Time and attendance software can streamline shift management

Time and attendance software can help companies easily set up a variety of shifts for their employees, including night shifts, which seem to be increasingly popular with UK employees, as new analysis published by the TUC shows that the number of people who work night shifts increased by 275,000 (9%) between 2011 and 2016 to 3,135,000.

The study revealed that Britain’s night-workers now accounts for one in eight (12%) employees, with women representing more than two-thirds (69%) of the growth in night-working over the past five years.

Between 2011 and 2016 the number of women regularly doing night work increased by 190,000, while for men it increased by 86,000.

The study also found that night work can begin as young as 16, since more than 80,000 workers aged 16-20 regularly work nights. And there are nearly 150,000 people still working night shifts in their sixties, although the age group with the highest proportion of night-workers is 45-49. They account for one in 8 of those who usually work nights.

Commenting on the analysis, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Night work is hard and can disrupt family life. So we must show our appreciation for the sacrifices night-workers make by ensuring they have good rights and protections at work.

“Employers must play fair and play safe, or public safety will be put at risk and the families of night workers will suffer.”

Time and attendance software system can easily set up and manage night shifts

Effectively managing employees that work on a rota or shift basis can prove to be a rather challenging task for many employers, and this is specifically where Tensor’s WinTA.NET system can help them save a lot of time and money (including legal expenses for cases such as the one above).

Our complete smart card time and attendance and workforce management systems including European Working Time Regulations checking and reporting, ensuring that your company remains compliant with both regional and national legislation.

The system supports comprehensive user-definable Working Patterns, Rosters, and Shifts. By using a Tensor Smart Card and input device (keypad, barcode scanner etc), workers can book time against multi-tiered jobs to produce a fully costed analysis and breakdown of time spent on each job.

WinTA.NET can handle all frequently used methods of calculating employee hours, from simple determination of overtime by the number of daily hours worked, to the more complex payment of overtime hours adjusted when periodic targets are not met.

A number of basic rules control how hours are calculated. These include settings to separate “worked time” into:

– Different overtime rates.

– Handle night shift working.

– Inserting unpaid breaks when employees do not clock them.

Users can also insert breaks either between set times, and/or after a minimum number of hours have been worked. They can also easily set work patterns, which are a combination of daily rules that are either a repeating pattern of shifts or a list of alternative rules.

Here, WinTA.NET will predict the most appropriate shift depending on the time an employee clocks IN. Each type of pattern can be set up to override the normal pattern and use a specific shift on public holidays or shutdown days.

If you would like to find out more about the plethora of features and extensive functionality delivered by Tensor’s top-range workforce management systems, just contact us or Book a Demo, we would be more than happy to answer all of your questions and queries.