Set Default Attendance Status Exceptions

Every organization sets a Default Attendance Status at the company level, which decides how an employee's day is marked when they do not punch in through Web, Mobile, or Biometric. This default is either Present or Absent, and it applies to everyone in the organization.

There are cases, however, where a single company wide default does not fit every part of the workforce. For example, a field sales team may need to be marked Present by default since they operate outside the office and often cannot punch. A Default Attendance Status Exception lets you set a different default for specific employees or groups, so the right rule applies to the right people.

This article is meant for administrators who want to configure a custom default attendance status for a defined set of employees or groups.

When to Use Default Attendance Status Exceptions

Default Attendance Status Exceptions can be applied in a wide range of situations. The list below covers some common examples, and there are many more possibilities depending on how your organization operates.

1. Field sales teams who work outside the office and are marked Present by default if they do not punch.
2. Site engineers or service teams who spend most of their time at client sites and cannot always mark attendance through standard channels.
3. Senior leadership who are on the road frequently and are marked Present by default.
4. Contract or third party workers whose attendance is tracked externally and needs a different default status than regular staff.
5. A specific legal entity within a group company that follows different attendance rules than the parent company.
6. A branch or location where biometric infrastructure is unreliable, and the default status needs to be Present to prevent unfair Absent markings.
7. Interns or trainees who need a different default status during their onboarding period.

Step by Step Instructions

Navigation Path: Control Panel > Settings > Attendance > Configure Attendance

To open the Attendance Exception page, click any of the Configure Exception links on the Configure Attendance page. These links are available in three places: next to Default Attendance Status, under Web Attendance, and under Mobile Attendance. All three links open the same Attendance Exception page.

Step 1: Enable Attendance Exception

1. Open the Attendance Exception page by clicking any Configure Exception link on the Configure Attendance page.
2. At the top of the page, tick the Enable Attendance Exception checkbox.
3. This activates all exception rules across the Attendance module, including both Web/Mobile channel exceptions and default status exceptions.

Step 2: Configure Group Level Default Status

Group level rules apply the same default status to everyone matching the selected combination of Department, Designation, Location, and Entity.

1. Scroll to the Default Attendance section.
2. Under Configure default attendance for the employees at the larger/group level, use the dropdowns to select the filters you want to apply the rule to:
   • Department: The organizational department, for example Sales or Engineering.
   • Designation: The job role or title.
   • Location: The geographic bifurcation, such as a city or office branch.
   • Entity: The legal registered company within your group structure.
3. From the Select Status dropdown, choose Present or Absent.
4. Click Save to apply the rule.

The configured rule appears in the group level table just above the form, showing the Department, Designation, Location, Entity, and Status selected.

Step 3: Configure Employee Level Default Status

Employee level rules apply to individual employees and override any group level rule that would otherwise apply to them.

1. Scroll to the Configure default attendance for employees section.
2. From the Employee dropdown, select the specific employee you want to configure.
3. From the Status dropdown, choose Present or Absent.
4. Click Save to apply.

The configured rule appears in the employee level table just above the form, showing the Employee and Status selected.

How Default Status is Applied

When multiple defaults could apply to the same employee, the following priority order is used:

1. Marked attendance (highest priority). If the employee marks attendance for the day through any channel (Web, Mobile, or Biometric), that marked attendance always wins. The default status is ignored for that day.
2. Employee level exception. If the employee does not mark attendance, and a specific default status rule exists for that employee, it applies.
3. Group level exception. If no employee level rule exists, the system looks for a matching group level rule based on the employee's Department, Designation, Location, and Entity.
4. Company level default. If no exception rule matches, the company level default from the Configure Attendance page applies.

Example: Suppose the company level default is Absent. There is a group level rule that marks the entire Sales department as Present by default. Additionally, there is an employee level rule for Rita from the Sales team that marks her as Absent by default.

• If Rita does not punch on a given day, she is marked Absent, because her employee level rule takes priority.
• If another Sales team member does not punch, they are marked Present, based on the group level rule.
• If an employee from any other department does not punch, they are marked Absent, based on the company level default.
• If any of these employees punch in through Web, Mobile, or Biometric on a given day, the marked attendance overrides the default for that day.

Related Configurations

1. Configure Web and Mobile Attendance Exceptions. Control which employees or groups can use Web Attendance or Mobile Attendance, even when a channel is turned off at the company level. Refer to Configure Web and Mobile Attendance Exceptions.
2. View and Manage Configured Exceptions. Review, edit, or remove existing exception rules. Refer to View and Manage Configured Exceptions.

Where It Reflects

Once Default Attendance Status Exceptions are configured:

1. Employees who do not mark attendance for the day are automatically marked based on the applicable default status rule.
2. The default status appears in the daily attendance record for HR, managers, and the employee.
3. Attendance reports, dashboards, and downstream calculations such as salary processing use the applied default status where relevant.
4. All configured exceptions are visible on the Attendance Exception page for review, edit, or removal.

Important Notes

1. Default status rules only take effect when an employee has not marked attendance through any channel for the day. Marked attendance always overrides the default.
2. Employee level default status rules always override group level rules for the same employee.
3. Exception rules take effect immediately after saving. In some cases, the affected employee may need to log out and log back in for the changes to appear.