Staff Attendance Policy

Objective

The purpose of this policy is to set forth Tree of Life Open Bible Church's policy and procedures for handling employee absences and tardiness to promote the efficient operation of the company and minimize unscheduled absences.

Policy

Punctuality and regular attendance is very important to the operation of Tree of Life Open Bible Church's business, and is the responsibility of each employee. Tardiness and absences cause a slow-down in operations and creates an added burden for fellow employees. Good attendance is something that is expected from all employees. As such, employees are expected to report to work at their scheduled start time and be prepared to begin their workday. Employees are also expected to remain at work for their entire workday. Late arrivals, early departures or other absences from scheduled hours are disruptive and should be avoided as much as possible.

This policy does not apply to absences covered by statutory leaves. These exceptions are described in separate policies.

Request and Approval Definitions

Employees are responsible for selecting the request category that most accurately describes the requested absence, schedule change, or work arrangement. Submitting a request does not mean that the request has been approved. A request is not approved until it has been reviewed and marked as approved by the appropriate supervisor, administrator, or senior leader.

The request categories generally include:

• Planned Excuse: A request for a full day or scheduled shift off that is submitted in advance and does not fall under another specific leave category.
• Unplanned Absence: An unexpected absence caused by illness, emergency, or another circumstance that could not reasonably have been submitted in advance. Submitting an unplanned absence request does not replace the employee’s responsibility to directly contact his/her supervisor.
• Planned Schedule Deviation: A planned, minor change to an employee’s normal, recurring, self-directed, or previously communicated schedule. This may include a late arrival, early departure, partial-day availability, alternate working hours, or another temporary change in expected hours.
• Work from Home: A request to complete approved work responsibilities remotely in accordance with the Work from Home Policy. Work from Home is not available as a replacement for direct care hours.
• Sick Leave: A request to use available paid sick leave for an absence related to illness or another qualifying reason under the Sick Leave Policy.
• Unpaid Sick Leave: When an employee is absent for a qualifying sick reason but will not use, is not eligible to use, or has exhausted paid sick leave, the employee must select the available unpaid leave option and explain that the request is for unpaid sick leave. If the request system contains a specific Unpaid Sick Leave category, employees should use that category.
• Unpaid Education Time Off: An approved education-related absence for which the employee is not requesting paid time.
• Paid Education Time Off: An approved education-related absence for which the employee is requesting available paid education time in accordance with applicable policy.

Management may correct or return a request that has been submitted under the wrong category.

Posted Schedule

When a schedule is already posted, it is the expectation that the staff member requesting off will make a sincere attempt to reach out to other staff to find a replacement whenever the request affects a scheduled shift.

Requests that affect a posted schedule are not automatically approved. They may require additional review by the employee’s supervisor, administration, or senior leadership based on coverage needs, the nature of the request, the number of other requests affecting the same program or time period, and any warnings generated by the request system.

A request that is marked as submitted, pending, or needing senior approval has not yet been approved. Employees should continue to plan to work the posted schedule unless and until the request is marked approved.

Absence

“Absence” is defined as when an employee is unavailable for work as assigned/scheduled and such time off was not scheduled/approved in advance as required by the Company’s notification procedure. There are typically three types of absences:

Excused absence.

Occurs when an employee provides management with sufficient notice in advance of the absence, the request has been approved in advance by the employee’s supervisor, and the employee uses the appropriate paid or unpaid leave category. When paid leave is requested, the employee must have sufficient accrued paid time off or sick pay to cover the absence. Sufficient notice is at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the absence taking place. Excused absences may include pre-approved vacation, personal holidays, education leave, bereavement leave, jury duty, approved unpaid leave, and other absences approved by management.

Unplanned absence.

Occurs when an employee has properly notified his/her supervisor that he/she will be absent from work due to an illness or an emergency. Employees must notify his/her supervisor no later than one (1) hour prior to the employee’s scheduled start time on the same day the absence is occurring. Each employee is responsible for contacting his/her supervisor if he/she is going to be absent from work. There is an expectation that an employee will attempt to find a replacement for their shift.

Employees must also submit the appropriate request through the request-off system as soon as reasonably possible. Submitting a form, request, or system notification does not replace the required direct contact with the employee’s supervisor for an urgent or same-day absence.

Unexcused absence.

