Human Resources Manual
| Policy No.: | 5-8 | This policy applies to: | |
| Policy Name: | Attendance & Punctuality |  |
Non-exempt staff |
| Effective Date: | 08/01/04 | |
Exempt staff |
| Revised: | Faculty | ||
Policy
Loyola University New Orleans depends on employees to report to work
regularly and on time. It is the responsibility of employees to notify
their supervisor of any expected leaves, absences, or tardiness. In the
event of an unexpected absence it is the responsibility of the employee
to stay in contact with the supervisor. Departments are responsible for
establishing call-in or lateness procedures, to meet operational needs.
Procedure
Absence Notification
Employees are required to notify their immediate supervisor of absences:
- Scheduled Absences
Employees must request supervisory approval in advance when an absence is expected for a full day or part of a day. This includes all planned absences including scheduled personal business, medical procedures and vacations. Departmental notification procedures should be followed. - Unscheduled Absences
When advance notice is not possible (because of sudden illness or emergency), the employee must notify the immediate supervisor on the first day of absence. The employee should provide the reason for the absence, the expected return date, and respond to any reasonable questions asked by the supervisor. Departmental call-in procedures should be followed. - Subsequent Notification
An employee who is absent (without prior approval) for more than one day must contact the immediate supervisor daily to report the status of the absence. The supervisor may waive this requirement or designate another contact person for absence reporting.
Absence Without Notification
Employees who do not notify their supervisor of unscheduled absences may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination. More than three consecutive workdays absence without notice is considered job abandonment. The department may terminate the employee at the close of business on the third day. Job abandonment is treated as a voluntary resignation.
Lateness Notification
Employees must follow department call-in procedures to notify the department of the reason for lateness and expected arrival time. Excessive unexcused tardiness may be cause for discipline.
Recording Absences
All absences must be recorded and reported:
- Paid leave will be used for all approved vacations, scheduled medical procedures, illness, etc., whether scheduled or unscheduled.
- Leave without pay will be used when an employee has no paid leave available to cover an absence or when an employee takes leave that is not approved.
- Employees who do not have available paid leave will not be paid.
Partial-day absences for exempt employees
Because exempt employees are paid for the job and not by the hour, partial day absences are not deducted from pay or from sick leave or vacation. Full day absences are deducted from official leave programs such as vacation or sick leave, or if no leave is available, from pay. Exempt employees are expected to use partial day leave responsibly and in consultation with their supervisor. Abuse of this provision will be viewed as a disciplinary concern and addressed accordingly.
Recording Lateness
Departments may allow non-exempt employees to make up time, permit the employee to use available paid leave, or deduct pay for time missed due to lateness. Time reported should reflect the lateness accordingly:
- Employees who are allowed to make the time up will record actual hours worked.
- Employees who are allowed to use available paid leave will charge the time to the appropriate paid leave category (e.g., vacation, sick).
- Employees who do not have available appropriate paid leave will not be paid.
Guidelines
As a general rule, more than six occurrences of unscheduled absences from work in a rolling 12-month period would be considered excessive. An “occurrence” means one or more consecutive days for the same condition.
Tardiness of four or more instances in a month would be considered excessive, especially a pattern of tardiness.
Individual departments are responsible for establishing protocols for absence notification. It is the responsibility of supervisors and employees to comply with the guidelines in this policy.
