Attendance Policies

Attendance policies define the rules for employee attendance behavior and the result of conforming or violating those rules.

Select policy types that complement your workplace philosophy and culture. Then choose the basis of how the policy is applied—by time or by number of occurrences.

How policies work

Attendance policies are enforced during a defined tracking period. Assign a tracking period to the policy and then define rules for the policy.

Associate attendance events, attendance patterns, and combined events with the attendance policy through rules. As events, patterns, combined events, and lost time events occur, the attendance rules within the policy interpret the events. The system launches actions based on criteria that are defined in the rules.

Rule groups define how events, patterns, combined events, or lost time events are processed for an employee during a specific tracking period.

Allow a number of free incidents — events or pattern incidents that the employee can incur without being disqualified from perfect attendance for an attendance event. When employees reach that number, they move to a new rule group. In the second rule group, specify that employees receive a certain number of points for every incident of an attendance event.

After an employee moves to a different discipline level, no other attendance policy rules in the original level are enforced for that day, unless this has been specified in the policy that performs the move. The attendance policy rules for the new discipline level are enforced starting on the next day.

If your perfect attendance policy is based on fixed calendar months, the employee must complete an entire calendar month or months without any attendance infractions. For example, a perfect attendance policy has a one fixed calendar month tracking period. On January 15, an attendance event disqualifies an employee from perfect attendance. The employee must complete all of February without any attendance infractions to be eligible for perfect attendance during February.

Create or modify attendance policies

To access attendance policies

  1. Select Administration > Application Setup > Attendance Setup > Attendance Policies.
  2. To create a new policy or to modify existing ones, do one of the following:
    • Click New and select a policy type.
    • Select Duplicate or Edit.
  3. Refer to the procedure for the specific policy type for the remaining configuration steps:

Manage attendance policies

  • Search for specific policies - To find a specific item — Enter up to 25 characters in the Name box and click Search.
  • Filter items based on status - Select Active, Inactive, or All in the Filter list.
  • Specify a row - Select the check box next to the item.
  • Sort on a column - Click the arrow in a column header to sort the data in ascending order or descending order.
  • Refresh the workspace - Click Refresh to update the workspace with any new or changed information that has been saved.
  • Delete one or more policies - Select them from the list and then click Delete. At the prompt, click OK. You cannot delete an attendance policy that has been referenced within the Attendance Setup. Instead, mark the attendance policy as Inactive.
  • Activate or inactivate one or more policies - Select them from the list and then click Activate or Inactive.
Note:

New attendance policies are assigned a status of Active. You must activate a policy before you can use it in Attendance configurations.

You cannot associate an inactive attendance policy with an attendance profile when you are configuring a new attendance profile. If you inactivate an attendance policy that is already associated with an attendance profile, the attendance policy continues to work in that attendance profile.

Tracking criteria for policies

Each policy type that you include in the overall Attendance strategy is based on tracking criteria that you select.

  • Point-based— A policy that uses points to measure attendance infractions. A specific number of points is assigned to each infraction. As infractions occur, they are totaled and trigger an action when the total reaches a threshold. The action is a response to the infractions. Points can be added or subtracted from a balance according to the circumstances of the infraction and management decision.
  • Occurrence-based— A policy that rewards or disciplines employees based on the number of times the employee incurs a type of attendance behavior. Actions, such as a verbal or written warning, result when an employee’s number of occurrences reaches a specified number.
  • Discipline-based— A policy that is based on an occurrence-based attendance. It disciplines employees based on the number of times the employee incurs a particular type of attendance behavior. Actions, such as suspension result when an employee’s is moved into a higher discipline level.

    For example: If an employee has an unexcused absence three times, the employee might be suspended. Actions, such as a verbal or written warning, result when an employee’s point balance reaches a certain level.

  • Total balance-based— A policy in which actions and alerts, based on thresholds in a certain balance type, affect the total balance of the employee’s point balance. When you configure a Totals-based policy, by default the system checks the balance everyday. To have total balances evaluated at the end of a tracking period and not everyday, select Enforce policy rules on last day of tracking period only from the General tab of the policy. Then select a fixed tracking period.

    For example: If an employee has multiple late-ins, early-outs, and a large amount of lost time, the employee’s total point balance might make that employee eligible for suspension rather than just a warning.

  • Formula-based— A form of attendance tracking that compares one type of collected time to another. Formula policies do not include tracking periods.

    When you configure a Formula policy, by default the system checks the balance everyday. To have total balances evaluated at the end of a tracking period and not everyday, select Enforce policy rules on last day of tracking period only from the General tab of the policy.