Attendance Policy Template With a Point System

By Nicole Hullihen, former SaaS Chief Operating Officer and Microsoft MVP · Updated October 13, 2026

An attendance policy tells employees what counts as an absence, how to report one and what happens if absences pile up. Without one, every attendance problem becomes a judgment call, and judgment calls are where unfair treatment and disputes start. A point system, sometimes called an occurrence system, makes the rules concrete: each type of absence or late arrival is worth a set number of points, and discipline is triggered at set totals.

Below is a complete attendance policy template with a point system you can copy and adapt, followed by how to choose point values, what you must not count and how to roll the policy out.

Note: This is general information and a starting template, not legal advice. Paid sick leave, family leave and other laws vary by state and city, so have the final policy reviewed for the places your employees work.

How an Attendance Point System Works

Every attendance event is assigned a point value. Points add up over a rolling period, often 12 months, and each point drops off on its anniversary. When an employee reaches a threshold, the next step of discipline happens automatically. Because the same events earn the same points for everyone, the system is easy to explain and hard to argue with.

The trade-off is rigidity. A point system needs clear exclusions for protected leave and a way to handle genuine emergencies, or it will punish the wrong people.

Attendance Policy Template

Copy this template and replace the bracketed text with your own rules.

Sample Point Chart

Counting consecutive days for the same illness as one occurrence keeps the system from punishing someone who stays home for three days with the flu. That also avoids pushing sick employees to come in.

Sample Discipline Chart

Use "termination review," not automatic termination. A review lets HR confirm that no protected absences were counted and that the policy was applied the same way it has been for others. For more on discipline steps, see how many write-ups before termination.

What You Must Not Count

The most common legal problem with attendance policies isn't the point values. It's counting absences the law protects. Depending on the employer's size and location, these may include:

• FMLA leave. Eligible employees at covered employers can take job-protected leave for a serious health condition, a new child or a family member's serious health condition, including intermittent leave.
• State and local paid sick leave. Many states and cities protect a set amount of sick time and prohibit counting it against the employee. California's Labor Commissioner, for example, says an employer can't give an employee an "occurrence" for a valid use of accrued paid sick leave.
• ADA accommodations. Time off or a modified schedule approved as a reasonable accommodation for a disability.
• Military leave under USERRA.
• Jury duty. Federal law protects employees serving on federal juries, and most states protect state jury service.
• Workers' compensation absences for a work injury.
• Other state leave laws, such as voting, domestic violence or family leave, where they apply.

Train managers to flag any absence that might fall into these categories, and route it to HR before points are assigned. See can an employer deny sick leave for more on protected sick time.

Point System vs. Other Attendance Policies

How to Choose Your Point Values

1. Start with your real data. Look at the last 6 to 12 months. How many unplanned absences does a typical reliable employee have?
2. Set thresholds above normal. A first warning should come well after the typical employee's total, so the system targets real patterns.
3. Weight what hurts most. No-call no-shows and short-notice absences cause the most damage, so they should cost more than a late arrival.
4. Pick a reasonable rolling period. Twelve months is the most common. Shorter periods are more forgiving.
5. Add a way to earn points back, such as removing a point after 90 days with no new points.

How to Track Points

A point system is only as good as its records. Track every event with the date, the type, the points assigned, whether notice was given and whether it was excluded as protected. A time clock that compares punches to the schedule catches tardies and early departures automatically, and a PTO system shows which absences were approved time off. If you're starting on paper, a printable attendance sheet works for small teams.

How to Talk to an Employee About Attendance Points

Point totals should never be a surprise. When an employee reaches a discipline threshold, meet privately and keep it factual:

Ending with that question gives the employee a chance to raise something protected that a manager might not know about, such as a medical condition or a family member's care.

Sample Attendance Points Notice

Handling Emergencies and Exceptions

No point system covers everything. Decide in advance how you'll handle the gray areas, and write it down so exceptions are consistent:

• Severe weather or road closures: Many employers waive points when the business closes or official travel warnings are issued.
• Family emergencies: Some absences may be protected under family or sick leave laws; check before assigning points.
• Car trouble or transit failures: Usually counted, but some employers allow one waiver per year.
• Hospitalization: Treat as possible protected leave and route to HR.

If a manager grants an exception, record why. An exception for one person should be available to anyone in the same situation.

Attendance Policies for Remote Employees

For remote roles, attendance usually means being available during scheduled or core hours, logging in on time and attending required meetings. If you use points for remote employees, define what counts, such as being unreachable for more than [30] minutes during scheduled hours without notice, and use login or time clock records, not impressions, to track it.

Should You Reward Good Attendance?

Rewards can help, but design them carefully. Removing points for a stretch of perfect attendance is common and low risk. Cash bonuses for perfect attendance can backfire if they push sick employees to come in. Legally, they need care too. Under federal FMLA rules, an employer can generally deny a perfect attendance bonus to someone who missed the goal because of FMLA leave, but only if employees on equivalent non-FMLA leave are treated the same way. State and local sick leave laws can be stricter. California, for example, doesn't allow a valid use of accrued paid sick leave to be counted as an attendance occurrence. A safer option is a bonus that excludes protected absences from the calculation.

Attendance Policy Checklist

If any of these are missing, employees will fill the gaps with their own assumptions, and managers will fill them with different ones.

How to Roll Out a New Attendance Policy

1. Have the policy reviewed for the states and cities where you have employees.
2. Announce it at least two weeks before it takes effect, and explain why.
3. Start everyone at zero points on the effective date.
4. Get a signed or electronic acknowledgment from each employee.
5. Train managers on reporting, exclusions and documentation.
6. Review totals monthly and audit a few records each quarter for consistency.

Common Attendance Policy Mistakes

• Counting protected sick time or FMLA leave.
• Enforcing the policy for some employees and not others.
• No way to report absences outside business hours.
• Points that never expire.
• Automatic termination with no review step.
• A policy that lives in a handbook no one has read.

For related guidance, see what counts as excessive absence, how many no-call no-shows before termination and how to handle an employee who is always late.

Track Attendance Automatically in Updoot

Updoot's time clock flags late arrivals and early departures against the schedule, and its PTO software records approved time off and sick time, so you can see each employee's attendance history in one place and apply your policy consistently.

Sources

• U.S. DOL: Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• EEOC: Employer-Provided Leave and the ADA
• U.S. DOL: USERRA (military leave)
• 28 U.S.C. 1875: Protection of jurors' employment
• U.S. DOL: State Labor Offices
• California Labor Commissioner: Paid Sick Leave FAQ
• 29 CFR 825.215: Equivalent position (FMLA bonuses)

Frequently Asked Questions