What Is Time Theft? (And How to Stop It)
Time theft is being paid for time not actually worked. It's rarely dramatic — it's five padded minutes here, a friend punching you in there — but across a team and a year it quietly becomes real money.
The common forms
Buddy punching (a coworker clocks in for someone who isn't there), time padding (rounding your own start earlier and end later), extended breaks that stay on the clock, and personal time recorded as worked — for remote workers, idle time logged as active work.
What it costs
Even small leakage compounds: for a 10-person team averaging $18/hour, 15 padded minutes per person per day is more than $11,000 a year in unworked payroll.
Controls that work
Replace paper and shared spreadsheets with a real time clock; require an individual PIN; capture a photo at the punch (kills buddy punching outright); use GPS confirmation for off-site crews; and review actual-vs-scheduled hours weekly so anomalies surface fast.
FAQ
Is time theft illegal?
Falsifying time records can be grounds for termination and, in serious cases, civil or criminal liability — but employers must still pay for all recorded hours and fix the controls going forward.
What is buddy punching?
One employee clocking in or out for another who isn't present. Photo capture or biometric verification at the punch eliminates it.
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