Occurs when an employee fails to report to work or properly notify his/her supervisor of the absence (“No call, no show”). Absences that occur frequently or demonstrate a pattern of absenteeism may be deemed unexcused and subject to corrective action. An unexcused absence counts as one (1) occurrence for the purposes of discipline under this policy. No more than three (3) unexcused absences will be allowed in a twelve (12) month period.

Consecutive absences.

Employees with three (3) or more consecutive days of excused absence due to illness or injury may be asked to provide a doctor’s note prior to returning to work, unless this violates state, or local law. Furthermore, employees who have exhausted his/her sick leave may be asked to provide a doctor’s note for the day(s) he/she was absent. Providing Tree of Life Open Bible Church with a doctor’s note does not automatically deem an absence excused. Management will review overall patterns of attendance and make determinations accordingly.

Employees must use earned PTO for every absence unless otherwise allowed by company policy (e.g., leave of absence, bereavement, jury duty).

Absences and tardiness may not be reported solely through text message, email, Slack, or the request-off system. Employees must directly contact their supervisor using the communication method established by their department. The electronic request must still be submitted for documentation and approval.

Planned Schedule Deviations

A Planned Schedule Deviation is a request to temporarily work hours that differ from an employee’s normal, recurring, self-directed, or previously communicated schedule. Examples include arriving later than normal, leaving earlier than normal, working a different portion of the day, or being available only during a specific period.

Planned Schedule Deviations are primarily intended for salaried employees who generally work the same schedule each week, establish their own regular schedule, or have recurring hours that are relied upon by other staff. They are generally not necessary for hourly employees whose shifts are flexible and have not yet been assigned or posted.

Planned Schedule Deviations are not disciplinary or punitive. They are used to:

• Notify supervisors and staff that there will be a minor change in an employee’s expected schedule.
• Allow schedule changes to be communicated through Slack or other staff communication systems.
• Maintain an accurate record of schedule accommodations and changes.
• Support statistical review of scheduling accommodations and staffing patterns.
• Help other staff understand when an employee will or will not be available.

A Planned Schedule Deviation is not the same as a full-day request off. Employees who will be unavailable for the entire day or shift should select the appropriate full-day absence or leave category.

When entering a partial-day request, the employee must enter the hours he/she is available to work, not the hours he/she will be unavailable. For example, if an employee can work from 12:00 p.m. through 5:00 p.m., the employee should enter 12:00 p.m. as the available start time and 5:00 p.m. as the available end time.

A Planned Schedule Deviation only prevents the affected late arrival, early departure, or schedule change from being treated as tardiness or an attendance occurrence when it is submitted and approved before the affected shift or working period.

Planned Schedule Deviations that affect a posted schedule may require supervisor, administrative, or senior approval. Submission of the request does not guarantee approval.

Work from Home in lieu of absenteeism

Under certain circumstances employees may request the ability to Work from Home to maintain hours and complete tasks. There are specific policies that need to be followed for this privilege. It is impossible to exchange direct care hour for work from home hours.

Tardiness

An employee is deemed to be tardy when he/she:

• Fails to report for work at the assigned/scheduled work time.
• Arrives to work past his/her scheduled start time.
• Leaves work prior to the end of assigned/scheduled work time without prior supervisory approval.
• Takes an extended meal or break period without approval.

If an employee cannot report to work as scheduled, he/she must notify his/her supervisor no later than his/her regular starting time. This notification does not excuse the tardiness but simply notifies the supervisor that a schedule change may be necessary.

Employees who must leave work before the end of their scheduled shift must also notify his/her supervisor immediately.

We realize traffic or weather conditions may cause an employee to be late once in a while. However, employees are expected to plan for traffic and weather problems and to allow for extra time to commute to work. If he/she will be late, he/she must let his/her supervisor know of his/her late arrival as soon as practical. Notification does not change the fact that this will still be considered an unexcused tardy. Excessive absences, tardiness, or early departures will lead to discipline, up to and including discharge. Absences or tardiness are excessive if they occur frequently or if they demonstrate a pattern.

Other Details for Salaried Employees

Salaried employees are required to submit a request whenever they are unable to complete a shift posted on the schedule, regardless of the total number of hours worked during the week.

Salaried employees who generally work the same schedule each week, establish their own recurring schedule, or have communicated regular working hours must submit a Planned Schedule Deviation when they plan to make a minor change to those hours. This allows the change to be communicated to the staff and recorded without treating the change as disciplinary.

