Time and Attendance Policy

Purpose

The Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology promotes fairness and uniformity in maintaining departmental attendance standards and records of all employees. The department shall keep a record of the vacation and sick leave accrual and absences of each employee and the reasons for the absence. The hours worked and absences from work by each employee must be recorded to ensure that the employee receives proper payment for hours actually worked or for leave entitlements

Audience

This policy applies to all employees in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Responsibilities

Employee

· Requests supervisory approval for time off 12-hours in advance by completing a leave form or calling the supervisor directly at home the night before work no later than 9 PM.

· Notifies direct supervisor 12 hours in advance when tardy, ill or absent for any other reason.

Supervisor

· Ensuring that procedures and systems are in place to record the hours worked and leave time used in a timely and accurate manner.

· Ensuring time and attendance policies are established for their department in accordance with UTMB policies and the Fair Labor Standards Act (please refer to the IHOP Policy 4.1.4 for non-compliance penalties).

· Ensuring that time and attendance forms are kept on file for four fiscal years in addition to the current fiscal year.

· Ensuring that all employees in their department are educated regarding the time and attendance policy.

· Ensuring all employees comply with required policy.

· Ensuring that time and attendance policies are administered fairly and uniformly for all employees.

· Considers requests from employees for time off. Approves or rejects using supervisors discretion.

· Ensuring that an annual review and update (more often if needed) of time and attendance policies is completed

· Ensuring that procedures are in place for recording time and attendance manually in the event

of an emergency (a 6 week supply of paper time forms should be on hand at all times)

Policy

Each UTMB department shall maintain a time and attendance policy that describes how all worked time and absences from work will be tracked and recorded in their department to ensure all employees are correctly compensated in terms of regular, shift, overtime or other pay. Knowingly falsifying time records for yourself or another person will result in immediate disciplinary action up to and including termination for all employees involved.

KRONOS System Users

Bi-Weekly Payroll

Approval of Time

The Management Team will designate individuals as supervisors or timekeepers who may enter and approve time in the KRONOS System for employees within the department. Employees may not approve their own time. Managers/designees must verify the number of hours worked and leave taken by an employee using one or more of the following:

· Observe or contact the employee during the workday.

· Measure the employee’s work product.

All time must be approved by the manager/designee. All forms regarding time and attendance must be maintained on file for four years plus the current year.

How to Use the KRONOS System

Step	Action
1.	Dial 23333 or 33333 using designated telephone. If the phone rings more than 5 times, hang up and try again. If the phone continues to be unanswered, report the problem to the HELP line at 25200.
2.	Listen for time to be announced.
3.	Enter employee ID number followed by the “#” sign.
4.	Listen for the announcement to enter the clock code.
5.	Enter the appropriate code. Employees clocking in and out: 1 Phone in arrival 9 Phone in departure time for the day Employees clocking once a day 7 Phone in for automatic hours for the day Employees clocking for lunch break 3 Phone in leaving for lunch break 4 Phone in arrival from lunch break Employees floating to another area 5 Phone in arrival and follow instructions to enter the float department org id and job code if it changes when employee floats
6.	Listen for confirmation message, and then hang up. NOTE: Do not hang up before hearing the “thank you for using” message to ensure time entered will be recorded.
7.	If an error is made before completing an entry, hang up or press the “*” sign twice and re-enter the correct entry.

Additional Codes

Upon approval by the management team, additional codes may be used. If applicable, appropriate documentation must be completed and submitted by the employee.

KRONOS System Downtime Procedures

In the event of a power and/or telephone outage, and/or other disaster, time will be recorded using the paper time forms kept on hand in each department for emergency use. Time will be recorded by the department in HRMS once normal business operations return.

Non-exempt and Exempt Clocking

The management team will designate the phone(s) to be used for KRONOS in each area. Non-exempt employees must clock in and out each day. Exempt employees will be informed by their manager whether they are to clock in and out each day or if they are to clock in once a day using the clock code of 7. Employees who clock in once a day will have 8 hours on the time sheet for that day unless the schedule dictates other hours and payroll is notified of the needed change.

