Is Time Management a Dark Art?

I received a request to write an article on the do’s and don’ts of clocking in, filling in registers and managing time.

One of the issues that they were experiencing was that their staff were filling in the registers from 07H00 when their hours of work are 08H00 – 17H00. Because staff come in early, they think they are entitled to take off longer for lunch or leave early.

I immediately broke out in a sweat, as this reminded me of my HR days and the time stolen on shift changes and hand overs, the constant battle with staff trying to miss traffic and working more flexible hours to miss traffic and the huge expenses a business could accumulate by paying overtime and double time.

Luckily you can manage time and expectations, with contracts, time systems and SOP’s.

So, what does the law say? The Basic Conditions of Employment Act lays out the parameters pertaining to hours of work and overtime. Exempt from these guidelines are senior managerial employees; employees engaged as sales staff who travel to the premises of customers and who regulate their own hours of work and employees who work less than 24 hours a month for an employer. The maximum normal working time for an employee is 45 hours per week. This would mean a maximum of nine hours in any day if the employee works for five days or fewer in a week and eight hours in any day if the employee works more than five days in a week. They get 1 hour off a day in the form of 1 hour for lunch or 30 minutes for lunch and 2 x 15-minute tea breaks. This does not mean that the employee must work 45 hours per week normal time. The amount of normal time worked is a matter of contractual agreement between employer and employee. Some employees for instance only work a 40-hour week. The statutory limitation of 45 hours per week means that the employee may not work more than 45 hours per week normal time. The agreed upon working hours are added to the contract and typically would be 40-45 hours per week. The working hours will also include the Employees working hours, so it is clearly laid out for them. The Basic Conditions of Employment Act also covers overtime, equal amount of time off and all perimeters pertaining to working hours and compensation for time worked.

The company’s SOP’s should also cover working times, and the company’s expectations pertaining to the time and hours a person should work. Standard operating procedures are written, step-by-step instructions that describe how to perform a routine activity. Employees should complete them in the exact same manner every time so that the business can remain consistent. For those staff that need to be at work and take breaks in a structured manner need to understand the company’s SOP’s and if they don’t adhere to them need to be spoken to and reminded of the company’s operational needs. If they still don’t follow the company’s guidelines, formal disciplinary procedures need to be followed and the Employee is to be disciplined according to the severances of the charge according to their code of conduct.

So, if the company’s need is to have an employee work 08H00 – 17H00 with 1-hour lunch or 30 minutes lunch and 2 x 15-minute tea breaks, they are within the law in terms of the maximum 45 hours per week. They also have a contract with the employee agreeing to the working times and their SOP’s clearly state the times and duties for any role or action in the company. Operating out of these parameters are grounds for disciplinary action.

A good time management system and/or registers are great for keeping track of time, but they will not help with your staffs’ expectations or perceptions, this will take a meeting and a bit of one on one coaching. It might also be a good idea to lay the law down in a staff meeting. Keep it simple, these are the business needs, i.e. no one needs to answer the phone from 07H00am, when we open at 08H00am, so our operational requirement requires you to work from 08H00am and not 07H00am, it is also clear in your contract and the company’s SOP’s. 

If you are more susceptible to Employees working flexi hours, it is important to keep accurate records of work hours. This seemingly straightforward process can become complex when employees punch-in early or leave late, travel for business, participate in company training, and use mobile devices to remain connected to work after-hours. If you have staff who work flexible working hours, you will need a good time keeping system, and you will also need to keep track of deliverable and outputs. Time spent using technology outside of the office to respond to work email, access the company network, check phone messages, or perform other work tasks is generally considered compensated work time. You would need to make sure proper training is provided to remote or flexi hour staff. Staff who work out of regular hours or from home are also due breaks and are also governed by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act pertaining to working hours, overtime and equal amounts of time off.

The Employer must pay employees for all hours worked on the next regularly scheduled pay day, regardless of whether the employee adhered to the company's timekeeping procedures. If an employee fails to submit or sign a time sheet, ask the employee and their supervisor to immediately provide/confirm the hours worked and pay the employee accordingly. Again, this could lead to disciplinary action against the employee. Flexi hour and remote staff are also governed by SOP’s, time management systems and contracts. So, make sure that all expectations and procedures are covered in your SOP’s and Contracts. Make sure that you have a policy that expressly prohibits off-the-clock work and have controls in place to prevent it. Again, even with good systems and procedures in place, these staff need a human management element to address issues and set boundaries and address issues.

When implementing any Time & Attendance system one of the biggest issues is getting employees to consistently clock in and out. It’s usually not that they don’t want to. It’s just that we all tend to forget to clock in or out from time to time. Especially when we are changing work locations and using mobile time clocks to register our hours. However, forgetting to clock in and out may also be very convenient for employees who tend to be tardy or leave work early. This way they can cover up being late and even get paid for the time when they were not at work. While it is hard to immediately fix any issues that you are having with missed clocking’s, implementing the right policies and communicating them effectively is a great start. You must apply the policy to each and every employee, no matter of their performance, job title or history. In this way you will send a clear message that non-compliance will not be tolerated. 

It is important to get your staff time management correct, or this could become a very expensive lesson in your business. Make sure your clocking system, SOP’s, rosters, agreed upon hours and contracts are all aligned and managed effectively. Make sure your Mangers and staff are all on the same page pertaining to expectations, managing time, claiming for time and hours you expect them to work.