Time and attendance records in Asia

Time and attendance records of an employee's hours of work are crucial for ensuring that employees are correctly compensated for their time.

These records also help employers to monitor productivity and identify work patterns effectively. It is a legal requirement in many jurisdictions for employers to maintain accurate time and attendance records of an employee's hours of work.

This article provides a comparative analysis across the region.

Obligation to keep employment records for hours of work

Singapore: Employers are required to keep employee records of:

• Details of the hours worked each day and duration of any meal break or other break.
• Overtime hours worked, if applicable (eg. for employees covered under Part IV of the Employment Act 1968).

Malaysia: Employers are required to maintain an employment register containing details of:

• The hours required to be worked and actually worked by each employee.
• The normal hours of work and actual hours worked by occupation.
• Total number of days of normal hours of work during each wage period.
• Hours of overtime work done during each wage period.

Philippines: Employers are required to keep and maintain employment records containing details of:

• Daily attendance records for each managerial employee/member of the managerial staff/field personnel.
• Individual time records for each “rank-and-file” employee, including arrival and departure times from work.

Hong Kong: Employers are required to keep employee records of the total number of hours worked covering the period of employment for the preceding 12 months if:

• Statutory minimum wage applies to that employee (generally covering all employees, whether they are in full-time, part-time, or casual employees as long as the Employment Ordinance applies to them, excluding live-in domestic helpers and student interns).
• The wages payable to the employee in respect of that wage period is less than the prescribed amount in the Ninth Schedule of the Employment Ordinance (currently HKD16,300 per month) with details of calculations.

Further, the Employment Ordinance defines employees as under “continuous employment” (whereby they are subject to enhanced entitlements) with reference to the hours worked by the employee. Keeping record of an employee's hours of work enables an employer to accurately classify their employees.

Requirement for payroll/payslip to record hours of work

Singapore: The payslip must include:

• First and last days of each overtime payment period (overtime period) if different from each salary period.
• Overtime hours worked during each overtime period (if applicable).
• Overtime pay paid for each overtime period (if applicable) and date of payment.

 If the employee has an entitlement to be paid any of the below, the pay slip must include:

• Amount of allowances and other additional payments during each salary period, with itemisation of every allowance or payment.
• Amount of deductions from salary during each salary period, with itemisation of every deduction.

 The recording of hours is relevant to the extent that the above entitlements are based on time worked.

Malaysia: The payslip must include:

• Total number of days of normal hours of work during each wage period.
• Hours of overtime work done during each wage period.

If the employee has an entitlement to be paid any of the below, the pay slip must include:

• Amount and rate of allowances and other additional payments payable.
• Other benefits (including approved amenity and service).

The recording of hours is relevant to the extent that the above entitlements are based on time worked.

Philippines: The payroll must include:

• The amount of overtime hours worked during each wage period, for “rank-and-file” employees.
• The amount of regular hours worked during each wage period and the length of time to be paid for employees who are paid by reference to time spent.

If the employee has an entitlement to be paid any of the below, the payroll must include:

• Allowances and other benefit payments made during each wage period (if applicable).
• Deductions made during each wage period (if applicable).

The recording of hours is relevant to the extent that the above data is based on time worked.

Hong Kong: The payslip must include particulars of:

• The amount earned by the employee, including wages and overtime earnings, the rate of wages/overtime rate and any allowances, whether calculated by the piece, hour, day or otherwise.
• Particulars of any deductions made from the wages of the employee and the reasons for the deduction.

The recording of hours is relevant to the extent that the above entitlements are based on time worked.

Fatim Jumabhoy is head of Herbert Smith Freehill’s Employment, Pensions and Incentives practice in Asia and managing partner in Singapore. Prawidha Murti is a partner at Hiswara Bunjamin & Tandjung in Jakarta, an associate firm of Herbert Smith Freehills.