ESPBC-Represented and Employees Time and Attendance Frequently Asked Questions. Rounding Rules and Grace Periods Q: What are rounding rules and grace periods? A: All employees are expected to arrive and depart work as scheduled on a daily basis. Rounding rules and grace periods are used to account for occasional and small deviations from your work schedule. All time recorded on the time card will reflect the actual time swiped at the KRONOS time clock. However, the compensable time will be rounded to the nearest quarter hour (15 minute mark). This allows for a 7 minute grace period before and after the start and end of the scheduled work day. The shaded areas in the image illustrate how compensable time is rounded to the associated quarter hour when a 15-7 Minute Rounding Rule is used. If the scheduled workday begins at 8:30 a.m., the rule would round a swipe in between 8:23 and 8:37 a.m. (blue shaded area) to the scheduled start time of 8:30 a.m. The in punch made at 7 minutes before and after the scheduled start time rounds to back to the scheduled start time. Inappropriate use of the grace periods is subject to disciplinary action. Q: Does this mean that I should request time off in 15-minute increments? A: Yes, ESPBC-represented employees using KRONOS will report time worked and leave used in 15-minute increments. Q: If I arrive 15 minutes late for work, can I make it up by staying 15 minutes after my scheduled departure time? A: Any deviation from your work schedule must be pre-approved by your supervisor. If the schedule change is not approved, it is recommended that the employee be given the opportunity to request paid leave to cover the missed time. Frequent tardiness may be subject to disciplinary action and result in a loss of pay. Department of Fiscal Services Page 1
Breaks and Duty-Free Lunch Q: Can I combine my break(s) with my duty-free lunch? A: Central office employees duty day includes a 45 minute duty-free unpaid lunch period. School based employees duty day includes a 30 minute duty-free unpaid period. With prior approval from your supervisor, you may combine one or both of your paid breaks with your duty-free lunch. Your timecard will calculate the paid break(s) after the unpaid duty-free lunch. Q: Do I have to swipe to record my breaks? A: No. You are paid for the two 15-minute breaks, and you should not swipe to record your break. Q. I eat my lunch at my desk, and I do not perform any work, should I swipe out/in? A: Yes, your duty-free lunch time needs to be recorded. You may eat your lunch at your desk with your supervisor s approval; however, it is recommended that you leave your workspace to ensure that you do not perform any work during your unpaid lunch break. Depositing School Funds Q: Do I have to swipe when I go to the bank to deposit school funds? A: In the middle of the day No. This is part of your job function and should not be treated differently. A: At lunch After swiping back into work from lunch, you do not have to swipe back out go to the bank for work purposes. A: At the end of the day Yes. Your supervisor can determine the proper length of time it takes to perform this task and will add that time to your outpunch. The swipe is necessary since you will not be returning until the next scheduled day. Overtime and Compensatory Time Q: My scheduled workweek is 37 hours and 30 minutes (32 hours and 30 minutes). What happens if I work beyond my scheduled work hours? A: All overtime must be pre-approved by a supervisor, and the form of compensation, either paid time or comp time must be agreed upon prior to the work being performed. If you work beyond your scheduled hours, you will accrue comp time in on an hour-for-hour basis until you reach 40 hours of worked time. After you work 40 hours, comp time is earned at time and one half. Department of Fiscal Services Page 2
Q: How long do I have to use my comp time? A: All comp time must be used by June 30 every year. Missed Swipes Q: What happens if I forget to swipe at the beginning of the day? At the end of the day? A: Notify your supervisor and communicate the time of the missed swipe and do not swipe in. Your supervisor will add the missed swipe to your timecard. Time Off Requests Q: How do I request time off? A: The Kronos timeclock is used to request time off. Step-by-step instructions are found here. Q: Who is responsible for approving time off requests? A: Your assigned supervisor will receive an email to notify them of the request. The supervisor must sign in to KRONOS to approve, modify, or reject the request. All approved requests will be automatically added to your time card. Q: When are supervisors expected to sign off/approve time cards? A: Supervisors must approve the time cards every 2 weeks on the Monday after the pay period ends. Signoffs must be performed by the Tuesday after the pay period ends. Using the Timeclock Q: How do I view my time card? A: The Kronos timeclock can be used to view your timecard. Instructions for viewing your timecard and other functions are found here. Q: Can an employee adjust their own timecard? A: No. Only supervisors and payroll can edit timecards. Q. Can an employee swipe for another employee? A. No. An employee should never swipe the card that belongs to another employee. Use of the BCPS OneCard by an individual other than the person to whom it is issued is prohibited. Department of Fiscal Services Page 3
