Attendance Policies

Is Your "Late Coming" Policy Legally Compliant? ⚖️ Many organizations still follow the "3 Days Late = 1 Day Salary Cut" rule. But under the New Labour Codes, this policy is not just outdated—it’s legally unsustainable. As HR leaders, we must transition from punitive measures to statutory compliance. Here is the legal breakdown: 1. The Principle of Proportionality (Section 18) Under the Code on Wages, 2019, deductions must be proportionate. If an employee is 20 minutes late, you can only deduct wages for those 20 minutes. Deducting a full day’s pay for a few minutes of delay is a "Wrongful Deduction" and violates the law. 2. The 3% Cap on Fines (Section 19) If you treat habitual lateness as a disciplinary issue: • The Limit: Total fines in a month cannot exceed 3% of the employee's monthly wages. • Due Process: You must issue a Show Cause Notice. A flat salary cut without giving the employee a right to be heard violates the Principles of Natural Justice. 3. Misconduct vs. "No Work, No Pay" Under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, habitual lateness is "Minor Misconduct." The correct recourse is: • Issuing a formal warning or censure. • Applying "No Work, No Pay" strictly for the minutes/hours missed. 💡 CHRO Insight: Compliance isn't just about avoiding litigation; it’s about fairness. Review your standing orders today. Ensure your attendance policies reflect Section 18 and 19 to protect both your employees and your organization. #HRCompliance #LabourCodes2025 #HumanResources #EmploymentLaw #Leadership #IndiaInc #CHROInsights

Most employers wait too long to address chronic absenteeism. By the time they act, the team is resentful, the file is messy, and the legal risk is higher than it needed to be. So what do you do when the same employee calls in sick? Again. You see your team is stretched. Deadlines are slipping. Morale is shifting. At what point does empathy and tolerance require structure? Chronic absenteeism sits at the intersection of operations, trust, and human rights law. If you ignore it, culture erodes. If you mishandle it, liability follows. Here is the framework I use with clients. 1) Start with patterns, not frustration. Look at frequency, predictability, and impact. Repeated short absences. Patterns around weekends. Ongoing uncertainty about return dates. Document objectively. Avoid loaded language. Have a fair conversation, without judgment: "This is what we've been seeing. Is there anything we need to know?" 2) What can you ask for? You are entitled to enough medical information to manage the employment relationship. That typically includes: • Confirmation the employee is unable to work • Functional limitations or restrictions • Expected duration or prognosis for return • Whether accommodation is required This does not necessarily mean a doctor’s note. However, if absences are frequent, it is reasonable to require medical confirmation under a clear and consistently applied policy. The Employment Standards Act permits this in appropriate circumstances. Consistency protects you. 3) When suspicion turns into action. Be disciplined before you discipline. Suspicion is not proof. If you believe sick leave is being abused, conduct a proper investigation and give the employee an opportunity to respond. Discipline is generally appropriate where there is: • Proven dishonesty • Failure to follow reporting requirements • Refusal to provide reasonable medical documentation Don't discipline the disability. Discipline misconduct. 4) The human rights guardrail. Before any termination for excessive absenteeism, ask: • Is there a disability? • Have we gathered appropriate medical information? • Have we meaningfully explored accommodation to the point of undue hardship? Termination is defensible only where regular attendance is no longer reasonably foreseeable and the accommodation process is well documented. Be mindful of "over accommodation". Management is required to accommodate the medical condition, not personal preferences. Leadership requires both compassion and clarity. How does your organization address chronic absenteeism? ♻️ Share with someone who needs to read this. 👉 Follow me for more reflections on law, leadership, and the human side of work.

Infraction-based attendance systems weren’t designed to foster responsibility—they were designed to enforce rules. And while rules have their place, too often these systems reduce complex human behavior into a checklist of violations. Miss 30 minutes? That’s an infraction. Miss 8 hours? Same penalty. Communicate ahead of time or not at all? Doesn’t matter. The result is the same: a point on your record, one step closer to disciplinary action. This isn’t accountability. It’s rigidity. And what’s worse—these systems unintentionally reward the wrong behavior. They promote presenteeism over honesty. They push agents to log in when they’re sick or struggling, just to avoid another ding on their record. The alternative isn’t chaos. It’s clarity. Systems that encourage agents to communicate. That create shared ownership. That offer rewards for reliability and options for flexibility. We don't have to choose between business results and treating people like adults. We can build policies that support both. #WFM #flexibility #schedules #contactcenters #attendance

⸻ Here’s one HR policy I wish I had never written: A Perfect Attendance Policy. Years ago, I helped implement a program that rewarded employees for never missing work. On the surface, it seemed like a great idea. Reward commitment. Celebrate reliability. Encourage accountability. But over time, I realized what we were actually rewarding. People working while sick. People working through pain. People working through grief. People showing up when they should have been resting, healing, or caring for their families. And the message we were sending—whether we intended to or not—was clear: Your value here is measured by your presence, not your well-being. Perfect attendance doesn’t mean a healthy workforce. It often means people are afraid to take care of themselves. Today, I look at attendance policies very differently. Instead of asking “How do we reward people for never missing work?” Leaders should be asking: “How do we build a culture where people feel safe taking the time they actually need?” Because the healthiest workplaces aren’t built on perfect attendance. They’re built on trust, humanity, and leadership that understands the difference between commitment and sacrifice. Sometimes the most responsible thing an employee can do… is stay home.