In this article you will learn
- When should you think about automated accounting of employee departures and arrivals?
- Which program to bet on?
- Why you shouldn’t always trust a machine to control the arrival and departure of employees
- Which employees are not read by the scanner?
- How to manually ensure staff time tracking
Our company has three retail store And own production. Wages are hourly. Previously, when there were 150 people on staff, arrival and departure of employees the security guard at the checkpoint recorded the entry to work in a special journal. The accountant then transferred the information into a spreadsheet. He had to set aside an hour and a half to two hours to fill out the table and then transfer the data (usually from the previous day) into the program. As the company grew, the number of employees tripled, so keeping track of the arrival and departure times of five hundred employees became very difficult.
Accounting for the arrival and departure of employees: how to control effectively
Five years ago, we decided to automate control over the arrival and departure of employees. At first we thought about electronic cards - the most popular today. But this system is very easy to bypass: employees can simply share their passes with those who arrive on time. Therefore, we abandoned this idea, even though card systems are easier to work with - they practically do not allow errors during registration. The most interesting was the biometric time and attendance system BioTime.
This is a fingerprint scanner installed at the checkpoint and connected to a computer on which a special program is installed. Since the entrance is common for both store employees and those working in production, only four scanners were needed: three in the stores at security posts and one in the accounting department. They are all absolutely identical, but the equipment in the accounting department has a program installed that manages employee accounts and prepares analytical data. Here information about new employees is entered into the database. By the way, this database can be stored on any servers: for example, we use Microsoft SQL Server. It also provides automatic creation backup copy in case of an accident. Therefore, if something happens to the server, we will not lose the data.
Installation of the system cost approximately 80,000 rubles, of which about 20,000 rubles. spent on the purchase of four scanners and 15,000 rubles. - to pay for consultants’ services for the first year of technical support. To work with the system, a full-time system administrator is enough; there is no need to hire an additional employee. Additional service the equipment itself is not required. Like any equipment, it has a certain service life, but in five years we have replaced only one scanner out of four.
Accounting and control of the arrival and departure of employees
Now all employees are required to undergo a scan upon coming to work. When a person puts his finger on the scanner, he sees his last name, first name and patronymic on the screen. It is in his interests to ensure that the equipment works correctly and recognizes him.
Then, in any case, all employees approach security to sign in the log - this is a mandatory procedure. We were unable to completely get away from paper media.
But now the journal is used only in controversial situations, when calculating wages the accounting department no longer contacts him - it works with electronic data: it requests a report on hours worked, in which the last name and total time work for the period under review. The program can also prepare a variety of reports:
- the amount of hours worked for any period of time;
- arrival time;
- care time;
- time at work.
Previously, when controversial situations arose, it was necessary to contact other employees, heads of departments or store administration and make a decision based on aggregate data. Now an electronic version of arrivals and departures is sufficient. All employees understand this, so there are fewer late arrivals, because for violations they can be deprived of part of the bonus. The system simplified the work not only of the accounting department, but also of the HR service, which regularly uses scanner data.
However, even such a smart machine cannot always correctly identify a person. Despite the fact that the possibility of duplicating a fingerprint is one in a million, errors sometimes occur. It happens that the equipment does not read the fingerprint the first time. And there were even cases when the system identified the wrong employee.
I think this is a feature of biometrics, because the device scans not the entire finger, but a certain number of points. Some employees engaged in production in a hot shop or in direct contact with equipment experience damage to their fingertips, both thermal and mechanical. As a result, the person is incorrectly identified.
There are two ways to solve this problem.
Increase scanner sensitivity. The program allows this, but the speed of reading data is no less important to us. Especially in the morning, when about a hundred employees arrive at the same time, it is impossible to stay at the scanner for more than two seconds.
Enter in the system a fingerprint of not one finger, but two. So, we have fingerprints saved for each employee index finger and the little finger, which is least susceptible to injury.
Arrival and departure of employees: experience in solving problems with delays
Rita Nim, Head of HR Department IP Kazakov A.V., Lukhovitsy, Moscow region
We have six stores in the city. The full-time number of salespeople is eight people, of which two are substitutes in case of illness, vacation or any unforeseen circumstances. This, on the one hand, makes work easier, because it is easier to control a small staff. But on the other hand, in a large team there are usually special employees who monitor discipline. In our case, this is simply impossible, and installing any accounting systems is absolutely unprofitable.
