How to stop employees from forgetting to clock in and out
A time and attendance system uses your workforce clocking data to report labour costs, absences, timecards and more. But how can you make sure the data is 100% correct and stop employees from forgetting to clock in and out?
Intentionally or unintentionally
More often than not your employees simply forget to clock in, they could be distracted or just plain forget to clock when they begin or end their shift.
Don’t let this fool you, there are always employees who will leverage innocent ‘forgetting’ tactics to conveniently cover leaving work early, and a host of other time theft methods.
Time theft can take several forms:
- Receiving payment for hours not worked
- Stealing time via a coworker clocking for them in their absence (buddy clocking)
- Lengthening breaks
Ways to ensure employees clock in and out
Create a policy for clocking in/out
When introducing your time and attendance system to your employees, also introduce a policy for clocking.
If you assert and communicate this from the very beginning, all employees are clear on what is expected of them and the possible repercussions of not clocking.
Make sure the policy, which should cover how workers clock in/out is available and visible to all.
A top tip is also ensuring the policy includes and outlines break times, overtime rules, and what to do if employees forget to clock.
Protocol for a missed clock in/out
Having the disciplinary action transparent is as important as making sure employees know how to clock in.
There is no more “I wasn’t told I’d have pay deducted” if it’s clearly stated in your handbook and/or next to your time clock. As with all workforce disciplinary methods, ensure that you have a verbal, written and actionable stage.
If you find it is repeat offenders that seem unbothered by verbal discipline, time theft could be a motivation and further monitoring could be needed.
You need to follow the policy and protocol in your handbook to the letter, to ensure any lawsuit for unfair dismissal or docked wages can be cleared easily.
Follow your policy consistently
It sounds silly, but too many businesses do not consistently follow policy, leading to favouritism or feelings of unfairness in the workplace.
If a rule is set, no matter what the issue (children, car troubles, illness etc.) the lateness should always be addressed. This is why the first step of your disciplinary process should be a ‘light touch’, to avoid alienating usually on-time workers who are simply having a bad day.
It’s only after repeated lateness or time theft attempts that the disciplinary process begins punishment as such.
The policy must apply to every employee, no matter their job title or company history. Send a clear message that non-compliance will not be tolerated.
uAttend is one of the UK’s biggest time and attendance providers, offering cloud-based software from only £14.99 per month.
Every subscription includes features such as employee time tracking, payroll data export, employee scheduling, holiday and absence management and more.