy are the basis for payroll, leave deduction and disciplinary action, so every employee is responsible for ensuring that their attendance is recorded correctly.
2. Working hours
Normal working hours are Working hours, Working days, with a meal break of Meal break (minutes) minutes. Employees on shifts or at client locations follow the hours notified for their shift or site. Working hours may be changed by the Company with reasonable notice, within the limits set by the Shops and Establishments Act or the Factories Act applicable to the location.
3. Recording attendance
Every employee must record their own attendance at the start and end of each working day using one of the following methods:
Biometric device at the office entrance.
Mobile app punch with GPS location, for employees working in the field or at client sites, from the locations approved for them.
Web check-in from the Company’s HR portal, for employees approved to work from home.
Marking attendance on behalf of another employee, or asking someone else to mark yours, is misconduct and will be dealt with under the disciplinary procedure. A day with no punch and no approved leave will be treated as absent.
4. Grace period and late marks
A grace period of Grace period (minutes) minutes after the start of the working day is allowed for unavoidable delays. Arrival after the grace period is recorded as a late mark. Every Late marks per half day late marks in a calendar month will be treated as a half day of leave, deducted from casual leave and, when no balance remains, as leave without pay. Leaving before the end of working hours without the reporting manager’s approval is treated in the same way as late arrival.
5. Half day and full day
An employee who is present for at least Hours for a full day hours between the in-punch and the out-punch, excluding the meal break, is marked present for a full day. Presence of at least Hours for a half day hours but less than Hours for a full day hours is marked as a half day. Presence of less than Hours for a half day hours is marked absent unless leave for the balance has been approved.
6. Regularisation
Where a punch is missed or recorded incorrectly because of a device fault, official travel, an outdoor meeting or a similar reason, the employee must raise a regularisation request in the HR portal within Regularisation deadline (working days) working days of the date concerned, stating the reason and the actual in and out times. The reporting manager will approve or reject the request. Not more than Regularisations allowed per month regularisations will be allowed in a month without the approval of Human Resources. Requests raised after the payroll cut-off for the month will be processed in the following month.
7. Overtime
Overtime must be approved in advance by the reporting manager. Employees covered by the overtime provisions of the applicable Shops and Establishments Act or Factories Act will be paid overtime at Overtime rate for hours worked beyond the statutory daily or weekly limit, calculated from recorded attendance. Employees in managerial or supervisory roles are not eligible for overtime pay and may be granted compensatory off under the leave policy.
8. Work from home
Employees approved for work from home must check in and check out on the web or mobile app on each working day and remain reachable during working hours. Work from home is available for up to Work from home days per month days a month with the reporting manager’s approval, subject to the nature of the role. Days worked from home without approval will be treated as absent.
9. Absence without intimation
An employee who cannot attend work must inform the reporting manager before the start of the working day, by phone or message, and apply for leave in the HR portal within two working days of returning. Absence without intimation and without approved leave is unauthorised absence and will be treated as leave without pay. Repeated unauthorised absence is misconduct. Continuous unauthorised absence of Absence treated as abandonment (days) or more working days without any communication will be treated as abandonment of service, and the Company may proceed under its disciplinary procedure after issuing a notice to the employee’s address on record.
10. Remedies and disciplinary action
Breaches of this policy will be dealt with progressively: verbal counselling for the first occurrence in a quarter, a written warning for the second, and a show-cause notice and disciplinary proceedings for continued breaches. Falsification of attendance, including proxy punching or tampering with location data, is serious misconduct and may result in termination after due enquiry.
11. Review
Human Resources will review this policy annually and whenever the applicable law changes. Questions may be sent to HR contact email. Where this policy conflicts with the law applicable to a location, the law will prevail.
What to get right
Set the grace period and late-mark rule in numbers and apply them through the system, not by manager discretion. Discretion is what turns a late mark into a grievance.
Put a deadline on regularisation and tie it to the payroll cut-off. Requests that arrive after salary is processed create arrears, corrections and mistrust in the attendance data.
Check the overtime rules for your state and sector before writing clause 7. The Factories Act and most Shops and Establishments Acts require double the ordinary rate beyond the statutory hours.
Say plainly that proxy punching is misconduct. It is the commonest attendance fraud in Indian offices, and a policy that does not name it makes discipline harder.
Serve a written notice before treating a long absence as abandonment. Courts expect the employer to give the employee a chance to explain, even when the employee has gone silent.
Questions people ask
What is a reasonable grace period for late coming?
Ten to fifteen minutes is common in Indian offices, applied at the start of the day only. Some companies allow the grace period a limited number of times a month rather than every day. Whatever you choose, apply it through the attendance system so that late marks are computed the same way for everyone.
Can an employer deduct salary for late coming?
A deduction for absence from duty is permitted under the Code on Wages, and treating accumulated late marks as a half day of leave is the usual way to apply it. The rule must be written, communicated in advance and proportionate; a deduction larger than the time actually lost may be challenged as a fine, which the law restricts.
Is overtime pay mandatory in India?
For employees covered by the Factories Act or the applicable Shops and Establishments Act, yes: work beyond the statutory daily or weekly hours must be paid at twice the ordinary rate. Managerial and supervisory staff are generally excluded. Keep recorded attendance as the evidence for overtime, and get it approved in advance to control cost.
How many days of absence count as abandonment of service?
There is no single national figure. Model standing orders and many company rules use eight to ten consecutive days of unauthorised absence, but the employer must still issue a notice to the employee’s last known address and give a chance to explain before treating the employment as ended. State the number in the policy and follow the notice step every time.
Usually issued alongside
All templates
In Kuzhu
In Kuzhu, this policy is generated from the employee record: names, dates and amounts fill themselves, the issued copy is filed against the person, and nobody retypes a CTC.
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