An employee forgetting to clock in or out is one of the most common situations in companies that use a time tracking system. It happens once, it happens regularly. The question is: what can you do, and what can you not do?

First: correct the record

If the employee forgot to clock in or out, the system will show an incomplete record. Most time tracking platforms allow a manager or HR person to manually correct a clock-in or clock-out, leaving a trace of who made the change and when. This is the correct and proportionate response.

Can I deduct pay for forgetting to clock in?

No. Forgetting to clock in is not an absence. If the employee was at work and simply forgot to register, deducting pay would be disproportionate and legally questionable. Portuguese law allows deduction of pay for time actually not worked, not for an administrative registration failure.

Can I apply a disciplinary sanction?

For an isolated incident, no. If it becomes a persistent pattern despite repeated warnings, it could be considered a failure to comply with workplace rules — but even then, the proportionality of any sanction must be carefully assessed. A minor administrative failure, even if repeated, does not justify severe sanctions.

How to prevent it from happening again

The most effective solution is to make clocking in unavoidable. Placing the terminal in a spot the employee must pass through — the entrance door, the changing room — makes forgetting almost impossible. Setting up automatic alerts for missed clock-ins also helps: the manager is notified immediately and can resolve it the same day.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific situations, please consult a lawyer specialising in employment law.