Personnel using unauthorized phones to clock in or out may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

Overtime

All overtime must be authorized in advance by departmental administration (this includes skipped lunches). Non-exempt employees who work overtime without authorization must be paid for the time worked but will have disciplinary action taken if behavior continues.

Compensatory Time for Exempt Employees

Comp Time may be granted in accordance with UTMB IHOP Policy.

http://www.utmb.edu/policy/ihop/search/03-04-08.pdf

NON-Exempt employees are not eligible to accrue Comp Time.

In accordance with IHOP policy this department will adhere to the following policies:

An employee expecting to work more than scheduled hours to accrue comp time must have prior approval of departmental administration.

Leave request must be approved in advance for employee to use comp time.

Accrued Comp time will expire after one year of accrual date. The balance of accrued comp time may not exceed 120 hours at any given time.

Loading Missed Clocks

It is each employee’s responsibility to clock. If an employee fails to clock, it is the responsibility of the employee to submit the KRONOS Time Adjustment Approval request to his/her manager no later than one day after it occurred. If the employee fails to submit the appropriate signed documentation by the time entry payroll deadline, missed pay may not be paid until the following payday. KRONOS Time Adjustment Approval Request forms must be kept on file for 4 years plus the current year.

Leave Request Forms

Per Texas State Government code all employees (monthly or biweekly paid employees) must complete Leave Request Forms whenever leave time is taken.

The leave forms must be properly completed, and approved, prior to the submission to the person responsible for the inputting and approving of time. The person inputting and approving time must have the forms no later than at the end of each weekly shift for biweekly employees or by the 15^th of each month for monthly employees. Leave hours will be loaded onto the time form in HRMS by the manager/designee.

Leave forms are not required for Holidays taken on the Holiday but are required for the use of accrued Holiday time.

Leave forms are required when an employee is out of office on UTMB business.

Personal information regarding a medical condition must not be included on the leave request form.

Scheduled or Unscheduled Leave

Tracking Scheduled or Unscheduled Leave will be consistent with IHOP policy.

In accordance with IHOP policy the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology will adhere to the following policies:

Employees are expected to maintain satisfactory attendance as defined by the following department standard:

· Leave time will be considered scheduled leave if notification is given on a leave request form 12 hours prior to the occasion. This includes sick leave for

o Planned hospitalizations

o Medical/Dental appointments

o Physician prescribed time off

· Employees are to call their manager/supervisor a minimum of one hour prior to the beginning of the assigned shift for notification of an unscheduled absence.

· Employees are required to speak to a manager/designee to notify them of an unscheduled leave. Employees may not leave voice mail or use email to qualify for an excused absence

· Employees are to call their manager/supervisor personally on each day of absence.

The standards for unscheduled leave occurrences are as follows:

Employees are expected to maintain satisfactory attendance as defined by the following department standard:

Less than 8 unscheduled absences per 12 month period:

# of Unscheduled Absences	Disciplinary Action
5	Verbal Warning
6	Written Warning
7	2^nd Written Warning
8	Disciplinary action up to and possibly including suspension or dismissal.

Supervisors are responsible for maintaining attendance records for assigned areas. The consistent application of attendance standards is essential to promoting fair employment practices.

_____________________________________________________

· Absences related to FMLA may not be recorded as unscheduled leave time and are not subject to disciplinary action.

· All Family leave time taken must be recorded on the FTIM form whether it is paid or unpaid.

Meal and Other Breaks

Meal and Break periods shall be given in accordance with UTMB IHOP Policy, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology will adhere to the following policies:

· All employees are required to take at least 30 minutes for a lunch break.

· Employees who are required to work through their meal must get prior approval to do so.

· At the discretion of the manager/designee, time may be made up for arriving late or early for scheduled appointments as long as at least a 30-minute break is taken for lunch.

