Time theft

Time theft is when an employee is paid for time they did not actually work, whether through padded hours, long unrecorded breaks, or clocking in for someone else.

In context

Time theft covers a spectrum from honest rounding to deliberate fraud like buddy punching. It is most likely where hours are self-reported after the fact or where clock-in is anonymous, because there is no reliable record of who was present and when. Employers reduce it by capturing punches at the moment and place they happen and by tying each punch to an identifiable individual, though heavy-handed surveillance to fight it can erode trust with otherwise honest staff.

How BriefQR relates

BriefQR reduces opportunistic time theft by capturing clock-ins on the spot with a device-bound PIN, while keeping location as a soft review signal rather than treating every worker as a suspect.

Related terms