How to Create a Clocking In and Out Policy + Examples

This is a chapter in our ultimate guide to clocking in and out for employers. To continue learning after you finish this post, use the links on the left (desktop) or bottom (tablet/mobile) to navigate to the other chapters.

The goal of this post is to guide you through creating a clocking in and out policy that optimizes your company’s workflow and simplifies your time-tracking process — all in accordance with federal and state labor laws.

What is a clocking in and out policy?

A clocking in and out policy is a document that details all of a company’s time and attendance policies. It outlines the steps employees should take to log their work hours, including any specific rules for overtime, break logging, and time off, and may also include rules for correcting any timecard errors.

Why is having a clocking in and out policy important?

Having a clocking in and out policy is important because it ensures accurate tracking of employee work hours, which is essential for payroll processing and compliance with FLSA laws.

It promotes accountability, minimizes disputes over hours worked, and helps businesses monitor attendance patterns, enabling better workforce management and cost control.

11 details to include in your clocking in and out policy

Clocking in and out policies are very flexible in what they look like (as you’ll see in the examples we’ll share later in this article). The best policy for your business might be a short and simple one-page brochure or a long and detailed document with screenshots and step-by-step instructions for every possible scenario.

Below, we’ve listed some common things employers include in their clocking in and out policies so you can pick and choose the ones that make the most sense for your business.

1. The purpose of the policy

It’s always helpful when your employees understand why you have certain policies in place, and having a “Purpose” section in your clocking in and out policy gives you a place to do that.

If you can help employees understand that accurate time tracking is key to them getting paid properly, they’ll be much more inspired to follow the process diligently.

2. How employees should track their time

If your policy has nothing else, it should at the very least explain exactly how employees should track their time. What that looks like will vary depending on what method you use for tracking time — paper timesheets, punch cards, or time clock apps.

For example, if you use paper timesheets, you’ll want to explain where new timesheets can be found (in a location in your office or an online document that can be printed), when they should be submitted, and how they should be submitted at the end of each pay period.

If you use a time clock app, you’ll want to note which app is used, explain how employees can access it (downloading the app or visiting a specific URL), how they can obtain their login information, and who they should reach out to if they need help (an admin or the support team for the application).

Additionally, if you have employees working at different locations (on-site, off-site, remotely, etc.), you may want to specify the different ways employees should clock in and out depending on where they’re working (i.e., using a kiosk when working on-site and using the mobile app when working off-site).

3. When employees should clock in and out

This also varies depending on how your employees are classified (hourly or salaried).

If you have salaried employees, you may not need them to clock in and out at all. Instead, they may just need to enter their hours at the end of each pay period for the purposes of calculating accrued PTO. If this is the case for your business, explain that in your document.

If you have hourly employees, you may need to provide details on which breaks they should clock out for, how often those breaks should be taken, and how long they last.

4. Rules around clocking in early, clocking out late, and overtime

Employees logging an extra few minutes before and after their shifts can quickly increase your labor costs. If you want to have a lot of control over labor costs, make sure to define your policies for clocking in early, clocking in late, or working overtime.

You may want to set a limit for how soon before a scheduled shift employees can clock in or specify that employees must get manager approval to work late or get overtime.

If you’re using a time clock app to limit punches or automatically clock employees out, you should also explain how those systems work in your policy.

5. How employees should fix timecard errors

No amount of process or policy will completely eliminate mistakes and errors. From time to time, employees will forget to clock in or out and will need to edit their timecards.

Your policy should explain what employees should do if they make a mistake tracking their hours. That might mean reaching out to their supervisor or requesting an edit to their timecard and providing a reason using your time tracking application.

6. Your timesheet approval processes

If employees’ timesheets need to be approved by their managers before you run payroll, explain the steps they should take to get that approval. That might mean explaining how they can submit their timesheets for approval in an app or getting a signature on a paper timesheet.

You may also want to detail when timecards need to be submitted for approval to avoid any delays in processing payroll.

7. Any consequences for non-compliance

Sometimes, timesheet mistakes are just mistakes. Other times, they can be intentional. For example, employees may be “forgetting” to clock in to hide the fact that they were late to work.

Unfortunately, FLSA laws require you to pay employees for hours even if they forgot to clock in, so you can’t use “I guess you just won’t get paid for that time” as a motivating consequence.

If time theft has been a problem in your workplace, or if you suspect it is, it’s a good idea to define a system of consequences for repeated timesheet mistakes.

Overlooking a mistake or two from time to time is perfectly reasonable, but outlining your process for write ups and termination if things become a problem will help you, your managers, and your employees know exactly what to do and what will happen in cases of recurring non-compliance.

8. Instructions for working around technical errors

What should your employees do if your time-tracking system is inaccessible? This can happen if the provider you’re using is down or if an employee doesn’t have internet access at a worksite.

Make sure you have backup policies documented in case of technical issues so you can ensure that you can go back when the system is working again to fix any missed punches.

9. Definition and examples of time theft

While clocking in before an employee starts working, clocking out after they left work, having a coworkers clock in/out for you, or spending time doing personal things while billing for work hours may be clear cases of time theft to you, your employees might not understand that these things are wrong.

