ZERO LOP POLICY for Employees who work more than official timings also offcial travelling on holidays 24/7 official commitments.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am working as an HR manager (the only HR person) in an MNC. Here, we have a few department heads and their team members who work more than official hours and travel officially on days off and holidays. We are planning to create a ZERO LOP (Loss of Pay) policy for such employees, as they work 24/7 with no personal commitments.

Please help me with how to create such a policy and advise me on the merits and demerits of the policy. Additionally, please suggest a better name for this policy.

Thank you,
Deepu

Hi Dilip,

It is a good thing to hear that some employees don't bother about working hours and are willing to put in extra hours. However, my experience leads me to say that it is better not to come up with a policy that does not track only a group of employees. Tomorrow, the office is answerable to statutory officers. Also, there are security concerns as well.

Therefore, here is my recommendation:

1. Come up with an official policy (or add an additional clause) for time and attendance in the standing orders.
2. If the company is under the Shop Act or Fact Act, the muster roll of all employees is mandatory. It is extremely complicated to clarify to officers on what grounds you have allowed an employee to work for 48 hours or continuously for 20 days, etc., and it is not possible under normal circumstances. Therefore, you have to put regular practices in place - for example, if somebody worked on a holiday, grant them a compensatory off and allow them to avail it at a later date.
3. There should be traceability for employee working hours. You may allow leniency to some employees, but there should be accurate information for you as well as external agencies to approve and justify such actions.
4. You can give time tracking exemptions to employees for a defined period (i.e., employees working on a particular project for a specific period). However, you have to produce a muster roll, provide the actual number of days worked, holidays availed, leave granted, leave availed, whether they worked extra hours, and how you compensate for such additional effort, etc.

These recommendations aim to ensure transparency, compliance, and fairness in monitoring employee working hours. Thank you for considering these suggestions.

Best regards,
[Your Name]