What is an attendance policy?

An attendance policy is a set of rules specifying how your business handles attendance and absences. It’s commonly developed by the human resources (HR) team and included in the employee handbook.

An effective policy should explain the employees’ hours, including flexible scheduling, steps to ask for time off, how to report being sick or late and any disciplinary actions due to violations. Your policy might also describe how to use tools such as scheduling software or clock-in systems to help you monitor attendance and keep records.

Types of attendance issues

Without a formal attendance policy, managing work participation fairly and consistently can be challenging. Common issues may include:

• Absenteeism: Missing work continuously can interrupt your workflow processes, giving other team members extra work.
• Presenteeism: Showing up to work even though performance and morale suffer due to distraction or illness.
• Tardiness: Being late regularly, taking long breaks and leaving work early without a valid excuse can cause delays and interrupt workflows.
• Unapproved absences: Missing work without explanation can make it challenging for supervisors to delegate tasks and plan the work day.

Advantages of attendance policies

An attendance policy sets expectations and helps you address absences fairly.

Benefits can include:

• Shift or work location flexibility: Clear policies help on-site or remote employees work flexibly while meeting attendance expectations.
• Fewer unplanned absences: Tracking and enforcing an attendance policy can help you notice patterns and offer support early.
• Improve morale: Clear guidelines help employees understand how to remain compliant and keep expectations consistent and enforceable.

Best practices for attendance policies for your business

The following best practices can help you create guidelines that are fair, consistent and aligned with your workplace culture.

Offer flexibility

Before writing or updating your attendance policy, consider factors that may influence attendance. For example, allowing flexibility can help employees balance work with other responsibilities.

Keep it simple

You typically don’t need to write a policy covering every situation. Instead, consider using plain language to describe the most common absence types:

• Planned absences: Time off requested and approved in advance, such as vacation or personal days
• Excused absences: Time off with a valid reason and supporting documentation, such as a doctor’s note
• Tardiness: Arriving late, leaving early or taking longer breaks than scheduled
• Sick days: Time off for illness, injury or recovery
• Unscheduled absences: Last-minute time off due to emergencies or unforeseen issues, where the employee promptly notifies their manager
• No-shows: Missing work without notifying a supervisor or manager

Creating these categories can help employees understand the process for reporting their absence. For example, your sick day category may request that employees stay home from work if they’re unwell to recover faster and prevent spreading the illness.

Include fair disciplinary actions

When outlining attendance expectations, including those that address job abandonment, consider describing the steps your organization may take if issues arise. This can help set clear expectations and promote consistency. Avoid overly rigid language, and allow room for flexibility so managers can address each situation fairly and in accordance with applicable laws.

Share the policy and get employee feedback

Once you’ve drafted your attendance policy, review its contents with your employees. You can ask for feedback and make adjustments if needed, which may help encourage employee participation.

Once you finalize your attendance policy, team leaders can explain it during a team meeting, allowing workers to ask questions. You can train managers and HR on attendance policy details so they can handle attendance or absence concerns consistently. You can also outline expectations for what the company standard is versus what’s up to managers’ discretion.

What to include in your attendance policy

Consider communicating how your attendance policy supports productivity, fairness and work-life balance and when it goes into effect. You might also outline steps for reporting absences or ways to calculate time off.

Consider the following elements in your policy:

How to request time off and report absences

Your company’s steps for asking for time off might include:

• Who to contact, including team members and managers for coverage
• How far in advance requests should be made
• Any blocked dates or time-off limits
• How to notify a manager in an emergency
• What system to use, such as HR software or a shared calendar

Be clear about how you define types of absences. For example, explain what counts as a sick day, a no-show or tardiness.

Policy expectations and exceptions

Certain types of leave or absences may be exempt from standard attendance rules, depending on your company’s attendance policies. These may include:

• Parental leave
• Disability leave
• Bereavement leave
• Jury duty
• Military service

Explain how these types of leave work, and be sure your policy aligns with federal and state labor laws. You can also note if your expectations differ for exempt vs. non-exempt employees.

Disciplinary steps

Be transparent about what happens if the policy isn’t followed. These steps may vary depending on the situation and organization, but generally involve progressive actions designed to encourage improvement while providing clear communication.

How to calculate time off

Explain how employees earn and use time off. This might include vacation, sick leave or paid time off (PTO). Let them know:

• How to track time off
• When it resets or accrues
• What happens when multiple employees request the same dates
• Any periods when time off requests may be limited due to business needs