We have developed other ways to control the arrival and departure of employees. For each store, I select employees who live in the same area and can quickly get to work. For the majority, we have introduced hourly wages (in accordance with the minimum wage for the Moscow region). You can, of course, set a work schedule of 2/2 or 7/7, but in this way we would increase the staffing level, for which the company would require certain costs. Because of this, we set a fee for each hour. Therefore, it is important that the employee regularly works the required paid time.
The seller comes to work at eight o'clock and opens the store himself. I call everyone and check if they have come to work. And at the end of the working day, around five o’clock in the evening, I call everyone again and ask for the amount of revenue. At the end of each month, the company draws up a time sheet, which indicates how many days and hours everyone worked, as well as the amount of revenue - sellers receive one percent of it.
A working time log is a document that indicates when employees come to the enterprise and when they leave it.
For what purpose is the journal kept?
A time log is a document that becomes necessary when the number of company employees becomes significant enough that management or responsible employees no longer have the ability to record their appearance “by eye.” Then the document takes on this function.
It is worth noting that the legislation the obligation to maintain it is not specified and in enterprises with a large number of personnel. Also, there is no standard form for it; the requirements are limited to those existing in office work in general. Therefore, enterprises themselves can set the details for their own accounting logs in accordance with the needs of a particular company.
The accounting journal can serve to solve the following tasks:
- determining the amount of time worked by staff with irregular working hours;
- registration of cases of lateness and early departure from work;
- occupation of shelter during overtime work.
Thus, using this document, it is possible to accurately record the time that all employees spend in their place. In addition, the journal can be referred to if disputes arise between an employer and an employee regarding certain issues related to working time. Likewise, it is permissible to refer to this journal in court, with the caveat that it must be maintained in the correct manner. If violations are discovered, it may not be accepted as evidence.
Basic ways to control working time
The main way to control working time to this day is the subject of this article, that is time log, which can be in either paper or virtual form. However, other options are also available along with it. These include:
- an electronic pass, made in the form of a magnetic card, through which they pass through the turnstile; using this method, you can also find out the time of arrival and departure of employees;
- biometric accounting is the most modern way, it assumes that employees enter the workplace using their fingerprints.
General design rules
It has already been mentioned that general form does not exist for this document. For this reason, each enterprise has the opportunity to develop it on its own, based on samples that can be found on the Internet.
In particular, the number of columns into which the sheet will be lined differs. It depends on the goals that the employer focuses on. For example, a not too complex accounting journal may include the following columns:
- number;
- the surname and initials of the employee and his place of work;
- division of the enterprise to which it belongs;
- time of arrival of the employee on site;
- the signature he gave upon arrival;
- signature of the person responsible for attendance;
- time of employee's departure;
- the number of hours worked by him at the enterprise on that day;
- a note about non-compliance with the work schedule (the reason may be working overtime, a delay with a valid reason, or being late);
- employee's signature upon leaving;
- signature of the person responsible for attendance.
It is worth clarifying that, on the one hand, this list is not exhaustive; other columns can be added to the document; on the other hand, it is not mandatory and, if necessary, some columns can be excluded from it.
Since the legislation does not define the rules for maintaining this document, it is necessary to define them by local regulations. In particular, the fact of keeping a journal may be indicated in the Rules governing the internal work schedule. At the same time, a sample journal can be entered by order of the manager. In the future, the document must be drawn up in accordance with all the rules that were prescribed in its respect by local acts.
This journal must be prepared in compliance with the following general office work requirements:
- it is necessary to enter continuous numbering and mark all its sheets with numbers;
- requires flashing this document, while the threads are brought to its last endpaper, where they are tied and the ends are given a length of at least 5–7 centimeters;
- on last page it is required to put a seal, which has the shape of a paper rectangle attached to the ends of the lacing; the number of sheets should be entered into this rectangle, and the signature of the head of the enterprise or the responsible employee should be placed on it.
Also in the journal (on the flyleaf or in another place) a number of basic information should be indicated, in particular:
- the name of the company or its structural division, if the journal is kept for employees of a component part of the enterprise;
- date when the journal was started;
- the date when the last entry was made to it;
- surname, first name, patronymic and position of the person appointed responsible for maintaining the journal.
