What to include in your attendance policy (+ a free template!)

The day after the Super Bowl is so notorious for employee absences that nearly half of US professionals think it should be a paid holiday. Fun for fans, but costly for businesses. Unplanned absences reduce productivity and drive up costs — reaching as much as US$2,650 per salaried worker each year.*

‍That’s why having a well-structured attendance policy is essential — it helps track absences, decrease expenses, and ensure employees take their well-deserved time off while minimizing the impact on business operations.

This article covers all the core elements of an effective attendance policy and includes a free downloadable template to help you implement it. While we’ve focused on guidance for US organizations, many of these best practices apply to companies worldwide.
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*CIRCADIAN, 2024
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Our free, downloadable attendance policy template

Creating an attendance policy from scratch? Updating an existing framework? In the template below, we’ve outlined seven key elements yours should include.

⭐ Get your free attendance policy template

‍Standardize your approach to attendance management with this handy, customizable resource. 

👉 Download it here

7 elements to include in an effective attendance policy

Your attendance policy should set clear expectations for different types of absences across your organization. Specific, fair guidelines remove confusion and keep organizational leave practices consistent.

‍The point of an attendance policy isn’t to micromanage team members or prevent them from taking time off. Instead, the goal is to provide people with transparent guidelines they can use to manage their absences responsibly and make the most of their time off. This helps build a trusting, supportive work environment.
 

1. Core working hours & flexibility

Flexibility works best with structure. To give employees freedom while maintaining accountability, your policy should clarify:

• Metrics used to measure attendance (e.g., absenteeism rate, punctuality, performance)
• The absence management software and/or time-tracking tools used by the company
• Expectations around core hours (e.g., 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
• In-office requirements for hybrid teams

Answering these questions clearly is vital regardless of whether your organization has an in-office, hybrid, or remote team. However, to avoid operational issues, it’s important to specify when remote employees are expected to be online and reachable.
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 📝 Let’s talk about return-to-office (RTO) mandates

85% of HR leaders agree that employee innovation and collaboration can happen anywhere. So, if your organization enforces in-office work, you must communicate the reasoning and advantages behind that decision.

‍Rebecca Perrault, VP of Culture and Diversity at Magnit, says teams want to know how in-person attendance helps them do their best work:

“Employees aren’t resisting the office — they’re resisting outdated mandates that mistake visibility for value. The best organizations don’t need rigid attendance policies to force collaboration. They create workplaces where people want to show up — because time together is meaningful, not just a box check.”

2. Excused vs. unexcused absences

Your attendance policy must clearly define how your team should handle absences. When someone communicates their absence and gets approval, it counts as an “excused” absence. If they don’t, it counts as “unexcused.”

Approved absences may include:

• Illness or injury
• Personal emergencies
• Jury duty
• Pre-approved leave (e.g., parental leave or vacation leave)
• Medical appointments
• Mental health days

On the other hand, an unexcused absence might include:

• Excessive tardiness
• Unapproved vacation leave
• Missing work without officiation 
• Failure to provide documentation (like a doctor’s note)

These absences aren’t considered acceptable, should be investigated (especially if they become a pattern), and may lead to disciplinary action.
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💡 Your attendance policy must clearly define your company’s expectations for reporting absences to minimize unexcused absences. For example, it might include a phrase like:

“Employees absent for three or more consecutive days due to illness may be asked to provide a return-to-work authorization from a licensed healthcare provider, in line with applicable local laws and company policy."

3. Procedures for reporting absences & tardiness

There are many valid reasons why an employee might need to be absent from work — sick days, mental health days, or personal emergencies. Whatever the case, your attendance policy should clearly outline how team members are expected to report absences and whether they require approval.

