Attendance Policy Template

An attendance policy template gives your team clear rules for showing up, calling in and being on time, and gives you a fair way to act when someone doesn’t. This free attendance policy is written for US small businesses, especially those that run on shifts. It covers expectations, call-in rules, tardiness, no-call/no-shows, an occurrence system, discipline steps and the absences that never count. It ends with a printable employee attendance tracker.

What you get

A five-page PDF and a Word file you can edit, sized for US Letter paper:

• Pages 1–3: the attendance policy, with highlighted fill-ins for your call-in rules, numbers and contacts, and an employee acknowledgment.
• Page 4: an attendance tracker, with a codes key, for one employee.
• Page 5: notes on adopting the policy and what the law says you can’t count, with links to the sources.

The policy is written in plain English, so you can drop it into your employee handbook or hand it out on its own.

What a good attendance policy includes

• Clear expectations. Start times, breaks, and asking before leaving early.
• Call-in rules. Who to contact, how, and how far ahead. A text to a coworker doesn’t count.
• A definition of late. For example, more than five minutes after the scheduled start.
• A counting method. An occurrence system, with a rolling period, so everyone is measured the same way.
• Discipline steps. The totals that lead to a verbal, written and final warning.
• What never counts. Approved time off, protected sick leave, FMLA leave, accommodations, jury duty and military service.
• An acknowledgment. A signature showing the employee received the policy.

How to roll out an attendance policy

1. Fill in every highlighted field. Choose numbers you’ll actually apply.
2. Check your state and city sick leave laws, and adjust the call-in rules and section 8 if needed.
3. Give the policy to everyone, explain it at a team meeting, and collect signed acknowledgments.
4. Start a tracker sheet for each employee on the effective date.
5. Record every absence and late arrival with a code, the same day.
6. When someone reaches a discipline level, meet with them and use a write-up form.

Occurrence and point systems

An occurrence system, sometimes called an attendance point system, counts unplanned absences instead of judging each excuse. A reported full-day absence might be one occurrence, a late arrival half of one, and a no-call/no-show two. Several days out in a row for the same reason count as one. Occurrences drop off after a rolling period, such as 12 months, so one bad patch doesn’t follow someone forever. The template leaves each number as a fill-in, so you can set values that fit your business.

Tardiness

Lateness is easy to handle unevenly, especially when the manager likes one employee more than another. The policy fixes a grace period, such as five minutes, and counts anything beyond it as a late arrival, worth less than a full absence. Leaving early without agreement counts the same way. Write the grace period down and apply it to everyone. Talk to someone the first time they’re late, before it adds up, because a quick conversation often fixes a bus timetable or a childcare clash.

No-call/no-show policy

Missing a shift without any word is the hardest absence for a small team, so the policy treats it more seriously than a reported absence. A first no-call/no-show counts extra and leads to at least a written warning. You choose how many missed shifts in a row you’ll treat as a resignation. Before you do, call and write to the employee and keep a note of each attempt. A hospital stay or a family emergency can explain a silence, and that leave may be protected.

Employee attendance tracker

The last page is a printable attendance tracker. Use one sheet per employee. Record the date, a code, the scheduled and actual times, how the absence was reported, and the occurrences, with a running total. Codes V, P and C never count. Use P for any protected leave, and keep medical details off the tracker. Fill it in the same day, while the details are fresh, and ask the employee to initial entries that add occurrences, so there’s no dispute later about what happened or when.

What can’t count against employees

Several laws limit what an attendance policy can count. Under the FMLA, employers with 50 or more employees can’t count FMLA leave under a no-fault attendance policy (29 CFR 825.220). Employers with 15 or more employees may have to give leave as a reasonable accommodation, and can’t penalize employees for using it (EEOC). The PWFA covers pregnancy-related limitations (EEOC). Some states bar penalizing paid sick leave, for example Washington (RCW 49.46.210). Call-in rules still matter: under the FMLA, employees must follow your usual call-in procedure unless there are unusual circumstances, such as a medical emergency (29 CFR 825.303). Federal law also protects federal jurors (28 U.S.C. 1875) and service members (38 U.S.C. 4311).

When to get advice

Get advice before you discipline or dismiss someone whose absences may be linked to their health, a disability, pregnancy, a family member’s illness, jury duty or military service. Do the same if they’ve recently complained or asked for leave.

Want a second opinion before you act on an attendance problem? hrsupport.io gives HR answers for your state, with the law behind every answer.