Employees are the vital driving force for any business. But when it comes to paying your workers for a well-done job, things can get a bit confusing.
How many hours did an employee truly work at their job site?
Were they truthful when they said they were at job site A instead of grabbing snacks at the local store?
According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers should pay in full even if workers forget to clock in at their job site.
No matter how trustful you are as an employer, quoting exact working hours can be challenging, especially if you run a construction company with many workers at different job sites.
That’s when a time clock system that incorporates facial recognition in construction can help you monitor and manage your workforce in real-time.
Until you implement such systems, it’s essential to know how to discipline employees who forget to clock out and prevent employees from evading their responsibilities.
While employees might sometimes forget to clock in or out, other times, they might intentionally resort to such activities.
Read on to find out how you can ensure all workers follow clock in and out rules at your company. And rest assured your investments in employee hours won’t go to waste!
There can be several reasons why an employee would fail to clock in or out. The primary ones include:
Failing to clock in or out because a worker forgot is understandable. After all, we’re only human, and we all make mistakes.
But if an employee is trying to commit time theft or avoid responsibility, that’s a serious issue that needs to be addressed since it can lead to additional problems.
Federal law stipulates that an employer can’t withhold from paying employees even if they forget to clock in or out.
But keeping accurate tabs on working hours is essential if you want to avoid the following:
When an employee forgets to clock in or out, the company loses money.
According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, if an employee works more than 40 hours in a week, they’re entitled to overtime pay.
If an employee doesn’t clock in or out, the employer can’t accurately record the number of hours worked. As a result, the company might end up paying the employee for more hours than they actually worked.
Inaccurate employee clocking hours result in a loss of money for the company and create an opportunity for employees to commit time theft.
Time theft is when an employee is paid for hours they didn’t work. This can happen if an employee clock-ins early or clocks out late.
It’s a serious issue since it costs the company money and puts honest, hardworking employees at a disadvantage.
Another problem that arises when an employee doesn’t clock in or out is that it wastes other employees’ time.
When employees don’t clock in or out, managers have to search for the clock in and out times. This can be a very time-consuming process, especially if the company doesn’t have a system to track employee hours.
This is why construction companies need to have a system to track employee hours. Without such a system, managers will waste a lot of time figuring out when an employee worked.
While gentle reminders work sometimes, repetitive forgetfulness can become a problem that requires other measures.
Here are the five best ways to deal with employee clocking issues:
The best way to deal with employees who forget to clock in or out is by creating a policy.
This policy should state that it’s the responsibility of the employees to clock in and out. It should also note the consequences of failing to do so.
Some companies write this policy as a rule, while others decide to make it a part of the attendance policy.
Your policy should include the following:
It’s also crucial to mention rules about company break hours, maximum allowed time to be late, and overtime pay.
Once you create a policy, the next step is to establish a protocol for reporting and correcting clock in and out issues.
This protocol should be included in the employee handbook so that employees are aware of it.
The protocol should include the following:
The protocol should also include a verbal warning, a written warning, and a termination of the employment contract. Companies usually offer three written warnings before moving forward, but this can be subject to modification.
Having all this information in a handbook is crucial. If an employee repeatedly forgets to clock in or out, they can be dealt with accordingly.
Creating this policy will help ensure that your employees are aware of the company’s expectations. It will also help deter them from forgetting to clock in or out and result in more accurate salary provisions during the pay period.
Another way to ensure that employees remember to clock in and out is to post reminders in the workplace.
These reminders can be in the form of signs, posters, or even stickers.
Some companies choose to put these reminders near the time clock, while others prefer to put them in other work areas.
Regardless of where you decide to put them, make sure they’re visible and hard to miss.
You can also send out reminders via email or text message.
Sometimes it gets challenging to remind hourly employees to follow your policy. If you have hourly employees who might exaggerate their working hours, you can reward those who follow the rules by introducing bonuses for their commitment.
If you’re still using outdated time tracking software, now is the time to update it.
Many time tracking software options on the market have features that can remind employees to clock in and out.
Some software includes GPS capabilities to track where your employees are when they clock in and out.
Using updated time tracking software is a great way to ensure that your employees are clocking in and out correctly.
It will also help you keep track of employee hours, which can be helpful when dealing with payroll issues.
There are many different types of time clocks, but the most common ones are electronic time clocks.
If you’re going to be using a time clock, make sure that it’s user-friendly.
The last thing you want is for your employees to struggle with using the time clock.
It would also be best if the company offered a free trial so that you could see if it’s the right fit for your business.
Have you had to deal with employee clock-in issues in the past?
If so, we hope that our policy recommendations have been helpful.
It is important to have a plan in place before an issue arises and hopefully, by using the tips provided, your business can avoid these types of problems in the future.
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