Whether you are running a multi-national corporation or a small office, employee time theft can be devastating. Time theft costs companies billions of dollars each year, and can throw the company’s finances into a tailspin. Fortunately there are ways in which you can avoid and stop time theft and make sure you only pay for the hours your employees actually work.

 Number StampsWhat is Time Theft?

Time theft occurs when employees are paid for time they did not perform work. There are many ways that employees steal time, including:

-Arriving late or leaving early from work
-Taking extended lunch hours or coffee breaks
-Using company time to run an unrelated business
-Performing personal tasks while on the clock
-Intentionally slowing down work tasks in order to get more hours

While many employees think taking a few extra minutes for lunch is harmless, it can mean huge losses for the company. Consider the following scenario:

Bob is paid $12 an hour, which amounts to $.20 per minute. Bob arrives five minutes late, takes an additional 10 minutes for lunch and leaves five minutes early for work each day, 20 days a month. This means that the company is paying $4 a day in time for which Bob has not worked. At the end of the year, Bob has cost his employer $1,000 in overpaid time. Multiply that by 50 employees and it becomes clear how much employee time theft actually costs employers.

While some time theft is attributed to accidental human error, some is intentional. Some employees will have a friend punch in and out for them so that they are paid for time they are not in the workplace.

Solutions for Employee Time Theft

Time clocks that electronically measure time will cut down on payroll losses. These clocks use biometric scanning techniques like fingerprints and retinal scans to ensure that employees are being paid accurately. These clocks come with number stamps that will report exactly how much time each employee has worked, helping you to only pay for time that is actually worked.

With cloud based tracking, you can monitor employee time even if you are not in the office. Track hours worked, sick time, personal time and vacation days easily. No longer do human factors and errors mean that you pay for time that was not worked by your employees. Save money with a time clock that does the work for you.

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