Policies & Procedures
Administrative Procedure: 7007
Employee Attendance
Attendance is a condition of employment and employees are expected to be at work during their scheduled work hours. Discipline up to and including discharge will be enforced if the employee is tardy or absent beyond acceptable norms.
An employee who is late or absent from work must personally notify his/her supervisor to provide the reason for tardiness or absence, the expected date of return to work, and a telephone number where he/she can be reached within the time limits established by each individual department. If the employee is too sick to make the call, another person may provide the notice. The intent of this procedure is to ensure attendance and punctuality norms and should be viewed as a constructive program to improve attendance and punctuality. Monitoring attendance will allow the supervisor to use discretion in differentiating sick time from other authorized absences, as well as allowing for coverage in the department.
Morale: The College is interested in developing employees and maintaining high morale. Absenteeism is a major indicator of problems in the work place. It is an important part of the supervisor's job to pinpoint employee problems and try to assist in their resolution.
Communication: It is important to communicate with an employee when recognizing an attendance problem to determine what actions are required. With valid information and a well-developed action plan, an employee can improve his or her attendance record.
Documentation: Thorough and fairly administered documentation is critical when dealing with chronic absenteeism.
Attendance Guidelines
Employee Responsibilities: Each employee is responsible for reporting to work as scheduled. When an employee cannot report as scheduled, the employee must notify his/her supervisor. Any absence of three (3) consecutive days or more requires medical certification from a doctor. An employee is required to notify the supervisor each day he/she is absent, even if the absentee days are consecutive and medical certification has not been provided to the supervisor. Failure to notify will be considered a "no call/no show" and will result in disciplinary action in accord with administrative procedure 7009 Employee Conduct and Work Rules.
Faculty and Adjunct Responsibilities: It is expected that all classes will be held as scheduled. If a class must be cancelled for emergency reasons, the faculty member or adjunct instructor must notify the division dean so appropriate arrangements may be made for the missed educational experience. Approval for any substitute or guest lecturer should be obtained from the dean. Notice of faculty or adjunct absence is to be reported using the Faculty Attendance Form which can be obtained through the division dean.
If a faculty member or adjunct instructor is absent, notice must be given as early as possible. If no one in the division is contacted, the faculty member must contact Security so that a cancellation message can be posted on the classroom door for the students. Faculty attendance forms must be completed and submitted immediately upon return to campus.
Supervisor Responsibilities: Each supervisor is responsible for keeping accurate daily records and maintaining documentation. Each supervisor must establish and communicate to his/her employees a reporting system so employees will know who and how to make contact when absent. Employees must be given a phone number to call when they are absent.
Definitions
Absence:
Failure of an employee to be on the job during his/her scheduled hours of work (including overtime).
No Call/No Show:
An absence where the employee has failed to contact his/ her supervisor prior to the start of the shift and has failed to report to work within two hours of the start of the shift (unless the employee is able to provide his/her supervisor with verification of why he/she was over two hours late); or where the employee has called in to say he/she will be late, then fails to report within one hour of the time he/she is to report to work.
Tardiness:
Failure of the employee to report to his/her assigned work area on time.
Counseling:
An informational and motivational tool used by management to inform the employee of his/her attendance incident status. Counseling sessions should be documented with the appropriate employee’s initials to substantiate its occurrence.
Trend Absenteeism:
Absenteeism that follows a distinguishable trend will be treated as an additional violation of the attendance policy and disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with administrative procedure 7009 Employee Conduct and Work Rules.
References:
Rowan College of South Jersey Board of Trustees Policy Manual, 7007 Employee
Attendance and 7009 Employee Conduct and Work Rules