3
On Late Coming:
Working Hours:
1. Every Office, Establishment has clearly defined and fixed working hours.
2. Every employee is obliged to adhere to the fixed working hours.
3. Every employee is required to be punctual in coming for work.
4. At times employees are required to stay late.
Late Staying:
5. Logically, late staying attracts compensation in the form of OT.
6. In some organizations Late Staying is not compensated.
Penalty for Late Coming:
7. Is the management justified in penalizing staff who come late for work, stay late and are not compensated for such late staying?
8. Again, is it ethical/legal to deduct one day’s CL or Salary for say, three days’ Late Coming during a month?
Action to be taken:
9. As HR Practitioners do we go legal and resort to disciplinary action against late Comers or do we adopt a humanistic approach? It has been my experience that one to one counseling can do wonders.
Of course chronic late comers are to be treated differently, on case to case basis.
Understanding of Punctuality:
10. We should all consciously remember that PUNCTUALITY is not just about arriving in office on the dot. It also means leaving the office on time, at the end of the day.
11. We should understand that in “efficient” work environments, Late Staying is looked at with disapproval. Late Staying by staff should be discouraged.
12. There are organizations, where flexi timings are observed. Here late coming does not apply so long as you work for the required number of hours.
Suggested Course of Action:
1. Office timings are fixed and clearly defined.
2. It must be explained to all employees that it is in the interest of overall discipline in the establishment that everyone adheres to the prescribed office timings.
3. Late Staying should normally be discouraged.
4. At times, some people are required to stay late for some urgent official work. This should be pre-planned activity duly sanctioned by the concerned HOD.
5. Late Staying should be compensated. OT, Refreshments, Conveyance reimbursement for travel by Auto, Taxi (depending upon level), Compensatory Off etc.., are some examples.
6. Late Comers should be regularly counseled and such counseling should be recorded and signed by the Counselor and the concerned Employee. It should be explained to the Late Comer that such late coming will reflect in his Annual Appraisals.
7. Monthly reward for punctuality may be considered more in terms of “Recognition”.
8. The focus should be more on the work culture, than addressing individual instances of late coming and taking disciplinary action.
9. I would strongly recommend that “Disciplinary Action” should be the last resort. The real success lies in converting late comers into “on Time” arrivals.
Rules & Regulations/Guidelines if required could be framed within the above framework.
Vasant Nair
HR Advisor
From India, Mumbai
Working Hours:
1. Every Office, Establishment has clearly defined and fixed working hours.
2. Every employee is obliged to adhere to the fixed working hours.
3. Every employee is required to be punctual in coming for work.
4. At times employees are required to stay late.
Late Staying:
5. Logically, late staying attracts compensation in the form of OT.
6. In some organizations Late Staying is not compensated.
Penalty for Late Coming:
7. Is the management justified in penalizing staff who come late for work, stay late and are not compensated for such late staying?
8. Again, is it ethical/legal to deduct one day’s CL or Salary for say, three days’ Late Coming during a month?
Action to be taken:
9. As HR Practitioners do we go legal and resort to disciplinary action against late Comers or do we adopt a humanistic approach? It has been my experience that one to one counseling can do wonders.
Of course chronic late comers are to be treated differently, on case to case basis.
Understanding of Punctuality:
10. We should all consciously remember that PUNCTUALITY is not just about arriving in office on the dot. It also means leaving the office on time, at the end of the day.
11. We should understand that in “efficient” work environments, Late Staying is looked at with disapproval. Late Staying by staff should be discouraged.
12. There are organizations, where flexi timings are observed. Here late coming does not apply so long as you work for the required number of hours.
Suggested Course of Action:
1. Office timings are fixed and clearly defined.
2. It must be explained to all employees that it is in the interest of overall discipline in the establishment that everyone adheres to the prescribed office timings.
3. Late Staying should normally be discouraged.
4. At times, some people are required to stay late for some urgent official work. This should be pre-planned activity duly sanctioned by the concerned HOD.
5. Late Staying should be compensated. OT, Refreshments, Conveyance reimbursement for travel by Auto, Taxi (depending upon level), Compensatory Off etc.., are some examples.
6. Late Comers should be regularly counseled and such counseling should be recorded and signed by the Counselor and the concerned Employee. It should be explained to the Late Comer that such late coming will reflect in his Annual Appraisals.
7. Monthly reward for punctuality may be considered more in terms of “Recognition”.
8. The focus should be more on the work culture, than addressing individual instances of late coming and taking disciplinary action.
9. I would strongly recommend that “Disciplinary Action” should be the last resort. The real success lies in converting late comers into “on Time” arrivals.
Rules & Regulations/Guidelines if required could be framed within the above framework.
Vasant Nair
HR Advisor
From India, Mumbai
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LATE COMING.doc