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Late, early and break rules

Set a grace period, a fine, a half-day limit and free times each pay period for late entry, early exit and long breaks in a rule set.

Updated 30 Oct 2026 · 2 min read · For: Owners, Admins and managers

On this page
  1. Turn on a rule
  2. The settings
  3. Example
  4. Steps this page cannot change
  5. Where it shows

A rule set has three sections that work the same way: Late entry, Early exit and Breaks. Each is measured against the person's shift.

Turn on a rule

  1. Go to Attendance → Rule sets and select Edit on a rule set.
  2. In Late entry, Early exit or Breaks, turn on Apply this rule.
  3. Fill in the settings below.
  4. Select Save.

The settings

SettingWhat it does
Grace (minutes)Minutes allowed before the rule applies
Fine (₹)The fine for each time the rule applies
Half day after (minutes)From this many minutes, payroll cuts half a day's pay instead of the fine
Waive the firstThe number of times per pay period without a fine or a cut
Allowed break (minutes)Breaks only: the total break allowed before the break rule applies

Example

Late entry with 10 minutes of grace, a ₹50 fine, half day after 120 minutes and the first 3 waived:

  • 9:08 AM on a 9:00 AM shift: within grace, not late.
  • 9:25 AM: late by 25 minutes. The first 3 late days in the pay period have no fine; the 4th and later cost ₹50 each.
  • 11:30 AM: 150 minutes late. If this is the 4th late day or later, payroll cuts half a day's pay for it instead of the ₹50 fine. If it is one of the first 3, it is waived like any other late day.

The day itself still shows as present and late on the attendance page. The half-day cut is made in payroll, where it counts as half a day of loss of pay.

Steps this page cannot change

A rule set can hold fine steps that Fine (₹) and Half day after (minutes) cannot describe, such as a fine for each minute, a full day's cut, or several fines for different lengths of delay. Such a rule set comes from outside this page, for example through the API. For it, the section lists each step in words, such as "Minutes 31 to 60: ₹2.00 for each minute", instead of the two fields. Saving the rule set keeps those steps exactly as they are. You can still change the grace, the waived times and Apply this rule.

Where it shows

Late days are marked Late with the minutes on the attendance page and in the staff member's month. Fines from these rules are worked out in the pay run, so they appear on the person's pay and payslip, not on the attendance page. You can also add a fine by hand, which shows on the attendance page too. See Add a fine to a day.

Still need help?

Write to us with your business name and what you were trying to do. We answer by email.

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