These rules govern the use of the time clock, attendance management, meal breaks, vacation requests and related matters.

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For the purposes of these rules, the following definitions apply:

Late arrival: Recording attendance one minute after the 10-minute grace period has ended.

Unexcused absence: Not reporting for a scheduled workday without notice and/or a medical certificate.

 

TIME CLOCK:

• Employees must record their attendance using the time clock. Each employee must clock in and out and record their meal break.

• Employees have a daily 10-minute grace period to clock in and begin work. This does not mean that their scheduled start time is permanently shifted each day.

• If an employee clocks in more than 30 minutes late, they will not be permitted to work, and the day will be recorded as an unexcused absence.

• There is no additional grace period for meal breaks.

• Employees granted permission to leave must clock out when leaving and clock in upon returning to the premises.

• If an employee finishes their shift and wishes to remain on the premises without working, they must clock out at the time their work ends. Employees who stay longer must not delay or distract their colleagues.

• Arrival procedure: arrive at unit 4, clock in, then take your food to the dining area in unit 6.

• Departure procedure: clock out, then collect your food containers from the dining area in unit 6.

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MEAL BREAKS:

• The meal break is one hour (60 minutes). This includes time to heat food or go out to buy it, as well as time to clear up and leave the dining area clean.

Note: if someone clocks back in and then returns to clean up, they will automatically lose their punctuality incentive.

• If an employee wishes to skip their meal break to leave early for a personal matter, they must request permission from their supervisor or department leader at the start of the shift so this can be factored into the day's activities. A maximum of 2 such requests is allowed per month.

• Meal breaks may not be permanently eliminated.

• Under no circumstances may a change to meal break times affect or delay filling or production. The supervisor or department leader will assign staggered meal breaks when filling, production or pallet assembly is in progress.

• Meal breaks must be taken within the following time windows:

 

TEAM

MEAL BREAK

6.00 am – 4.00 pm

Between 11:30 am and 2:00 pm

8.00 am – 6.00 pm

Between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm

12.00 pm – 10.00 pm

Between 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm

 

• Meal break times for production and warehouse teams will vary on production and filling days to avoid interrupting the process. If necessary and agreed upon by the production team, they may skip the meal break to finish the process.

• Someone must always be available in the warehouse to receive or load goods.

• Meal breaks must not be taken during the last working hour unless required for filling operations or exceptional circumstances.

• Employees may take a 10-minute breakfast break in the dining area during the morning, but not at the start of the shift and only if it does not affect operations.

• If filling is in progress, breakfast breaks may only be taken between flavor or package changes and in shifts. Under no circumstances may filling stop or everyone take a break at the same time. The supervisor or department leader will assign breakfast break times.

• Breakfast breaks do not need to be recorded on the time clock. However, this arrangement will change if breaks become longer or the privilege is abused.

• If the 10-minute breakfast break is not taken, this time will NOT be added to the meal break. Employees may not take two breakfast breaks.

• Breakfast breaks must not become gatherings that delay the day's activities.

• Meal break times are flexible on Fridays so everyone can eat together if they wish. Note: this does not permit moving the meal break to the last working hour.

 

 

ABSENCES:

• If an employee does not report for work and does not give notice before their start time, it will be treated as an unexcused absence and documented in a formal administrative report.

• If an absence, with notice, is due to illness, a medical certificate or prescription must be provided. A maximum of 3 days per year will be covered for minor illnesses such as colds and gastrointestinal conditions.

• More than three absences within a 30-day period will be grounds for termination of employment without liability for the company.

• Each unexcused absence will be documented in a formal administrative report kept in the employee's personnel file.

 

VACATIONS:

• Requests for several consecutive vacation days must be submitted at least one week in advance.

• For a single vacation day, submit your request at least three days in advance, preferably one week.

• No more than 2 people may request vacation on the same day.

• Two people from the same department may not take vacation on the same day.

• Requests must be entered in ALPHA, confirmed with Brenda and then approved by Paola.

• If employees from the same or different departments cannot agree on vacation dates, priority will be given to whoever requested them furthest in advance and/or has taken fewer vacation days.

 

 

OVERTIME:

• Overtime requests must be submitted using a form and approved first by Brenda or Cristian and then by HR.

• Overtime will be authorized for exceptional orders or production runs, team member absences, availability of supplies or equipment stoppages. It may also be requested directly by a supervisor or department leader for a specific activity.

• Overtime will not be approved to cover negligence or personal preference.

• Approved requests must be submitted to HR on Thursday afternoons by the person who authorized the overtime. 

 

 

MUSIC:

• Music may be played in production and warehouse areas at a reasonable volume that does not disturb the upstairs offices or pose a risk to personnel or operations, such as preventing people from hearing an earthquake alarm or equipment malfunction. If the volume is too high, employees will be asked to lower it or turn the speaker off.

 

 

UNIFORMS AND PPE:

• Changing into the production uniform should take no more than 5–10 minutes, allowing others to use the changing rooms and/or access the restroom.

• Wearing the uniform shirt is mandatory.

• Jeans or full-length trousers are preferred; no leggings or sweatpants.

• PPE must be worn in the designated areas.

 

 

 

 

 

INCENTIVES:

• Employees with no late arrivals during a month will receive a bonus equivalent to one day's wages.

Time clock entries must be recorded correctly. Each person is responsible for ensuring that their arrival and departure are recorded correctly. If there are discrepancies, incentives cannot be awarded and no exceptions can be made.

Note: one or more unexcused absences during the month automatically disqualify an employee from the bonus, even if there were no late arrivals on the days worked.

• Employees with no more than two late arrivals during a month will receive $100 worth of products, subject to availability.

• Employees who complete two consecutive months with no late arrivals will also receive $100 worth of products.