What is a Time Correction Request? Meaning, Process & Benefits

Home / T / Time Correction Request

What is a Time Correction Request?

A time correction request is an official mechanism to formally request an adjustment to the charged (recorded) time due to incorrect, incomplete, or misrepresented time entries. The employee may submit a time correction request for a forgotten or incomplete clock-in/out time, a system malfunction (incident), unrelated breaks of time, or some other user impact outside of their control.

The employee is required to propose a request to their manager or HR, indicating the cause of the discrepancy and the proper time references. For clarity, the purpose of offering a time correction request is to accurately measure attendance and ensure payroll is processed accurately. Time correction requests help promote transparency between both parties in the process to eliminate disagreements concerning time worked and remuneration.

Most companies have a standard format or digital system for submitting such requests, making it easier to manage and approve changes while keeping attendance records accurate and up to date.

Why is a time correction request important?

Maintaining consistent, accurate, transparent, and fair time keeping requires requesting the correction of timekeeping records to ensure that it is being done.

Requesting correction of timekeeping records is an essential operation of any attendance or workforce management system that your organization can trust for numerous reasons, including

Ensuring Payroll Accuracy: A couple of minutes of logged hours can change salary, overtime, shift differential, and other factors that require compensation to be accurate. Requesting the correction of timekeeping records provides an audit trail to ensure employees are compensated correctly.
Building Employee Confidence: Employees have confidence knowing their time and attendance record is not negatively impacted by system lag, faulty equipment, or a legitimate human error.
Ensuring Compliance: Many regulations and laws govern the workplace, and employers must keep accurate records. Requesting the correction of timekeeping records helps organizations to remain compliant.
Removing Manual Work: This process allows HR to focus on responsive science, not subjective decision-making, and minimizes the human interaction of fixing employee time and attendance issues. Overall, asking to let the employee’s record speak for itself helps avoid questioning whether the mistake was made on purpose or not.
Preserving Data Integrity: Your timekeeping and attendance system supports accurate, proper, and auditable work history records for the employees. An accurate, auditable record supports HR reports and salary, performance, discipline, and other boundaries at assessment times.

In instances of biometric, mobile punch-in, or remote work record message resolution sessions, employees may find themselves forced to ask for time correction records to preserve their time record from systemic issues, lag or dead devices, or, at best, other issues relating to efforts made where the network or technology interrupted or did not permit a proper new method of communicating.

Examples of a Time Correction Request

Here are a few common scenarios in which an employee may submit a time correction request:

1. Missed Punch-In:

An employee was on time to the office but forgot to clock in. Their correction request details their actual arrival time and why they missed punching in.

2. System Error:

Employee submits a screenshot to support after the biometric device fails to record a punch.

3. Work From Home Log Missed:

An employee working remotely with downtime in their internet service isn't able to log their time in the app. They will submit a correction with the hours they worked.

4. Overlapping Shift Mistake:

The system wrongly tagged a night shift instead of a day shift because the employee's schedule was not mapped correctly. The employee submitted a time correction request for the shift to be tagged correctly.

How Does a Time Correction Request Work in the Workplace?

While submitting and processing corrections will differ depending on software and processes, corrections typically follow these steps:

1. Employee Submission:

The employee enters the HRMS or attendance system, selects the date/time needing correction, enters the correct punch-in/out times, and selects optional reasons for correction or attachments to support their request, if necessary.

2. Authorizing Manager or HR Review:

The employee's reporting manager or HR employee processes the request, verifies the dates and times, and either approves or denies the request.

3. Update in Employee Records:

Changes are updated in the HRMS or attendance system if approved. The modification may or may not impact total hours worked, shift parameters, or payroll processing.

4. Record of Corrected Requests:

All requests, reasons, and decisions are maintained in a record of corrected requests.

Many modern systems, such as Time Champ, will automate many of these steps with notifications, status tracking, and dashboards for analytical overviews.

Key Benefits and Risks of Multi-Location Attendance

Benefits

Fair Compensation: Reduces loss of pay from missed or inaccurate punches.
Operating Flexibility: Employees can manage small payroll discrepancies on their own without HR involvement.
Error Reduction: Fewer manual payroll or reporting errors.
Better Employee Experience: Employees feel supported and listened to when they can more easily rectify the unintended wrong with some errors.

Risks (if not managed)

Abuse or misuse: With no checks and balances, for some, this may provide means for frequent or intentionally dishonest requests.
Delays in Approvals: Bottlenecks in manager approvals may postpone the payroll processing completion date.
Complex Audit: The more corrections without pre-approval, the more complex to verify compliance based on corrective audits.
HR Manual Intervention: Processes that do not automate and solely rely on HR approval will increase HR's workload.

The risks listed above can be managed through a policy-based system that establishes key principles, criteria, and approval procedures and enables documentation.

Time Correction Request vs Manual Attendance Entry

Aspect	Time Correction Request	Manual Attendance Entry

While both involve altering attendance data, correction requests are more employee-driven and controlled through workflow rules.

How Time Champ Helps with Time Correction Requests

Time Champ makes time correction simple, secure, and traceable with these features:

Simple Portal: Employees can submit requests directly from their dashboard with a few clicks.
Automated Workflows: Requests are automatically routed to the right approver, reducing delays and mistakes.
Explanation & Evidence Fields: Employees can attach supporting documents or comments for clarity.
Approval Notifications: Managers get notified in real-time when they have an approval waiting for either the request, the evidence, or the comment provided by the employee.
Audit Trails: All requested corrections, their status, and how they are resolved get stored in records for HR and compliance to audit.
Mobile Accessibility: Employees working remotely can submit correction requests from their system.

These elements reduce the reliance on HR involvement while providing fair and equitable time corrections for all concerned.

Related Terms

Attendance Management: The overall process of tracking, recording, and managing employee attendance data.
Time Tracking: The practice of monitoring how employees spend their work hours.
Shift Management: The scheduling and oversight of employee work hours across various time slots.
Missed Punch: The failure of an employee to record their clock-in or clock-out time.
Biometric Attendance System: A hardware-based method to track employee attendance using fingerprint or face recognition.

One smart tool for all your workforce management needs

Book Your Free Demo

Time Correction Request