For example:

• Who to notify (e.g., direct manager or HR contact)
• How to notify (e.g., HRIS, phone, email)
• When to notify (ideally before the workday starts or as soon as reasonably possible)
• Whether the absence must be approved (or if a timely notification is sufficient)
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💡 Implementing an absence management tool like Leapsome’s streamlines attendance tracking and empowers employees with self-service capabilities. Team members can consult the company absence policy, submit absence requests, view the team calendar, and check their leave entitlements, all within the same platform.

4. Handling excessive absences or tardiness

Companies approach attendance in various ways  — some track it through clock-ins, while others operate on trust. Certain policies are flexible with the occasional late start or last-minute absence, while others are not. Whatever your approach, it’s important to distinguish between excused and unexcused absences.

If you notice a pattern of absenteeism, it’s time to investigate the root cause and take action to find a resolution, especially if the absences are unexcused — e.g., missing work or arriving late without a valid reason, like a medical note or other acceptable explanation.

How you manage unexcused absences and excessive tardiness depends on your culture, priorities, and goals. You might set clear attendance thresholds or establish specific disciplinary actions, but any penalties should be appropriate to the specific behavior and in compliance with local regulations.

It’s also important to distinguish between unexcused absences and health-related leave. Sick leave is a protected form of absence in many regions and should be treated accordingly. If employees feel unable or afraid to take sick leave and instead come to work while unwell — a behavior known as presenteeism — it can negatively affect their well-being and productivity.

Encourage your team to use sick leave when needed, and reassure them that taking time to recover is both acceptable and supported.

Most importantly, don’t just address the behavior. Talk to team members to understand why they’re missing work. Poor attendance can signal deeper problems like personal issues, disengagement, or burnout. 1:1 check-ins work better than formal reprimands to uncover what’s happening and build stronger manager-employee relationships.
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5. Paid time off (PTO) & leave policies

Consistent, clearly communicated PTO and leave policies help employees take their well-deserved time off and support your efforts to stay aligned with applicable labor laws and regulations.

In most workplace contexts, leave refers to a pre-approved period off, while absences are typically unplanned and may be categorized as excused or unexcused, depending on your policy.

That’s why your attendance policy should define the following:

• PTO accrual — Explain whether employees earn PTO over time (e.g., monthly accrual) or receive a lump sum at the beginning of the year. Include any limits or conditions.
   

• Carryover policies — Clarify whether unused PTO can be carried over into the following year. If so, specify the maximum number of days and any expiration conditions.
   

• Request & approval processes — Outline how employees should submit leave requests, how far in advance they should do so, and who is responsible for approving or declining them.
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• Vacation leave — If vacation leave is treated separately from other forms of PTO, clearly define how it works. Also, note whether specific periods (such as peak seasons) are restricted.
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• Sick leave — Indicate whether sick leave is part of general PTO or offered separately. Specify how many days may be available and under what conditions (e.g., when a doctor’s note may be required).
   

• Personal leave — This can include bereavement, jury duty, caregiver leave, or other personal reasons. List the types of leave available and any documentation or notice required.
   

• Extended leave — Extended leave may cover parental leave, sabbaticals, or long-term personal leave. Define the types of extended leave available, eligibility criteria, and whether the leave is paid, partially paid, or unpaid.
   

• Public holidays — List the public holidays your organization observes. If your team is remote or distributed, consider offering a fixed number of public holiday days to be taken at each employee’s discretion. Clarify whether public holidays are counted separately from PTO.
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6. Accommodations & special circumstances

Your attendance policy should allow room for flexibility regarding medical needs, caregiving responsibilities, or other personal circumstances that may not neatly fit within standard categories.

For example, inclusive attendance policies can account for employees managing ongoing mental or physical health conditions. Designing your policy to support these realities improves employee experience and helps your organization comply with its legal obligations.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employers must provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. This can include adjusting work schedules to accommodate medical appointments or offering flexibility regarding when and where work is completed.

