Clocking in for parish council employees

Question

Our parish employs several staff who look after grounds and recreation areas. It has been mentioned that they should have a clocking in machine. They have had one in the past but this system has not been used for some years.

There is mixed feeling about this. On the one hand a feeling that the staff will feel that they are not trusted if this is re introduced and on the other that it would make it easier to keep track on the staff. At the present time the staff just report to the office when they go off site.
Has anyone had any experience of a similar situation.

Answer 1

It’s a simple matter of having an accurate and auditable system of recording staff hours and when they are actually on-site.
Without an auditable record, how do you demonstrate an effective system of financial control when resolving to pay wages?  How would you demonstrate due diligence and safe systems of work to HSE in the case of a workplace reportable accident?

It doesn’t ‘have’ to be a clocking system, but there does need to be an effective system