I just read a pretty good article about time theft that got me to thinking. I know that my company does indeed terminate for time theft on the first proven offense, but I have worked for companies in the past that did not. So, I ask the question: ” Is time theft really theft? If so, do you treat it as theft and interview, terminate, etc.? If not, why not? How do you treat it? Is it a disciplinary/corrective issue? 

 photo credit: FABIOLA MEDEIROS- direção de arte

To me, time theft is unquestionably theft, and it absolutely causes a loss to the company when an employee sits around in the employee lounge while “clocked in”. Even worse, I consider it time theft when an employee is supposed to be servicing customers, but is instead nowhere to be found. 

Time theft can be hard to prove, but admissions go a long way, so a few instances on video plus a written statement after a good interview usually do the trick. It’s hard to deny the loss, and if the employee admits to intentionally getting paid for “not working”, then the case seems pretty solid to me. 

Simply put, the employee causes a loss to the company by getting paid for time when they were not working. So, read the article here, and then let’s talk about it. Should these be cases of dishonesty? Or, are they behavioral issues that should be dealt with from a corrective action standpoint?

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