In cases where the journal is maintained by successive persons, for example, security guards, it is not recommended to appoint a single responsible employee. Then indicate the position he occupies.
It should be repeated that these requirements do not relate to legislative requirements adopted specifically in relation to the working time log, but are general requirements office work. However, their compliance is necessary, especially regarding the firmware and document numbering.
Filling methods
Likewise, there are no mandatory requirements to the filling procedure, and these requirements are also recommended to be approved by local regulations. There are two main ways to do it:
- the responsible employee (either personally or occupying an appropriate position, security guard or other) fills out all the columns, and other employees only certify with their signature that everything indicated is correct;
- The employee fills out all the columns, and the responsible employee signs.
Both methods are equivalent, and both have the same requirements:
The person who is responsible for maintaining the journal is determined by the manager, who can also indicate a specific position. If there are several divisions, the manager can appoint an employee who oversees his own accounting journal for each structural unit.
It is worth noting that these days, along with standard manual journaling, it is also possible to design it using a form on a computer, as well as using a special application.
Programs can be provided by the provider organization for several months; this method implies that they are rented out. This is a relatively affordable option. Another option - an indefinite purchase of software - implies that you will have to pay significantly more.
What is the difference with a report card?
Given the document must be distinguished from the time sheet.
The time sheet only indicates how many total hours the employee worked on a given day. Therefore, a less informative report card can be filled out on the basis of a journal in which it is indicated and exact time arrival of employees to the workplace, as well as their departure from it.
Which government agencies control
Employers are required to track the time employees show up for work and when they leave work. At the same time, the management of the enterprise establishes the form of this control independently. Representatives of regulatory agencies monitor how correctly accounting is done according to the accepted form, to the extent that it meets the requirements of office work, which, as stated above, are mandatory.
In particular, the tax authorities have the right to check how this document is drawn up, since it is on its basis that employees are paid earnings, and, consequently, in the future, taxes on it are paid to the budget. And if this journal is compiled incorrectly, then the amount of payments will also be inadequate.
Also access this document can receive the Social Insurance Fund, who has the right to check whether the amount of benefits was determined correctly, for example, for child care or on the basis sick leave. The Federal Labor Inspectorate has a similar right.
In this case, the absence of this journal is considered a significant violation labor law, which will result in a fine.
Here's a video about automating employee time tracking.
Labor legislation recommends that all employers keep records of employees' working hours. The mandatory form for such accounting is Form T-12. Sometimes managers own initiative keep a working time log. You will find recommendations for maintaining such a journal in this article.
From the article you will learn:
Working time recording: legislative framework
Provided that the provisions of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation are strictly followed, the likelihood of problems and disputes arising regarding working hours and their payment is extremely low. Working hours, V general view, is the period of time during which the employee is busy performing his job duties as prescribed in the terms of the employment agreement and internal labor regulations.
Any company, regardless of its form of ownership and legal status, must keep records of the time worked by employees. Both the employer and the employees themselves are interested in this.
For the employee, such accounting is a guarantee that he will not be forced to work beyond the established norm (40 hours per week), and all overtime work will be properly paid. At the same time, the volume is extra work will not exceed 4 hours on two consecutive days or 120 hours per year.
For an employer, such accounting makes it possible to control the time actually worked by its employees, track tardiness and absenteeism, and allocate time for business trips, vacations and sick leave. At the same time, hardworking and disciplined employees will be financially stimulated, and violators will receive appropriate penalties and fines.
More higher value for both parties has a recording of working time in the case of an hourly wage system.
Please note
If an employee is absent from work throughout the day without good reason, then such an offense is qualified by law as absenteeism. A one-time violation can lead to a reprimand or reprimand, a repeated violation can lead to dismissal under the article. This right is given to the employer by Art. 81 Labor Code RF.
Basic methods of recording working hours
There is no strict definition of the methods by which hours worked should be recorded in the Labor Code. Typically, a person in charge is appointed to carry out this procedure. He controls the time of arrival and departure of employees, the order of appointment overtime, compliance work schedule. The appointment of a person in charge occurs either by order of management or by instructions in labor agreement with this employee additional accounting responsibilities.
Currently, in our country it is customary to record hours worked in three ways:
- daily
- weekly
- in total for the year.
It should be noted that these are the most common accounting periods; in practice, the management of the enterprise can set any other period of time for control.
