What is a Time Clock Start Zone?

Some time clocks, including our employee time clock, have shift rules that include start zones and end zones.

And no, end zones have nothing to do with football or hockey, they are areas of time before a shift starts and after a shift ends.

What is a time clock start zone?

A start zone is an area of time (zone) that rounds forward to the shift's start time.

An end zone is the opposite, that rounds backward to the shift's end time.

How to set a start zone

• Determine the start time of a shift, for example 8:00 AM

• Determine start zone (in minutes), for example 5 minutes, 15 minutes, or 30 minutes

An example

If your shift starts at 8:00 AM, and your start zone is 30 minutes...

Then any time an employee clocks IN between 7:30 AM and 7:59 AM, their punch will be rounded to 8:00 AM

The benefit of using a start zone

Like any rounding rule, start and end zones help keep work hours consistent each day, along with reducing potential overtime.

Start zones allow employees to clock in early without adding minutes toward overtime. This allows them to clock in, but still have time to settle before they actually start working.

Potential drawbacks

Any time a time clock rule favors the employer, you leave yourself vulnerable to actions by employees who can prove they were not paid in full.

If you use start or end zones, communicate those rules clearly to employees, and be sure to check with your state's labor rules. Some states are stricter than others.

Conclusion

That's my quick overview of time clock start and end zones, a way of rounding time employees work.

They can be useful for controlling excessive work time, but be careful to follow your state's labor laws.

Hope it helps.