Free sample

Late coming policy

A plain sample policy for Indian companies: grace time, what counts as late, the common “3 late marks = half day” rule, exceptions and how it’s recorded. Copy it and change the parts in [square brackets].

Late mark calculator

A sample, not legal advice: check it against your state’s rules and your appointment letters. Updated 29 October 2026.

Late coming policy

1. Purpose

This policy sets out what counts as coming late to work at [Company name], how late arrivals are recorded, and what happens when they repeat. It applies to all employees on fixed hours or shifts.

2. Working hours and grace time

Working hours are [10:00 AM to 7:00 PM], or the shift given to you in the roster.

You have a grace time of [15] minutes. Arriving within the grace time is not counted as late.

3. What counts as a late mark

Starting work after your start time plus the grace time is a late mark. One late mark is counted per day.

Starting more than [2 hours] late, without approval, is counted as a half day absent instead of a late mark.

4. Late marks in a month

The first [2] late marks in a calendar month carry no deduction.

After that, every [3] late marks count as half a day. That half day is taken from your paid leave balance; if no paid leave is left, it is a half day of loss of pay.

Late marks do not carry over to the next month.

5. When it doesn’t count

Arriving late with your manager’s approval given in advance (for example, a doctor’s appointment) is not a late mark.

Late arrival because of a public transport disruption, heavy rain or a similar event the company recognises for everyone is not a late mark.

Approved work outside the office (a client visit, travel for work) is not a late mark.

6. How it’s recorded

Start time is recorded by [the attendance system / the biometric machine / the register]. You can see your own record and raise a question with HR within [3] working days of the end of the month.

7. Repeated late coming

If late marks continue for [3] months in a row, your manager will discuss it with you. Continued late coming after that may lead to action under the company’s disciplinary policy.

8. Changes to this policy

[Company name] may change this policy with at least [one month’s] notice to employees.

Making it work in practice

Keep the numbers simple. One grace time, one count, one result. “3 late marks = half day, from leave first” is easy to remember and hard to argue with.

Shifts need their own start times. A policy that says 10 AM doesn’t work for the 2 PM or night shift: late has to be measured against each person’s own shift.

The record decides. Most disputes aren’t about the rule but about the count. A register or a door machine records arrival at the gate, not when work started.

Timerfly applies this policy for you. Late marks come from when each person actually started on their computer, against their own hours or shift, with your grace minutes. Everyone sees their own day, and the monthly payroll Excel has the late marks counted.

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Also free: the late mark calculator, the LOP calculator and the attendance sheet template.

Questions

What is a reasonable grace time for late coming?

Most Indian companies allow 10 to 15 minutes. Teams on fixed shifts, like BPOs and support desks, often allow 5 to 10.

Can a company deduct salary for late coming in India?

Only in the ways the Code on Wages, 2019 allows, such as absence from duty, and a deduction for absence can’t be more than the pay for the time missed. That’s why many policies take repeated late marks from leave first. Write the rule into the appointment letter or policy, tell people before it applies, and check your state’s rules with your CA or HR adviser.

Should late marks come from leave or from pay?

Many companies take them from paid leave first and only from pay when no leave is left. It feels fairer to employees and is simpler to explain.

How do I work out the deduction?

The late mark calculator does it: salary, your rule (3 late marks = half day, a full day, per minute or a fixed amount) and the late marks, with every step shown.

How do I count late marks without arguments?

Use one record everyone can see: an attendance system that records when each person actually started, against their own hours or shift, with the grace time applied the same way every day.

Late marks, counted the same way every day

Timerfly marks late against each person’s hours or shift, with your grace minutes, from their own computer. 14 days free, no card needed.

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