“My employees must clock in and out every day but they complain about every type of timeclock system I’ve tried. They say it makes them feel like a clock watcher because I don’t want them to work overtime unless it’s been preapproved. That means they need to clock out exactly on the 8-hour mark from when they started. Are there better ways to do this I don’t know about?”
My HR Survival Tip
California is a clock-watcher state due to the legal requirements for meal breaks and overtime. However, there are a couple of options you could consider.
Rounding In/Out Punches is a policy allowing you to round your employees’ punches to the nearest 6-minute mark (1/10th of an hour). The idea is that, over time, the employee will not have lost any pay because it will average out. If there’s ever any doubt, always give the employee the benefit.
Examples of rounding: Clocking in between 7:57 and 8:03 gets rounded to 8:00 and clocking in between 7:51 and 7:56 gets rounded to 7:54. This same rounding concept also works whenever they clock out. If they clock out between 4:51 and 4:57 p.m., you round to 4:54 p.m.; if they clock out between 4:57 and 5:03, you round to 5:00 p.m.
Punching In/Out Grace Period is a policy allowing employees to punch in up to 10 minutes before their scheduled start time and clock out up to 10 minutes after their scheduled end time. This 10-minute window at the beginning and end of their workday are called grace periods. Be sure your employees know they are not expected to work during a grace period and can use this time for personal activities. If someone comes in early specifically to start working, they must first get your permission so their timecard can be adjusted.
Examples of a grace period: If Jane is scheduled to start work at 8:00 a.m. but clocks in at 7:52 a.m., she will only be paid beginning at 8:00 a.m. because the unworked time between 7:50 and 8:00 is a grace period. If Jane is scheduled to end her day at 5:00 p.m. but clocks out at 5:05 p.m., she will only be paid through 5:00 p.m. because the unworked time between 5:00 and 5:10 is a grace period.
Before implementing either policy, put it in writing and distribute it. I strongly recommend you get every employee’s signature on that policy because it concerns their wages. Rounding requires a system that can calculate the times. I think the grace period is the friendliest and still helps you avoid those few minutes of overtime you otherwise might have to pay.
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