An attendance policy sets the rules for showing up: how to report an absence, what counts as late, how absences are tracked, and what happens when the rules are broken. A fair one also says plainly which absences are protected and never counted.
| Section | Example rule |
|---|---|
| Reporting an absence | Call or message your supervisor at least 2 hours before the shift |
| Lateness | A 5-minute grace period, then the punch is flagged |
| Tracking | 1 point per unscheduled absence, half a point for lateness |
| Protected absences | FMLA, protected sick time, accommodations, jury duty, military leave: never counted |
| Steps | Coaching at 4 points, written warning at 6, final warning at 8 |
| Reset | Points expire after 12 months |
Use the attendance point system template and see grace period and tardiness.
A manufacturer uses a points policy. An operator with approved intermittent FMLA leave for migraines has 7 points, one short of a final warning, and his supervisor is preparing the warning.
To record clock-ins, breaks and overtime automatically, see EZTime time and attendance software.
HR reviews the 7 points by reason code. Three of them were migraine absences on days he called in under his approved FMLA certification. FMLA leave cannot be counted under a no-fault attendance policy, so those 3 points are removed and his total is 4.
HR also changes the setup so that absences coded as FMLA or protected sick time never create points in the first place, and the supervisor sees the reason code in the attendance report. Disciplining him at 8 points would have been a textbook FMLA interference claim.
Treat lateness separately from absence in your reports, even if both create points. A pattern of 10-minute lateness on early shifts often has a fix, such as a bus timetable or a start time 15 minutes later, that a warning will not solve. The progressive discipline policy guide covers how the steps themselves should be written.
A distribution center notices that 11 of its 14 lateness points last month came from the 5:00 a.m. shift, and most were 5 to 12 minutes late on Mondays.
The supervisor asks the team and learns that the first bus on Monday arrives at 4:58. The center moves the Monday start to 5:15 for anyone on that route and keeps the shift length the same. Monday lateness points drop to 2 the next month, and nobody reaches a warning step for lateness that quarter.
A policy that counts unscheduled absences the same way regardless of the reason, usually with points. Protected absences still cannot be counted.
No. The FMLA regulation says FMLA leave cannot be counted under no-fault attendance policies.
Under an attendance policy, unprotected absences can lead to discipline. Absences protected by FMLA, a sick leave law or an accommodation cannot be held against you.
It depends on the policy. Many use steps such as coaching, a written warning and a final warning before termination.
Only if the policy says so. Many policies remove each point after a set period, such as 12 months, and the policy should say exactly when.
Most policies count lateness as a fraction of an absence. Whatever you choose, apply it the same way to everyone and keep protected absences out of the count.
Employees clock in by mobile GPS, web, kiosk or NFC, with geofencing, break alerts and missed-punch requests that keep an audit trail.