An efficient attendance policy is of utmost importance to the productivity of your small business. But before you create one, consider the structure and culture of your organization. As much as it might not be an issue in your company, a clearly defined policy can keep your business organized and improve interaction with your employees. In essence, draft an employee attendance policy that employees will naturally conform to and that carries out your purposes as a business owner. Read on to learn about the attendance policy point system for employees at Amazon.
What is an Attendance Policy?
An attendance policy specifies when employees should arrive and leave during their workweek. It explains clear negligence like coming late, being absent, or leaving early, which brought about the implementation of the policy in the first place. Specifically, it should explain the time employees will be at work and how they should report their arrival and departure.
This is applicable to typical 9-to-5 jobs as well as shift-based employment, for which rotating schedules are more common. In addition to meaning, an employee attendance policy makes exceptions for sick days, tardiness, paid time off, or unexcused absences. With such approaches, employees can differentiate between acceptable and unacceptable absences.
How To Construct an Effective Attendance Policy
Writing a good attendance policy starts with estimating your organization’s practice and needs. Consider your employees and the type of business setting you have created. By defining your overall culture, you can make better choices. Follow these steps to ensure your policy is extensive and effective.
#1. Define Basic Terms
Begin by explaining the following terms relative to your business’s situation: tardiness, unexcused absence, excused absence, sick leave and paid time off. For example, tardiness could mean clocking in more than 10 minutes late.
#2. Create Employee Code
You need standard processes in place that apply to all of your workers when they are requesting time off, sick, or going to be late. Create a fair policy that highlights how employees should alert managers and states what happens if employees refuse to show up for work without warning.
#3. Determine Exception
Once you analyze the important definitions and protocols, create your attendance policy. Create multiple sections to address potential instances. Also, include distinctions for workers and managers, if necessary. Also consider exemptions, like absences for jury duty or related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
#4. Collaborate with Employees
Depending on your situation, when your plan is done, you may want to send it to employees and provide a grace period for them to review it. Set a meeting to discuss any concerns or requests. You want to create a policy that fits your business, not one that causes workers to quit.
#5. Carry Out the Plan
Once your workers have had a chance to review and respond to your new policy, Implement your plan. Make sure both new and existing workers have access to it. If there are violations, enforce the policy fairly and consistently among your entire staff.
Attendance Policy for Employees
Employees unavoidably miss or are late to work for a variety of reasons, including vacation, medical appointments, or even poor traffic. Hence, creating an attendance policy for employees can help emphasize accountability in your workplace, leading to improved morale, boosted productivity, and fewer absenteeism issues. Thus, an employee attendance policy is a set of rules and guidelines that a business establishes to regulate employee attendance and punctuality.
Components of an Effective Attendance Policy For Employees
As you know well that an employee attendance policy is a set of rules and guidelines that tells when and how often an employee can miss work. Therefore, a good employee attendance policy will be clear and concise, easy to understand and follow, and fair to all employees. Below are the various elements to include in every employee attendance policy:
- A definition of what is considered an “absence”
- The consequences for excessive absences
- The process for requesting and approving absences
- The attendance policy for shift workers
- A section on tardiness and early departures
- A section on employee leave, including vacation days, sick days, and personal days
How To Implement Attendance Policy For Employees
Once you have created your employee attendance policy, it is important to enforce it fairly and consistently as it is a legal liability to the employees. Employees who violate the attendance policy should be disciplined in the same way, regardless of their position or seniority. As much as enforcing your employee attendance policy can be difficult, it is important to do so to maintain a productive and positive work environment. let’s outline the steps you can take to carry out a successful attendance policy in your workplace for employees,
#1. Fair Administration
Fairness is important in every field of life. If you will not be fair in terms of employee attendance then your policy is nothing more than a piece of paper. Hence, all employees should get equal treatment when it comes to attendance policy violations.
#2. Persistent Enforcement
The attendance policy should be enforced persistently, without exception. This means that all employees who violate the policy should be disciplined in the same way, regardless of their position or seniority. Also, communicate through the employee handbook so that each employee has complete knowledge of the same. This is because following a policy is a legal liability for the employee.
#3. Progressive Discipline
Progressive discipline is a process of increasing the severity of the punishment for each successive violation of the attendance policy. For instance, an employee who violates the attendance policy for the first time may receive a verbal warning. If they violate the policy again, they will receive a written warning. The third time they violate the policy, they will be suspended without pay. And if they violate the policy a fourth time, it will be termination.
