On duty policy template
Copy the text below and replace everything in square brackets with your company details.
1. Purpose
This policy explains how employees of [Company Name] record a day worked on official duty away from their usual workplace. It ensures such work is counted as attendance while keeping a check that on-duty is used only for genuine company work.
2. Scope
This policy covers employees who, on a given day, work at a client site, a branch, a training venue, a field location or any place other than their base office, on company business. It does not cover working from home, which is dealt with under the work from home policy.
3. What qualifies as on duty
- A client or customer visit, a sales or service call, or a site inspection.
- An audit, an inspection, a government office visit or an official errand for the company.
- Attending a training, a conference or an off-site meeting on company instruction.
- Travel that fills the working day between two official locations.
4. Applying for on duty
The employee raises an on-duty request for the day, stating the place, the purpose and the hours. Wherever possible it is raised in advance, or on the same day for a visit that came up suddenly. The reporting manager approves it, and HR records the day as on duty. A visit report or proof is attached where the role requires it.
5. Attendance and pay
An approved on-duty day is counted as a full working day for attendance and pay, the same as a day in the office. It is not leave and does not reduce any leave balance. Where the day is only part on duty and part in the office, both parts are recorded so the day is complete.
6. Responsibilities
- Employees: raise on-duty requests honestly, only for genuine official work, with details and proof.
- Managers: approve on-duty based on real need and check that the work was done.
- HR: record approved on-duty days and watch for patterns that suggest misuse.
7. Exceptions
For roles that are field-based by nature, such as outdoor sales or service, [HR Head Designation] may set a standing on-duty arrangement with a simpler daily check-in, instead of a request for each day. Such arrangements are recorded and reviewed.
8. Review
HR reviews this policy every [12] months and when field or client-facing roles change. Any change to the proof required or the approval route is communicated before it applies.
Acknowledgement: I have read the [Company Name] on duty policy and agree to raise on-duty requests only for genuine official work away from my base office.
Name: [Employee Name] Employee ID: [Employee ID]
Signature: [Signature] Date: [Date]
What to include
Define on duty tightly
List what counts: client visits, audits, training, site work. A tight definition stops on-duty becoming a catch-all that people use to cover a late start or a personal errand dressed up as company work.
Separate it from WFH
State clearly that on duty means official work at another location, not working from home. Mixing the two confuses attendance records and lets an employee mark on-duty for a day they simply stayed home.
Count it as a full day
Confirm that an approved on-duty day is a full working day and reduces no leave. Field staff who lose a day of attendance every time they visit a client will soon stop recording visits at all.
Ask for light proof
Require a visit report or simple proof where the role allows it. It need not be heavy, just enough to confirm the work happened, which protects genuine field staff and deters the occasional misuse.
Standing arrangements for field roles
For roles that are outdoors by nature, set a standing on-duty arrangement with a daily check-in rather than a fresh request each day. This suits real fieldwork without drowning managers in daily approvals.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Leaving on duty undefined, so it becomes a way to cover late arrivals and personal errands.
- Confusing on duty with work from home, muddling the attendance record for both.
- Marking an on-duty day as leave, so field staff lose a day of attendance for doing their job.
- Asking for no proof at all, so on-duty is easy to misuse for days not actually worked.
- Making field sales staff file a full request for every single client visit, which nobody keeps up.
Run it in ZeniaHR
In ZeniaHR, an employee raises an on-duty request from self-service, and the reporting manager then HR approve it. The approved on-duty day updates the attendance day as worked, without touching any leave balance, and shows on the manager's live board. On-duty is one of the request types in attendance regularization, so a day spent in the field is recorded correctly and feeds the finalised attendance month for payroll. Punches from the mobile app can carry GPS location where the company requires it, which supports genuine field visits.
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Book a free demoSee pricingFrequently asked questions
What is on duty in attendance?
On duty, often shortened to OD, means an employee is working for the company but away from their usual workplace, such as at a client site, a training, an audit or a field visit. Because they cannot punch the office machine, the day is recorded as on duty. An approved on-duty day counts as a full working day and does not reduce leave.
What is the difference between on duty and work from home?
On duty means official work done at another location, like a client visit or a site inspection. Work from home means the employee works remotely from their residence. Both are full working days, but they are recorded differently and approved under different policies, so the attendance record stays clear about where and why the employee worked that day.
Does on duty reduce leave balance?
No. An approved on-duty day is treated as a normal working day for attendance and pay, so it does not reduce any leave balance. On duty is not leave. It simply records that the employee worked away from their base office that day. Leave is used only when the employee is not working at all, which is a different request entirely.