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Act 3: Day-to-Day Operations

12. Attendance

Story

Daily operations are now fully active, and employees begin using the attendance system for regular check-ins, check-outs, and daily time tracking across the organization.

Attendance records flow in from manual entries, web check-ins, and biometric devices while the system automatically applies shift rules, grace periods, overtime policies, and attendance validations.

Happy Path

Attendance events are captured successfully throughout the workday, allowing the system to calculate working hours, overtime, and attendance status automatically.

  • Employees check in and check out successfully during assigned shifts
  • Biometric devices automatically sync attendance punch events
  • Shift windows, grace periods, and attendance policies apply automatically
  • Attendance status updates instantly in employee and manager dashboards
  • Working hours and overtime calculations are generated in real time
  • Approved overtime flows directly into payroll calculations

Failure Modes

FailureWhat the user seesWhat happens next
Employee attempts duplicate check-in"Already checked in"Wait for check-out before creating another check-in
Employee attempts duplicate check-out"Not checked in"Verify active attendance session before check-out
Check-in attempted from non-whitelisted IP addressAttendance blocked or flagged based on policyRetry from an approved network location
Check-in occurs outside allowed shift windowLate or early attendance flag generatedAttendance recorded with applicable policy result
Employee has no assigned shiftCompany default attendance policy appliedAssign dedicated shift if required
Attendance recorded during holiday or weekendMarked separately from regular attendanceApply overtime or special-day policy if applicable
Biometric device becomes unavailableAttendance synchronization interruptedUse manual attendance fallback until device reconnects
Overtime exceeds configured legal or company limitWarning displayed to administratorsReview and approve overtime manually if necessary
Employee exempt from overtime eligibilityOvertime calculation skippedAttendance processed without overtime computation

Edge Cases

ScenarioBehaviorWhy
Employee works overnight shift from 22:00 to 06:00Attendance remains tied to the original check-in dateMaintains accurate overnight shift calculations
Employee performs multiple check-ins and check-outs in one dayAll valid attendance pairs are tracked separatelySupports split shifts and temporary exits
Employee arrives within configured grace periodAttendance is not marked as lateSupports flexible arrival policies
Employee leaves before scheduled shift completionEarly departure flag affects worked-hour calculationMaintains attendance accuracy
Attendance record is missing either check-in or check-outRecord remains incomplete and requires administrative reviewPrevents incorrect payroll calculations
Administrator manually corrects attendance recordsForced attendance updates are stored with audit logsPreserves accountability and change history
Attendance uploaded through bulk CSV importImport flow validates and processes attendance entries in batchesSupports operational bulk updates
Weekend or holiday overtime uses different pay ratesConfigurable overtime multipliers apply automaticallySupports flexible overtime compensation rules
Only part of submitted overtime is approvedOvertime approval can be managed per attendance daySupports granular overtime governance

ZettaHRM

A modern HRM workspace for employee management, attendance tracking, leave approvals and structured day-to-day HR operations.

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