Timecard fraud is a common occurrence in businesses that don’t have proper systems in place to monitor their workers’ hours. Unfortunately, the employers trust their workers and never question the hours presented on the cards. Reviewing the five examples of time care fraud helps businesses determine if their employees are being dishonest.
1. Misrepresenting Hours on Paper Time Sheets
Misrepresenting hours on paper timesheets enables workers to fraudulently get more money from their employers. Unfortunately, employers who continue to use paper timesheets don’t check the hours on their worker’s timesheets before sending them to payroll. Trusted workers just hand in their timesheets with the wrong hours and reap the rewards of their unethical behaviour. Employers don’t become aware of the unethical behaviours until they hire investigators to determine where the time card fraud exists. Business owners who suspect time card fraud can get more information from johncutterinvestigations.com now.
2. Failing to Clock Out for Lunch and Longer Breaks
Failing to clock out for lunch increases the worker’s hours, but it is also fraudulent behaviour. It’s different if an employer tells the worker they can take an extended lunch and the worker isn’t required to record this reward. However, habitual failures to record lunch hours defraud employers from hours that the worker didn’t perform any job duties. Catching these workers requires monitoring of the surveillance footage and studying the behaviour patterns of the worker. The footage will show the worker leaving the workplace and show when they returned. If the employer didn’t send the worker to complete errands away from the property, it is clear that the worker took a lunch break and failed to record these hours on their timesheet.
3. Using the Buddy System
Using the buddy system enables workers to get more hours without working. The buddy system workers for employees who are habitually late to work and don’t clock in on time. Electric timesheet equipment requires the worker to get a stamp on their timesheet when they arrive and when they leave. Using the buddy system allows a co-worker to clock their friend in when their friend was supposed to arrive. The same strategy is used when a buddy needs to clock out at a later time to get more hours.
4. Data Entry Errors
Entering hours incorrectly into computer systems causes workers to get credit for hours they didn’t work. Some computer timesheet systems allow the workers to manipulate their hours. Some data entry clerks also use the buddy system to change or alter their co-worker’s hours. Each of these instances is time card fraud and could lead to the termination of employment.
5. Outright Lying About Work Hours
Outright lying about work hours is another instance where time card fraud occurs. This happens when employees are required to use cards with electronic strips and act like they mistakenly forgot to clock in or out. Under the circumstances, if the employer trusts the worker, the employer won’t question their explanation. In some cases, the manager is so overburdened they just accept the information and don’t have time to question the employee or check the company’s surveillance footage.
Business owners overpay workers who commit time care fraud. Unfortunately, the owners don’t come to this realization until the issue has reached a point where they’ve paid out enough to create a financial hardship. Examining examples of time care fraud helps employers eliminate these unethical behaviours now.
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