Work Attendance Policy

Where I currently work, they are unveiling a "new" attendance policy. I say "new" because the company has had it before, just not at this location. It has quite a few people up in arms. Basically people get points for being late (without notice) or not showing up (without notice). After so many points within a rolling 12 months, the employee is verbally warned, after so many more - written warning and after even more - termination is possible.

Since I have had this at another location in the company - it is no big deal to me - but others are up in arms.

What are the policies (if any) where you work?

hmm, well i currently dont work, but.. Bf took a week off because he was sick and he even had a doctors certificate.
His work didnt accept it, It states in his contract that if he is sick and unable to work in the first 6 months he will get fired. And so my bf got mad took the rest of the month as a sicckie and gets a full pay.
No more T-mobile job. His contract ends next week

I don't work, yet!

Erm, I have problems, with people who have problems, with showing up at work on time! I haven't been in the general workforce (except for a couple of summers at Social Security) in almost 7 years. At that time I was working as a Data Entry Clerk for USPS (Post Office.) NOBODY has an attendence policy more stringent. If you were 5 minutes late you were verbally warned. If you were 15 minutes late, you were written up. If you didn't show up ( ) with no explanation as far as I know you were out the door.

But this is your job folks, there is a start time and you're supposed to BE THERE at that time, I just can't see what the problem is with showing up to work on time. This is kind of a touchy subject with me as my hubby has a nephew who got fired from THREE JOBS because he couldn't be bothered to show up to work on time. Yet it never did sink in why he kept getting fired ...

Cindy

There aren't any attendance policies where I work. I have worked at places where if someone misses work without calling in 3 times, they are fired.

Originally Posted by RoseHawke

But this is your job folks, there is a start time and you're supposed to BE THERE at that time, I just can't see what the problem is with showing up to work on time.

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Not to mention that when you are late or don't show up, someone else has to do YOUR work in addition to their own. How fare is that?

Originally Posted by RoseHawke

Erm, I have problems, with people who have problems, with showing up at work on time! I haven't been in the general workforce (except for a couple of summers at Social Security) in almost 7 years. At that time I was working as a Data Entry Clerk for USPS (Post Office.) NOBODY has an attendence policy more stringent. If you were 5 minutes late you were verbally warned. If you were 15 minutes late, you were written up. If you didn't show up (

) with no explanation as far as I know you were out the door.

But this is your job folks, there is a start time and you're supposed to BE THERE at that time, I just can't see what the problem is with showing up to work on time. This is kind of a touchy subject with me as my hubby has a nephew who got fired from THREE JOBS because he couldn't be bothered to show up to work on time. Yet it never did sink in why he kept getting fired ...

Cindy

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I understand this. I do. I really, really do, and I don't have a problem with getting to work on time. But what I DO have a problem with is workplaces that don't understand that their employees have lives, and stuff happens. If having a flat tire in the morning makes you panic because you are worried about getting in trouble at work, you are not working with grown-ups. I also have a problem with a place that will write you up for being two minutes late (not kidding; I worked at a place like this) without regard for the number of times you have skipped lunch, worked over, or covered for another employee.

As most of us are salaried, my workplace is very laid-back about when you show up (except for the customer service people who have to provide phone coverage during certain times). Of course, we all pull quite a bit of (unpaid) OT, too.

Originally Posted by consumercity

There aren't any attendance policies where I work. I have worked at places where if someone misses work without calling in 3 times, they are fired.

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That's eminently reasonable. Unless you are in a coma, there is no excuse for pulling a no-call, no-show.

I work in a small company and they are pretty laid back about all of that. It's pretty much just call and let us know what's going on. I'm not sure what they would do if someone couldn't be bothered to call & let us know they would be late because it honestly doesn't happen. I guess mutual respect goes a long way...

Ten tardies, in a year, will get you written up, 14 will get you fired. Ten absences will get you fired. Sixty consecutive days of perfect attendance gets one of the above incidences dropped off of your record. I know of people, who maxed out their absences AND tardies, within their first month of work. They are no longer with the company.

I started this job May 5, 2003. This past Tuesday, I racked up my THIRD absence, overall. I have NEVER been late.

My school district and the teachers' union have negotiated for the first time that 2 days - Tuesday before Thanksgiving and Friday before Spring Break - cannot be taken as personal days this upcoming school year. If you are sick, it must be 'substantiated'. These are 2 high absence days, and it's difficult to find subs on these days, too. The only way teachers can take personal time this year is if they have proof of travel plans (ie plane tickets) already purchased prior to the date of the new contract.

I am assuming this little change will cause some unhappiness.

My current job... they don't care. My co-worker shows up whenever he wants and they look the other way.