· Unscheduled time missed may never be made up and must be recorded as unscheduled leave.

· All employees may take a paid 15-minute break in the morning and in the afternoon but only if the workload allows.

· Break times may not be taken in conjunction with an employee’s scheduled work starting or finishing time, or in conjunction with lunch breaks.

· The manager/designee may require employees to clock in and out from lunch using the appropriate codes (Clock out – “3”; Clock in – “4”).

The KRONOS system automatically deducts one pre-set lunch break after 6 hours of work.

NON-exempt employees required to work through the meal period must be paid for the time worked.

Clocking in Late

Employees are expected to clock in and out at the time designated by their manager/designee. Employees clocking in one minute after the designated time are considered tardy. However, the employee will not be docked in pay for clocking transactions that occur within 7 minutes of the time designated by their manager/designee.

Excessive tardiness may result in immediate disciplinary action up to and including termination.

Clocking in Early

Employees may not clock in more than 7 minutes before the scheduled time without authorization from the manager/designee.

Excessive abuse of time by clocking in early may result in immediate disciplinary action up to and including termination

Clocking out Late

Employees may not clock out more than 7 minutes after the scheduled end time without authorization from the manager/designee.

Excessive abuse of time by clocking out late may result in immediate disciplinary action up to and including termination

Tardiness

Tracking Tardies will be consistent with the IHOP policy.

Employees are expected to be ready to work at their designated start times.

Failure to Call or Show

Failure to call in will be consistent with the IHOP policy. Failure to call in an absence may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination. If an absent employee does not contact their supervisor for three (3) consecutive workdays, the employee may be terminated due to job abandonment.

Discipline for Missed Clocks

It is the employee’s responsibility to clock in and out as determined by the manager/designee. Employees who consistently miss documenting their time in the KRONOS system may be subject to the disciplinary process up to and including termination.

Disciplinary action will be taken as follows:

# Missed Punches Action

4 verbal warning

6 written warning

9 suspension without pay

10 termination

Missed clocks are reviewed during the attendance year (the last eleven months of continuous UTMB employment plus the current month, “rolling twelve months”).

Employees working less than 40 hours per week will be disciplined for the number of missed clocks according to the percentage of a 40-hour week they work. For example, an individual working 20 hours per week will receive a verbal warning after 2 missed clocks (4 missed clocks x 0.5 {% of a 40 hour week worked} = 2 missed clocks).

Errors that occur in the KRONOS system that result in clocks not being transferred to the payroll system will not be counted as missed clocks.

KRONOS Time Adjustment Approval Request

There must be a properly completed KRONOS Time Adjustment Approval Request on file for all clocking transactions that are not completed by the employee. More than one adjustment form per pay period is considered excessive.

· Adjustment forms completed because of KRONOS breakdowns are not included for the disciplinary process.

· Adjustment forms completed because of the need to skip a meal are not included for the disciplinary process

Disciplinary action will be taken as follows:

· 3 adjustment forms per pay period—verbal warning

· 5 adjustment forms per pay period—written warning

· 7 adjustment forms per pay period—suspension without pay

· 9 adjustment forms per pay period—termination

Failure to Comply with Time and Attendance Policies

If an employee fails to complete and submit the required time information by the deadline given, he or she may be required to wait until the next pay period to be compensated for the leave time or the time worked.

In situations where an employee has time and attendance problems and/or abuses of leave time, the manager/supervisor may institute a more structured reporting requirement for the employee until the problem is corrected. Examples may include but are not limited to:

· Report to manager/supervisor upon arrival and departure.

· Report time spent on each task or assignment.

· Complete a sign in/out sheet for each period of time away from work area.

Progressive disciplinary actions will be taken when an employee’s attendance record falls below the department’s acceptable standards.

Knowingly falsifying time records for yourself or another person will result in immediate disciplinary action up to and including termination for all employees involved.

Last modified: 07/21/2008