Despite the advent of automated clocking in systems and time recording Apps…
Despite the advent of automated clocking in systems and time recording Apps, many employers still ask employees to complete timesheets manually as a means of logging their time – and also to record overtime.
Every so often, an employer may have an issue that an employee is not completing their timesheet accurately and specifically that their start and finish times do not accurately reflect the hours worked.
In some cases, the employee may be a field based employee and arguably it is easier to be a bit creative with the booking of hours than an employee who is 100% site based.
What are the issues?
Falsification of timesheets is a serious issue and it can be a serious issue even if we are only talking about a few minutes and in many cases is a disciplinary issue. The actions of the employee are basically a form of fraud or even theft because the employee is stealing time from the business. It also amounts to dishonesty and in terms of a possible dismissal, it is a conduct issue because it is a deliberate act to claim monies from the business in respect of time that hasn’t been worked.
How should the employer proceed?
In the first instance, as with any other conduct related issue, the employer must investigate. There may be a perfectly acceptable explanation – there may have been an agreement or in the case of field based employees, there may have been issues with their vehicle breaking down, heavy traffic, having to go somewhere to pick up spare parts etc. Or there may be extenuating circumstances where the employee had to leave early.
After investigating, it may be apparent that an offence has not been committed but alternatively, there may be grounds to proceed to a disciplinary hearing and one possible sanction may be a gross misconduct dismissal.
If the employee is dismissed, it is impossible to say whether this would be deemed to be fair or unfair dismissal at an Employment Tribunal because this will depend on a multitude of factors based on whether the employer acted reasonably, as well as
The employee’s previous work record
– Was a proper procedure followed
– Had he/she previously been warned
– Are rules about timesheet discrepancies treated in a consistent manner
– Was it clear that timesheet falsification was regarded as a disciplinary issue as well as considering any possible evidence.
Using evidence as proof
If the employee argues that their van broke down or they were held up in traffic, it is easy to establish. Similarly, the vehicle may be fitted with GPS or some form of tracking which can evidence their start and finish times.
Similarly, CCTV may be available.
It is often argued that GPS tracking and/or CCTV cannot be used and would be inadmissible evidence. This will not necessarily be the case and most employers have clauses in contracts of employment that make clear that CCTV or vehicle tracking is in place and invariably, the clause will say that the Company reserves the right to use CCTV footage and/or vehicle tracking in the course of disciplinary proceedings.
Beware of “custom and practice”
In some businesses, there may be an unwritten understanding that people do finish a few minutes early and no action is taken and if this is the case, it may be difficult to discipline an employee if it can be proved that it has become “custom and practice”.
There always used to be an arrangement – and it still applies in some sectors to-day and it is commonly known as “job and knock”. This is where an individual is given a job to do – say on a Saturday morning – and the employee is told that they can book a certain number of hours regardless of how long the job may take. So, an employee might do the job in an hour but has been authorised to book 4 hours.
“Knocking off” early
It is still a potential disciplinary issue if an employee finishes a couple of minutes before their scheduled time because they are not working their contracted hours and they are potentially leaving early without authorisation. It would definitely be a serious issue if the job involved customers – say in Retail or Hospitality where the customer comes in 10 minutes before the finish time and a potential customer has to be turned away. Retail and hospitality sectors would definitely regard that as a disciplinary issue.
Deliberate timesheet falsification
Most Companies would take the view that this is a potential disciplinary issue and it would present itself as the employee having booked until a certain time but left prior to that time so the times on the timesheet do not reflect hours worked. Timesheet falsification also presents itself as an employee claiming to have worked overtime hours that were never worked or have been exaggerated.
There are no right or wrong answers and each case will be determined based on the specific circumstances but it is important that a Company adopts a consistent approach. It will also be determined by consistency in approach, fairness of the interpretation of any policy or procedure and whether the Company has dealt with the situation in accordance with their disciplinary procedure.
Although this has concentrated on falsification of timesheets, the same principles would apply if an employee was falsifying their expenses.
If you want advice regarding any of the issues raised, either call 07885 714771 or e-mail – adrian@abhrsolutions.co.uk
