Time & Attendance Policy & Procedure

About this Policy

This policy sets out the Company’s expectation in terms of the use of time and attendance systems within the business.

To ensure the accurate recording of start, finish and break times, and to ensure the accuracy of the data used to determine pay, colleagues will be required to register these times using relevant time and attendance systems.

The Company currently uses time and attendance systems such as (Timegate, ZCATS, Field Power and Roster Control). Timegate is the time and attendance system most widely used within the Company for hourly paid colleagues. Information on Timegate can either be found on MyPAL or MyOCS.

Colleagues are required to comply with the arrangements at their work location for the recording of their work times and with any changes to any arrangements, with the introduction or updating of any time and attendance system.

This policy and procedure is referred to in an employee’s Contract of Employment but is not contractual and the Company reserves the right to amend it from time to time.

Responsibilities

The Company is responsible for:

• Implementing a robust system for recording time and attendance within the business including the Timegate employee portal
• Ensuring that all time and attendance systems are used equitably, consistently and accurately
• Ensuring that the data held on time and attendance systems is held in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and subsequently the General Data Protection Regulation 2018
• Taking appropriate action where this policy is not followed or is breached

Line managers are responsible for:

• Ensuring this policy is adhered to
• Ensuring payroll deadlines are met and Timegate files are submitted as required
• Identifying and understanding site specific time and attendance systems
• Ensuring that colleagues are adequately trained on the use of relevant time and attendance systems and providing all relevant available information required to successfully clock in or out e.g. site or personnel identification number, the 385 report and the Timegate employee portal
• Monitoring time and attendance on a daily basis
• Taking appropriate and immediate action where this policy is deemed to have been breached or not followed
• Reporting any issues with any time and attendance system to ICT Support

Payroll is responsible for:

• Ensuring data captured from time and attendance systems is processed accurately for payroll

Colleagues are responsible for:

• Ensuring they have read and understood this policy
• Understanding how to use any relevant time and attendance system for logging start, finish and break times
• Understanding how to access and use the Timegate employee portal in order to check their hours etc are recorded accurately prior to being processed by payroll
• Arriving for work on time and not leaving early (unless receiving prior agreement from their line manager or supervisor)
• Clocking in and out of every shift, on site and in person, using any relevant time and attendance system. Please note repeated failure to clock in and out of every shift may result in disciplinary action.
• Not clocking in or out for another individual
• Informing their line manager immediately of any technical issues with any relevant time and attendance system

Use of Time & Attendance Systems

Data captured by the time and attendance systems will be used for the following purposes:

• To inform payroll of colleagues’ recorded hours worked for pay purposes and hours not worked e.g. holidays
• To create a register of colleagues who are on site in the event of an emergency situation e.g. fire evacuation
• To monitor colleagues’ start and finish times in accordance with this policy
• To identify colleagues on site should this information be required

Data captured will be stored securely, on OCS’ servers and retained to ensure that it can be used to process payroll and can be checked when historic pay queries arise.

Each colleague’s contract of employment or engagement will define the hours of work which they are contractually required to work. Colleagues are responsible for ensuring that they arrive at work to enable them to begin work at the appointed start time. Similarly, colleagues are required to remain at work at least until their finish time.

Colleagues who clock more than their scheduled working time, will only be paid for their contracted hours, or rostered hours, unless additional work hours have been agreed by their line manager or supervisor in advance. Similarly, if a colleague clocks less than their scheduled working time, they will only be paid for the time they have registered by clocking.

If a colleague realises that they are likely to be late for the start of their working hours, they must telephone their line manager as soon as practically possible to explain their current situation and estimate the time they expect to arrive at work. Please note that text messages are not an acceptable means of communication. It is the line manager’s responsibility to decide whether the reason given for lateness is acceptable or whether it should be viewed as misconduct under the disciplinary policy and procedure.

Where a colleague is absent from work due to booked leave or sickness, as long as they have followed the relevant procedure, any pay due will not be affected by the absence of clocking in data.
Where a colleague is absent from work without prior arrangement or in accordance with relevant procedures, their absence will be regarded as unauthorised. Unauthorised absence will normally be viewed as misconduct under the disciplinary policy and procedure.

Any attempt to fraudulently claim pay or assisting another individually to fraudulently claim pay via the use of any time and attendance system including the falsification of hours will be treated as gross misconduct under the disciplinary policy and procedure.

All colleagues must clock in and out of every shift to ensure prompt and accurate payment. If a colleague is unable to log in due to a technical issue, they must inform their line manager or supervisor as soon as practically possible.