Attendance Policy Point System
An attendance point system is a corporate policy that disciplines employees when they have a certain number of unscheduled, unapproved absences. Employees typically get a “point” or multiple “points” for each absence and are disciplined, then terminated, if they get additional “points.”. As a small business owner, you might think you don’t need an attendance policy. However, if you start with one, it may prevent problems down the line. As your business grows, it is crucial to help you determine how many to hire and how many to schedule for work.
Attendance Policy Point System: Categories
There are several examples online of policies you can review and modify to make your own. You should make sure that once you write any policy you communicate the new policy and answer any questions your employees may have. Furthermore, explain why you are implementing your new policy. It is also important to define and explain your policy:
- Your expectations
- What counts as an absence, lateness, or a tardy?
- Can they have excused absences, and does it count as a point?
- Can they leave early?
- What documentation is needed for an excused absence?
- What disciplinary action will occur?
- How many days do they need to miss and not call before considering it a resignation or termination?
Benefits of Attendance Policy Point System
An employee point system boosts attendance numbers and helps keep your hourly team on track when well thought out and done correctly. Let’s dig into the benefits of attendance of the policy point system for employees,
#1. Easily Understandable
Attendance point systems are pretty easy to understand, making them ideal for managing a large team. Because they’re simple, there’s not a huge burden on the employer or the employee either. Knowing how many points it takes before disciplinary action hits means no team member should be in the dark. Hence, having a work point system at your company gives your team concrete rules to work within.
#2. It Boosts Participation
Think about it this way: When your employees know they’re getting too close for comfort to that disciplinary line, they’ll probably be more likely to stay engaged and make an effort to come to work. But if there isn’t a clear absence or late arrival policy at a company, it’s pretty easy for employees to get a little too relaxed with their clock-in times.
#3. Offers Fair and Equal Treatment.
Make sure there’s no special treatment or favoritism happening at your company. A solid attendance point system coupled with a clear attendance policy will have your back. When everything is laid out clearly, the management team is held accountable to follow through with the same kind of treatment for everyone.
#4. Reduce Absences
When team members know that every unexcused absence and late arrival adds up against them, they’ll probably make more of an effort to show up. Attendance points have a way of taking the idea of showing up to work and making it something folks can gamify. Who isn’t motivated by tangible things like rewards and toeing the line to not get written up? It works.
#5. Let employees know where they stand
A point system assists employees in knowing just how close they are to getting a formal warning (or worse) and helps encourage them to make a change. If this kind of information is kept hidden from your team, it’s a lot harder for them to know how to change. But, with an attendance point system policy, everything is straightforward for your team with no gray area on what’s expected.
Amazon Attendance Policy
Amazon is one of the largest e-commerce corporations in the world and with over 1,335,000 employees in the United States. They have an attendance policy and a point system for employees who are late arrival or absent at Amazon. Amazon applies this policy to ensure the smooth running of operations. So, If you are a new employee or you want to apply to Amazon, you should know the attendance policy at Amazon like the point system.
Hence, the attendance policy at Amazon is a way to reduce tardiness and absences. When an employee is late, he will be docked at one point. If an employee accumulates four points, he or she will be given a verbal warning. If the employee accumulates eight points, he or she will be terminated. Below are a few questions regards the attendance policy at Amazon,
#1. How Many Points Do You Need To Be Fired From Amazon?
First, you must know how many points you will obtain and for what reason. When an Amazon employee is late, he will be docked one or half a point. When an employee quits a shift earlier, he earns the same points. An individual will be sacked from his work if he makes 6 or 7 points in 90 days.
#2. What If You Earn 6 Amazon Points?
An individual will be sacked from his work if he earns 6 to 8 points within 90 days. So, any worker who receives four to five points will be fired.
#3. What Is Amazon’s Sick Day Point System?
You can take up to 80 hours of sick leave each year if you are ill. Employees at Amazon take an average of 80 sick days each year. Within 90 days, Amazon employees are entitled to 20 hours of sick leave. That means an employee may take 20 hours off for a sick day and not be penalized.
#4. What Occurs If An Amazon Employee Misses A Shift?
You will gain 1.5 points if you skip a shift without a reasonable excuse. You will end up losing your earning period for your allocated UPT balance if you are unwell. Within 90 days, each employee receives 20 hours which can be used for sickness.
What is the Acceptable Number of Absences per year?
An A1.5% absence rate is a healthy rate is acceptable
References
- THE BEST ATTENDANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FOR YOUR WORKPLACE
- HR SYSTEM: Definition, Examples, Software, Management, Features
- EMPLOYEE ATTENDANCE TRACKING: 2023 Best Attendance Tracking Software
- School Management Software: Top Picks In 2023
- Top 6 Tips for Effective Workforce Management
- SHIFT SCHEDULER: What is and How it Works
