You’ll have rules, procedures, and regulations in place to prevent theft of your items and digital assets around your workplace. However, do you have any safeguards against employee time theft? Here’s what you need to know about the prevalent employee issue and how to prevent it from negatively impacting your business.
What Is Time Theft?
Time theft is when employees are paid for time(s) that they did not work or are paid for more time than they actually worked. Employees from all industries are guilty of this, and it’s not as rare of an occurrence as you might think. In fact, 75% of businesses are affected every year.
How Does Time Theft Happen?
Employees can steal time in several ways, nearly all of which are noticeable and preventable.
Some examples include:
- Buddy punching: Employees have a coworker punch in for them before they arrive to work or may not even show up at all.
- Unauthorized breaks: Yes, your employees need breaks, and they should have the opportunity to step outside if needed. However, if a 15-minute break turns into a 45-minute break and the employee is still clocked in, this constitutes time theft.
- Personal activities on company time: Employees who take numerous phone calls while on shift, spend time watching videos on their phone during work, or engage in other personal activities during company time are committing time theft.
Thankfully, once you understand how and why it occurs, you can take steps to prevent it within your company.
How To Prevent It
Preventing theft requires diligence and planning. Even so, there are many solutions to eliminate the issue in your workplace.
- Use a digital time clock/tracking system: Electronic time clocks automate clocking in and out, making it impossible for employees to commit time theft. It’s easy to erase or edit clock-in information with a pencil and paper, but electronic time clocks ensure that everything is as it should be. We’ve come a long way from the old punch tickets; today, some time-tracking services and apps can verify data GPS location tracking.
- Have clear policies and procedures in place: When you set clear expectations of when employees are supposed to arrive and depart at your workplace, you discourage time theft and have a plan in place if it does occur.
If you’re looking for a reliable way to manage payroll, track employee time, and prevent employee time theft, look no further than Brabo Payroll.
Contact us to learn more about our payroll service solutions today!