However, it must be borne in mind that according to the law, the maximum accounting period is one year, and for work with hazardous working conditions - three months. Typically, management determines the accounting period in accordance with the work schedule of each specific staff unit.
Registration of a working time log
Maintaining a time sheet (form T-12) is mandatory for any organization. In contrast, an employee time log is started solely on the initiative of the manager. There are two reasons for this.
The time log is the source of data for timesheets maintained by the accounting and human resources departments.
Such a log helps the manager monitor labor discipline and obtain reliable information about how much time his employees spend at their workplaces.
For disciplined and conscientious workers, the presence of such a log is an additional guarantee that all overtime hours worked will be properly paid.
Read also:
Who can keep a log of employees coming and going?
The employee responsible for maintaining this accounting document is determined by management independently. The appointment is made in one of two ways:
In the latter case, in the employment agreement or job description The log book keeper should add this additional responsibility.
Keeping a working time log
We have already discussed above in different ways recording hours worked. Each enterprise, in accordance with the work schedules of its personnel, can set any frequency for making entries in the journal. As a rule, it is as follows:
daily (in the case of a standard working week);
weekly (if employees do not come to work every day, for example, during shift work);
with the frequency established by the Regulations on the company’s office work (in the case of summarized accounting with a flexible or shift schedule).
Since keeping a journal is not mandatory, the law does not establish a standard form for this document. Each company can develop its own version of the journal and enter into it all the data necessary for accounting. Practice shows that the table form is the most convenient option (it can be a printed or electronic table) with the following minimum required set of columns:
You can purchase a similar magazine in stores that sell specialized stationery products. It will already be stitched, have front page and contain all the necessary fields to fill out.
Often management requires the addition of additional columns. For example, this could be a column with information about lunch breaks or data about overtime hours. All of these additional columns can be added to spreadsheets you create yourself, which you can then print. Many modern enterprises have the practice of conducting electronic magazines accounting.
The journal is usually kept for a year, then a new one is started. After completion of the document, it must be stored for one year.
Quite often in some organizations you can observe the following picture - the journal is on the secretary or janitor's desk, and employees independently make entries in it when they arrive or leave. The value of such information is not high.
It is much more effective to keep such a journal in electronic form.
This could be a regular application table Microsoft Excel, which opens up enormous opportunities for recording working time - automatic calculation of time worked, the ability to compile reports for each employee, sorting and searching by date, last name, etc.
Rules for keeping a working time log
Art. 91 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation dated December 30, 2001 No. 197-FZ regulates the employer’s obligation to keep track of the time actually worked by the employee. The named time must be reflected in a special report card (see form T-12, approved by Resolution of the State Statistics Committee of Russia dated January 5, 2004 No. 1).
Having a working time log is not a statutory obligation of the employer. However, this document serves to optimize and simplify the work of the relevant service for recording time worked. Based on the information contained in the mentioned journal, information can be entered into the time sheet.
The person responsible for maintaining such a journal is appointed by each organization independently:
- by issuing a special order or
- on the basis of local regulations - provisions on office work within the organization; in this case, the functionality for maintaining such documentation is immediately indicated in employment contract employee or his job description.
The frequency of entering information into the working time log, as well as its storage period, depend on the type of working time recording:
- Daily accounting is when employees are required to report to work every day during the work week. In this case, the log is filled out daily.
- Weekly - when employees work the hours established by the agreement per week, but do not come to work every day. The log in this situation is filled out once a week.
- Summarized - when employees work on a flexible schedule or in shifts. In this case, information in the log can be entered with the installed local regulations frequency: daily, weekly, quarterly, semi-annually, etc.
Time log form
The employer has the right to independently determine the form of journal keeping, since the legislator does not limit him in this choice. The journal can be filled out both on paper and in electronic format.
Moreover, the second option can be implemented even without the use of special automated databases for personnel or accounting. It is enough to create a suitable spreadsheet, since clause 1.11 of Art. 2 federal law"About information information technology and on the protection of information" dated July 27, 2006 No. 149-FZ calls electronic document any documented information presented in electronic form, that is, in a form suitable for perception by a computer and transmission through electronic telecommunication networks.
Logging in electronic form must comply with the requirements of the organization’s internal records management instructions.