Defining time theft and providing some examples of what it looks like can be helpful if you want to make sure everyone in your company knows exactly what constitutes time theft.

10. Time off policies

If employees accrue paid time off based on the number of hours they work, it can be helpful to explain your PTO accrual process in your clocking in and out policy. Additionally, make sure you document how employees should log upcoming PTO so you can make sure to include that time on their timesheets for payroll.

11. Employee signature page

Finally, to make sure that employees have received and read your clocking in and out policy, it’s helpful to have a page that employees sign and return to you. This can be helpful down the line if you need to take disciplinary actions for non-compliance with the policy.

Examples of clocking in and out policies from real companies

The perfect clocking in and out policy will look different for every employer. These documents are highly flexible and should be shaped to how you run your business.

Let’s take a look at a few example policies to give you some inspiration for yours.

Southwest Tennessee Community College

This policy starts with a table of contents, which allows for easy navigation on repeat viewings.

Categories are neatly segmented, starting with an overview of their timekeeping system and a description of the procedures for it. It also defines “clock in,” “punch in,” and “swipe in” (or out) as all interchangeable phrases and explains the different employee roles as they relate to time tracking.

Then it goes into the employees’ responsibilities, defining expectations for exempt employees versus non-exempt employees, and how to handle things such as daily clock in and clock out, lunch breaks, and how to make payroll adjustments.

From there, the bulk of this policy defines responsibilities, expectations, and rules for both employees and supervisors for all things relating to employee time: leave request approvals, annual leave, sick leave, compensatory time, jury duty, and holidays. This includes accrual rates of PTO for exempt and non-exempt employees and the carry-over rules between years.

Then, we get a section pertaining to time tracking system issues, such as if their time clock system malfunctions or suffers a power outage. An order of contact is established, with employees contacting their manager, their manager contacting payroll, and payroll contacting information systems if required.

They also provide information for employees to deal with locked accounts, password resetting, or ID badges being lost or damaged.

This timekeeping policy then shifts into an overview of attendance on a daily basis, defining regular work hours and work days, the amount of time full-time employees are meant to spend working per week, and how tardiness and absences are defined and should be handled.

Lastly, there is a disciplinary action section covering the sort of behavior that would be punished, including tampering with timekeeping hardware or software, buddy punching, failing to use their timekeeping system properly, falsification of time records, and excessive missed punches without a valid reason.

Takeaways

• Detail: This policy answers any and every question an employee might have in regard to how they should track their time.
• Digestibility: It breaks down sections into chunks and makes the information contained in each as digestible as possible.
• Clarity: Both employees and administrators have procedures outlined for them, which helps define expectations for both roles and improves consistency and impartiality. 
• Revisit-ability: Particularly because of the inclusion of a table of contents, this document is easy for an employee to revisit whenever a specific question or issue arises.

Mount St. Joseph University

This policy is a stark contrast to the previous one, which just goes to illustrate just how variable a policy can be depending on your style.

While this policy is limited to just one page, you might notice that it does still cover the broad strokes of the information contained in the previous ten-page example:

• A definition of the different types of employees.
• Expectations for breaks and meal periods.
• Procedures for handling issues with adjustments to punch times. 
• How to manage time tracking during system failures.
• Policies around tardiness and absences.
• A list of behaviors that are prohibited.
• Processes for questions, concerns, or issues.

Takeaways

You can be as specific as you want in your clocking in and out policy, but it’s not a requirement. If you don’t think your employees need quite as much hand-holding as the last example, feel free to keep things short and sweet and cover only the broad strokes.

Sitel

This policy’s opening is closely intertwined with their specific timekeeping system, Kronos. It covers how employees are meant to use the Kronos system to clock in and out depending on if they’re an hourly employee or a salaried employee, whether they’re using the kiosk or the time clock or the workforce timekeeper, or if they’re using the pay-from-switch option.

Then, it moves into an overview of how all users are meant to access the timekeeping system in general. They also mention that in the case of outages, a backup manual timesheet method will be used. The timekeeping policy provides guidance on how to correct data for missed or incorrect punches.

The policy describes the procedure for hourly associates to clock in, including the fact that they’re expected within five minutes of their scheduled shift start to be in accordance with the attendance and punctuality policy.

The next section covers daily clock-in and clock-out responsibilities. From there, it moves to how work shifts, lunches, and breaks are meant to be handled, including time allotted.

The third page focuses on the mechanics of recording work time and ends with disciplinary actions for failure to adhere to the use of the timekeeping system as outlined.

Takeaways

If you’re committed to a particular time-tracking system that you know works great for your company, you can shape your clocking in and out policy around it. This includes guiding employees on how to interact with that system specifically and across various methods.

Free template for creating your own clocking in and out policy

Starting from a blank page is hard to do, so we’ve created this sample clocking in and out policy you can use for ideas on how to get started and what to include in your policy. Use the buttons below to download it in PDF, Word, or Google Docs format.

---

What you’ve just read is only a single chapter in an entire guide to clocking in and out for employers. If you want more tips, use the links on the left (desktop) or bottom (tablet/mobile) to navigate to the other chapters and continue learning everything you need to know to set up an effective time-tracking system for your business.