Professional Development Activities Q How should I record my time when I attend a BCPS-approved professional development (PD) activity at a non-bcps facility? A. If you are attending an all-day conference or workshop, you may request a full day of Other Board Business leave at the clock. Another option is to have your office head/kronos time card manager add a full day of Other Board Business leave to your Kronos timecard. Q. The PD activity is being held in the morning, and I will return to my worksite in the afternoon. Should I swipe at all that day? A. Yes, at a minimum you should swipe in when you return to your worksite, and swipe out when you leave for the day. Please see the examples below for more information. Q. How much Other Board Business leave should I record for a morning PD activity? A. The amount of leave recorded depends upon the length of the activity, the amount of travel time required, and whether you will be taking a break before returning to your worksite. Example One: PD activity starts at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 12:30 p.m. = 4 hours and 30 minutes. It takes 15 minutes to travel between the conference site and the worksite. If you are returning directly to your worksite, 4 hours and 45 minutes of Other Board Business leave should be recorded. You should swipe in when entering the building, and swipe as usual for the lunch break and at the end of the day. Example Two: Same as above, but you will be taking lunch break of 45 minutes or less (central office)/30 minutes or less (school-based) before returning to the office. Record 4 hours and 45 minutes of Other Board Business leave and swipe in when returning to the building and out at the end of the workday. Example Three: Same as above, but you will be taking lunch break of 60 minutes (central office)/45 minutes (school-based) before returning to the office. The first 45 minutes (central office)/30 minutes (school based) of the lunch break is unpaid time and the last 15 minutes are paid time. Record 5 hours of Other Board Business leave and swipe in when returning to the building and out at the end of the workday. Q. The PD activity is being held in the afternoon, and I will not return to my worksite. Should I swipe out when I leave the building? A. If you are attending an activity at a BCPS-site, you should not swipe when you leave your worksite. Instead, swipe out at the end of the PD activity using the Kronos clock at the site. If there is not a Kronos timeclock at the PD site, you should swipe out when you leave your worksite and record Other Board Business leave for the remainder of your work day. Department of Fiscal Services Page 4
Q. I am attending an evening PD activity sponsored by BCPS. I will receive additional pay for attending the workshop. Should I swipe out when I leave my regular worksite? A. Yes, you should swipe out to record the end of your regular work day. The travel time between your regular worksite and the location of an evening activity that you voluntarily choose to participate in does not count as work time. Q. I want to leave my regular worksite 30 minutes earlier than my scheduled end time to attend an evening PD activity sponsored by BCPS. Can I request 30 minutes of Other Board Business leave? A. No, the travel time between your regular worksite and the location of an evening activity that you voluntarily choose to participate in does not count as work time. When you leave your regular worksite you should swipe out to record the end of your regular work day. You should request permission from your supervisor to flex your schedule in order to make up the missed time. Inclement Weather Q. Are ESPBC-represented employees expected to report to work when schools or offices are delayed or closed due to inclement weather? A. Guidelines for employee attendance when the Superintendent has determined that schools, offices, or the school system must be closed due to adverse weather conditions or any emergency, are outlined in the Master Agreement between the Board of Education and ESPBC, and Superintendent s Rule 4009. Q. How will absences due to inclement weather be recorded in Kronos? Will the employee s timecards be adjusted automatically? A. The Office of Payroll will adjust the timecards for ESPBC-represented employee as follows: If schools have a delayed opening, the Office of Payroll will enter inclement weather leave equal to the announced delay for all 10-month employees. All 12-month employees are expected to work their scheduled hours or take leave. If schools and offices have a delayed opening, the Office of Payroll will enter inclement weather leave equal to the announced delay for all 10-month and 12-month employees. If schools are closed, the Office of Payroll will enter inclement weather leave for all 10- month employees based on the employee s schedule in Kronos. All 12-month employees are expected to work their scheduled hours or take leave. Department of Fiscal Services Page 5
If schools and offices are closed, the Office of Payroll will enter inclement weather leave for all 10-month and 12-month employees based on the employee s schedule in Kronos. If schools close early, 10-month paraeducators leave with the students, and the Office of Payroll will enter inclement weather leave equal to the announced closing. All 10-month and 12-month office professionals and 12-month paraeducators are expected to work their scheduled hours or take leave. If schools and offices close early, the Office of Payroll will enter inclement weather leave equal to the announced closing. Department of Fiscal Services Page 6