Contents of the journal: recording the arrival and departure of employees
The legislation does not establish requirements for the design and content of this document. According to established practice, information in such a journal is usually presented in tabular form. This table typically contains the following columns:
- serial number of the record;
- Full name employee;
- date of entry;
- the time the employee appears at the workplace;
- time of departure of the employee from the place of work home;
- notes (comments are recorded regarding the employee’s lateness to work, the reasons for his absence workplace etc.);
- signature of the person responsible for maintaining the journal.
The title page of such a journal, issued on paper, usually contains the following details:
- organizational and legal form and name of the organization;
- the name of the magazine itself;
- start and end date of logging;
- position, full name person responsible for maintaining the said document.
An example of filling out a log of employee arrivals and departures can be downloaded from the link:
So, the journal for recording the arrival and departure of employees does not belong to mandatory personnel documentation, and therefore the requirements for its maintenance are not regulated by law. At the same time, on the basis of such a log, you can quickly fill out a time sheet and record the necessary comments regarding the reasons for the lateness or absence of employees.
The form of keeping a journal can be any, as well as its content - the requirements for them are established by the internal regulations of the organization.
Employee discipline is a fundamental factor in the success of any organization. To comply with this, organizations have strictly established schedules for the start and end of work. To monitor compliance with established rules, employers maintain various forms of records. One of the accepted forms for monitoring presence or temporary absence from work is a special accounting book for hours worked.
Employee working time log - legal basis for keeping a log
The correct organization of production depends, first of all, on the uninterrupted functioning of the hired personnel. Employees are required to comply with the working time standards established in local documents. But unplanned absence cannot be avoided. In order to be able to track the presence of employees at their places of work and correctly calculate their salaries, a monthly timesheet is maintained. The obligatory nature of its maintenance is enshrined in Article 91 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. A log of the arrival and departure of employees is maintained by the employer on a voluntary basis. The law does not provide for its mandatory maintenance.
In what form is it compiled?
The form of the working time log is not established by law, so its design depends only on the requirements of the employer. Both paper and electronic versions of bookkeeping are considered legitimate. It should be clarified that maintaining an electronic form does not require the installation of special programs. You just need to develop a format that is convenient for you and format it correctly. This can be a document in Word or Excel format. It is possible to maintain a document using the built-in electronic reporting systems available in the organization. The main thing when filling out a paper or electronic form is consistency and consistency.
How to apply correctly?
The registration of the employee working time log is carried out using the tabular method. Each organization has the right to determine for itself which columns it needs in the book. The main thing is that with their help you can easily track the arrival and departure of employees, their hours of overtime or absence.
The design of the book must contain:
- Front page.
- Table of contents.
- Seal on the lace.
The title page must contain general information about the name of the company and the title of the book. The first sheet must indicate the start date of maintenance and the last entry in the book. It is important to indicate on the book the position and surname of the person maintaining the document. The book is laced and sealed to protect against illegal removal of pages. The seal can be in the form of a printed sheet of paper or a factory seal when purchasing a finished book.
How to keep a log of employees' working hours?
One responsible person should keep the book. Usually in organizations this position is prescribed in the LNLA, and then in the employment contract of the corresponding employee. But it is also possible to assign responsibility by order of the manager.
The table contains the following required columns:
- Serial number.
- Employee's last name.
- Date of entry.
- Accurate recording of arrival at work.
- Exact time of leaving work.
- Note column.
- Signature of the employee making the entry.
Late arrivals or early departures are usually noted in the notes column. It can also record irregular working hours.
Sample order for the introduction of an employee working time log
All basic documentation in organizations is put into effect by order of the manager. The special accounting book is no exception. Changes to the book are also carried out by issuing an order.
The order reflects the following points:
- Grounds for issuing the order.
- Order on special form special accounting from the specified date.
- Assigning responsibilities to one responsible employee.
- Instructions for familiarizing yourself with the order.
Retention period for employee time logs
According to established rules, all documents in the organization, after completion of their maintenance, are transferred to the archive. Storage periods are specified in state instructions, which indicate the entire list of stored documents. In accordance with paragraph 586 of the List, the special accounting journal is stored for 5 years after the last entry is made. However, if the document contains information about working in hazardous conditions, its storage is increased to 75 years. Storage of documents for up to 5 years is provided by the internal archive of the organization, up to 75 years - transferred to the city archives.