My new job... if you have perfect attendance for a semester, they give a $1000 bonus (or is it a raise? I forget). Now if you just miss one day, then you get $900, and so on. But it's a teaching job so I have a feeling I'll end up sick a few days. I'm gonna try hard not to be tho!

Originally Posted by katl8e

I have NEVER been late.

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Ditto here ! Or at least not without a totally unavoidable reason (I was 5 minutes late to the afore-mentioned USPS job once --- wreck on the freeway.) I'm not talking about reasonable life happenings (i.e. the flat tire previously mentioned, the 3 hour traffic jam because of an overturned 18 wheeler on the freeway,) I'm talking about the folks that just can't be bothered to call in, or the ones that do call in but totally max out within a couple of months. Hubby works for the Federal Gov't (Social Security Admin) and they are VERY flexible, with something like 160 hours of annual leave after you've worked there 3 years, along with I think, 110 hours of sick leave per year. The Annual has a 240 carryover, the sick leave accumulates for forever. Sick leave usually only has to be supported if you're sick 3 days or more in a row also. Although just calling in Annual leave without scheduling it in advance is discouraged, most managers are pretty flexible about that (especially with the first nice days of spring!) These people have flex-time, too, you can get there any time between 6 and 9:30 in the morning and do your 8 then go.

And there are STILL people who have NEGATIVE balances in their leave!

Wow ! I think I will work with Ari. At my place this year they decided to "do away" with sick pay. They added a week vacation time for most people. The thought behind it was is that it's better to know and plan for someone being off then just waking up and calling in sick to stay home. Which I feel like doing BTW for the next 20 years. So you get "x" amount of days that are Paid Time Off and if you call in sick then you it's a Unscheduled paid time off. This seems to be working because we had someone that was sick every month and it's a miracle how well she's been this year. The only problem with it is that do you save some days for sick days???? That was encouraged because you don't know . I'm going by my history of one day or less and just scheduled all of them .

In combination with this, we have "points", too - 15-30 mins late is .5 point, etc Everyone started out at 8 points. If you take unscheduled day off another point off (i.e. 3 consective days would just be one point - same illness) So if you get down to 5 points, you get verbal warning, 4 points, more severe, 1-2 points left - you should probably be looking for another job.

Other than a scheduling nightmare for me because everyone has more time off, I think it's probably working

Ha ha, come on Chris, we can be teachers together!

Your work seems complicated, lol!

One of the joys of being self-employed! The only person who knows when I roll out of bed late in the morning is me! And the kitties

Plus, I can work in my pajamas all day while checking out TCS, with reruns of the Gilmore Girls in the background!

Well, I nanny, so if I don't show up, there'd surely be trouble! I'd be in for a verbal @&@-kicking as I like to call it, and possibly, losing my job unless there was a really good reason I didn't show up. I've been late once or twice for legitimate reasons, but being late generally makes me uncomfortable, so I don't usually show up late.

One of the conditions, for earning one's paycheck, is to be in the appointed place, at the appointed time, really, willing and able to do the job, that you are being PAID to do.

As was pointed out, in an earlier post, SOMEONE has to pick up the slack, for those who can't be bothered to pull their share of the load. Personally, I have enough of my OWN work to do, without having to take on someone else's. I don't mind pitching in a bit but, I DO resent having to cover for those who abuse the system.

We are expected to put in 8 hours a day (not counting a 30 minute lunch), but the hours when people are actually at work are now somewhat flexible. I work in a lab that relies on clinical samples, and these samples don't usually show up until 10 am. So, those people who have to process and log the samples start work later in the day. We also are given a little bit of flex time (2 to 4 hours, depending on their position), so if someone comes in late due to a flat tire or traffic tie-up, that time is not counted against them. Warnings only happen when someone is repeatedly late with no good excuse.

I am late for work pretty regularly. I know it is a bad habit, and it is one reason for me to work at an outpatient clinic rather than a hospital. You just cannot be late as a nurse at a hospital!

But I always work a full 40 hours/week, and often work through lunch. My boss is very happy with my work. There are two nurses, and if I call in sick, my cohort has to cover. I do the same for her. She is usually off on Thursdays. Recently when I had a terrible attack of vertigo and was unable to work, she came in on a Thursday.

We are supposed to give notice before taking days off. If we go over 6 unannounced days off (like a sick day where we don't know ahead of time), we are in "trouble". One year, my Mom was ill, and I went way over 6 days. My boss just took me into his office and said try to do better next year.

I am blessed to work where I do.

I am not opposed to strict attendance policies. I'm just glad I don't get in trouble for being late! And I can't imagine not showing up and not calling! How thoughtless!