Attendance policy

Employment attendance policies are a company's rule that states the expectations for employees' punctuality, frequency, and reasons for absence. This policy reduces absenteeism, minimizes legal risk, and improves employee morale and productivity.

1. It reduces absenteeism. Absenteeism is expensive. It's a sign of a bad culture in the workplace, and it shows up in many ways: high employee turnover, low productivity, and morale, high sick leave usage (which can be costly), and higher insurance costs for employers who have to pay workers' compensation claims related to absenteeism.
2. It can help minimize legal risk. An employee who doesn't know what his or her employer expects of them could be held liable for discrimination if he or she is subjected to harassment, unfair treatment, or other abuse by management.
3. It improves employee morale and productivity. A policy of attendance helps you create an environment where employees feel valued, supported, and appreciated. This can be especially important for your business because it's a good way to ensure that your staff is working at their best and staying on task.

• Clearly explain your personal attendance rules. Make sure that the policy is clearly written and easy to understand. Your employees should be able to read it in less than five minutes, and they should be able to find answers to any questions easily. 
• Attendance standards should align with your mission, vision, and values. 
• Be clear on what time employees are expected to be at work each day. Be clear on when an unplanned absence is considered a tardiness.
• The number of consecutive days an employee can be absent must be defined in the policy. Another critical point to consider when drafting an attendance policy is the number of consecutive days an employee can be absent. There are many variations on how this might be defined, but your goal should be to establish clear and consistent guidelines while giving employees some leeway in their personal lives.
• Excusing employees from work for religious observances should be explained in the policy. Include a definition of the religious observances that you will be excusing employees from work for. 
• The employee’s responsibility to communicate with the employer about their absence should be outlined in the employee attendance policy.

Your policy for attendance can be as simple or complex as you need it to be, but it's important that the company has one. It will help ensure that employees are in compliance with company policies and expectations, which will lead to better morale and productivity