To support compliance, it’s helpful to document how team members can request extended leave or schedule adjustments — and how those requests will be reviewed. Tools like people management software can make it easier for employees and managers to navigate these requests without escalating every case to HR.
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7. Attendance tracking & performance alignment

You can’t measure what you don’t track. So, if you want to reduce absenteeism and ensure employees meet attendance expectations, learn to monitor without micromanaging.

In some shift-based settings, such as healthcare or retail, employers are often required to track clock-in and clock-out times closely to comply with labor laws in certain jurisdictions — such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

In most other environments, strict attendance tracking policies can lower morale. Excessive surveillance may foster distrust, reducing engagement and retention. On the other hand, focusing on outcomes can support productivity while preserving a healthier employer-employee dynamic.

This could mean measuring KPIs like task completion rate and progress toward goals instead of relying solely on traditional time-based metrics.
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Creating a fair, effective attendance policy with Leapsome

Heavy workload and poor work-life balance are among the top three reasons people leave their jobs. A well-structured attendance policy can mitigate these challenges by ensuring employees can take time off without negatively impacting team productivity or internal operations. 

By implementing a fair and flexible attendance policy, you equip team members with the information they need to take days off, whether planned or unplanned. Clearly defining procedures and excused vs. unexecuted absences helps prevent unnecessary confusion and back-and-forths between managers and employees, instead fostering mutual trust.

‍A comprehensive HRIS like Leapsome can further simplify and streamline these processes; our Core HR tool can centralize attendance records, create and assign attendance policies, automate approval workflows, and support compliance — all in one place. 

Whether you’re onboarding remote employees or managing PTO policies across different countries, Leapsome is your all-in-one platform for enhancing efficiency and ensuring a seamless employee experience.
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🙌 Streamline attendance tracking with Leapsome 

‍Our intuitive absence management tool is intuitive for HR managers and employees. 

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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and doesn’t offer legal, tax, or financial advice. While we’ve done our best to ensure accuracy and completeness, we can’t guarantee everything is up-to-date or error-free. For tailored advice, we recommend consulting a qualified lawyer or tax advisor.
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Frequently asked questions about attendance policies

What is an attendance policy?

An attendance policy is a document that outlines rules and expectations around employee attendance. It typically covers:

• Core working hours and flexible arrangements
• Excused vs. unexcused absences
• Procedures for requesting and reporting absences 
• PTO and leave entitlements
• Accommodations and special circumstances 
• Attendance tracking methods

A good attendance policy aims to guide employees on absence processes, minimize absenteeism, and ensure the company complies with applicable labor regulations. 
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What is tardiness?

Tardiness refers to consistently arriving late or failing to follow scheduled start times, shifts, or breaks. In the workplace, it’s a form of absenteeism that can disrupt operations and affect team performance. Your attendance policy should clearly define what qualifies as tardiness and outline the consequences of frequent tardiness. 
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What’s a no-fault attendance policy?

A no-fault attendance policy tracks employee absences by counting the occurrences without factoring in the reasons behind them. Typically, individuals receive a point or mark for each unplanned absence, late arrival, or early departure. If a certain point threshold is reached within a set period (e.g., one year), disciplinary action may follow.

These policies can make attendance tracking more standardized and predictable. But it’s important to recognize that not all absences can be treated the same way. Certain types of leave, such as those covered under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), or similar protections in other jurisdictions, may need to be excluded from point accrual and disciplinary consequences. Applying the policy uniformly without accounting for protected absences can result in legal risks.
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How do you respond to employees with poor attendance?

Addressing poor employee attendance requires a clear, structured approach. Review attendance records to identify patterns, and consult your attendance policy to ensure your next steps align with company guidelines.

Next, schedule a 1:1 meeting with the employee. Use this time to ask open questions, listen to their reasons for missing work, and express concern rather than placing blame.

Reiterate the company’s expectations for attendance and make the consequences of continued absenteeism clear. If there’s no improvement after this discussion, you may need to escalate to formal disciplinary steps, such as a written warning or probation.