What Is Time and Attendance? | HR Glossary | BambooHR
Systems and processes for recording when employees work and are absent.
Time and attendance covers how an organisation records the hours its people work, their breaks and their absences. Accurate records feed payroll, support compliance with working-time law, and give managers visibility of resourcing.
Methods range from clock-in terminals and mobile apps to self-declared timesheets, often integrated with rostering and leave systems. Automation reduces the errors and disputes that arise from manual recording and reconciliation.
In an EU context, a Court of Justice ruling requires employers to maintain objective, reliable records of daily working time to demonstrate compliance with rest and maximum-hours rules. Robust time and attendance systems are therefore a compliance safeguard as well as an operational tool.