A Planned Schedule Deviation is appropriate for a partial-day or minor scheduling change. A salaried employee who will miss the entire day or shift must select the appropriate request-off, leave, or absence category.

Salaried employees who are able to meet or exceed their minimum work-hour expectations may not be required to use paid Sick Leave for every illness-related absence, subject to supervisor approval and applicable wage-and-hour requirements. They must still submit an absence request for documentation. When paid sick leave will not be used, the employee should select the available unpaid leave category and state that the request is for unpaid sick leave. If an Unpaid Sick Leave category is available in the request system, that category should be used.

Holidays

If an employee calls out of work the day before, the day of, or the day after a holiday, his/her supervisor will review the circumstances of the absence and based on the review, the supervisor will determine whether to count the incident as an excused or unexcused absence.

Requests Requiring Senior Approval

The request system may identify a request as needing senior approval. This designation means that the request requires additional review and has not yet been approved.

Requests may be escalated for senior approval when they involve:

• A blocked or blackout day.
• A conflict with a posted schedule.
• Multiple employees requesting the same day or time period.
• A potential staffing, supervision, ratio, program, or coverage concern.
• A request that generates a policy or system warning.
• A significant or repeated change to an employee’s normal schedule.
• An exception to the normal request-off, attendance, or scheduling procedures.
• Any other circumstance in which the supervisor or administrator believes additional review is appropriate.

Senior approval does not guarantee that the request will be granted. Employees should continue to follow their normal or posted schedule until final approval is recorded.

Corrective Action

Excessive absenteeism is defined as two (2) or more occurrences of unplanned absences or late arrivals in a sixty (60) day period and may result in corrective action. Three (3) occurrences of unexcused absences in a twelve (12) month period are considered grounds for reduction of hours and/or termination.

Approved Planned Schedule Deviations are not disciplinary occurrences and will not, by themselves, be treated as absenteeism or tardiness. However, repeated schedule deviations may be reviewed for staffing, accommodation, operational, or scheduling purposes. A pattern of failing to submit required deviations, submitting them after the affected time, or working outside expected hours without approval may be addressed under the attendance or corrective-action process.

Job Abandonment

Any employee who fails to report to work for a period of three (3) days (no call/no show) or more without properly notifying his/her supervisor will be considered to have abandoned his/her job and voluntarily terminated his/her employment with Tree of Life Open Bible Church.

Reporting Illness

Illnesses among staff are required to be documented for review by accrediting agencies. Employee illnesses need to be documented in the log in the Employee Information Binder.

Submission of a Sick Leave, Unpaid Sick Leave, or Unplanned Absence request does not replace any illness documentation required by the employee’s program, department, licensing agency, or accrediting organization.

Health Policy Related Absences

If you are already at work, and you begin showing signs of illness similar to those that would exclude a student from the Center according to the Staff Health Policy, you may be asked by the Director or Administration to leave before the end of your shift. If your symptoms are not severe enough to warrant leaving, you will still be asked to refrain from food service responsibilities per ServSafe regulations. You may also be asked to leave if you have any non-contagious illnesses/injuries that hinder your ability to complete your required duties. Depending on the severity, type, and length of symptoms, you may also be asked for a note from a medical professional before returning to work.

Blocked Days

The company reserves the right to designate certain days as blocked or blackout days for request-offs. Requests for these days are generally prohibited except for illness, emergency, legally protected leave, or another extraordinary circumstance.

The request system may allow an employee to submit a request for a blocked day so that the circumstances can be documented and reviewed. The ability to submit the request does not mean that the request is permitted or likely to be approved. Blocked-day requests will generally be marked as needing senior approval.

Special accommodations or exceptions for blocked days require approval from the Senior Pastor or another senior leader designated by the Senior Pastor. Employees should not make plans based on a blocked-day request unless final approval has been received.

The blocked days include:

• First Day of Programs for Sprouts Schedules
• Winter Concert for Sprouts Schedules
• Spring Graduation Event for Sprouts Schedules
• Open House Nights for Sprouts Schedules
• Orientation Night for Sprouts Schedules
• Christmas Sunday for Church Schedules
• Easter Sunday for Church Schedules
• Staff Vision Casting Event in January, usually Martin Luther King Jr. Day for Staff Directors