Employee claiming hours on her day off while working a full day elsewhere

[dodgylady23]

I manage one staff member. She’s casual and until recently another person (friend of hers) was signing her timesheets off.

For a number of reasons, not least of which being this employee is hopeless and has an attitude problem, I suspected something fishy with her timesheets so had them (rightfully) signed over to me.

She works four days with us and one day elsewhere. I had to insist multiple times that she add this regular day off to her calendar to indicate she was off. I’ve approved a few of her timesheets now, but just noticed she has claimed to have worked six hours for me on the day she works a full day elsewhere - her agreed day off from here.

Queried this with her only to have her get very defensive and claim she had urgent work to do here so managed to do both. She mentioned working on one thing (not at all urgent and a quick task) and “other bits and pieces”. She said she would send through evidence of her work if need be.

1. I didn’t authorise her to work on that day
2. This “urgent” work could have waited until the next day, or any number of days in the weeks ahead before it became urgent.
3. It’s impossible to work two jobs simultaneously.

AIBU to outright reject those additional hours and give her an award for biggest pisstaker of the year?

You already know the answer here. I'd also look at past timesheets previously signed off. Yanbu. Maybe something to raise with hr and your manager.

Ooh you've caught her and she knows it!

Just start gathering to evidence to sack her. You know she's taking the Michael, she knows she's taking the Michael and you're on to her. I had this happen at my work, but it was civil service and salaried so much harder to prove.

Surely this is gross misconduct?

What is her contract? Permanent? Or on probation? What do HR say?

Yanbu, she’s at it.

Gross misconduct at my firm.

I’ve informed my manager and he’s angry yet unsurprised considering her general behaviour. Her contract is casual with three months left until renewal. And yes, I’ve requested her previous time sheets and downloaded her calendar. At least what exists of it. What a sorry saga.

Sounds like a serious pisstake.

Is the friend of hers still working there too?

Thank you for actually managing. Some managers do and some don't.

You’ve done the right thing. If she’s been claiming time on that day previously too, then I would think whoever signed them off then would also need to be investigated by HR.

@Whoknowswhatanymore Absolutely right. She doesn’t work there anymore but you’d better believe I’ll be checking each one of those claims and taking action. How’s the nerve though!

If she was working, won’t IT be able to show her logged into the system and activity on her computer? If it comes to a dispute, the company should be able to clarify the issue very quickly.

obviously she could be devious enough to fake that, but I’m not sure everyone who lies is that smart.

Colossal gross misconduct.

She should be hauled over the coals for fabricating timesheets for work done when shes not at work.

Doing anything less makes you/the employer look a fool.

What a cheeky one! You've done the right thing

It is fraud and her friend is complicit - in most places this would constitute gross misconduct.

The cheek!

To be fair her friend may have just wrongly trusted her to be honest. I used to sign someone’s timesheets. I didn’t know all of their work commitments and I didn’t work very closely with them. So I assumed it was correct unless I had reason to disbelieve it.

You might want to check with HR/legal but you may be able to reclaim the wages that she stole.

This is a very straight forward gross misconduct and immediate dismissal for theft, because she has stolen from the business.

Yes, wow. This is what I thought too.

is it a minimum pay job?

Why should that matter? She's claiming for hours she hasn't worked, that's theft

It’s impossible to work two jobs simultaneously.

No, but you can work two jobs in one day. Is the other job set hours or flexible?

If she's on a casual contract then I would sack her immediately. You know very well that she didn't do the work. This is fraud, and not the benign kind of claiming 6 hours when she spent half an hour of that time nattering with colleagues.

Its fraud!

Unless the other job is flexible and she does that in say the afternoon and a few hours on your job in the AM. Even so- if she is only to work 22hr (or whatever) hours with you per week- then claiming more is still fraudulent.

I have two jobs. I make sure I keep them very separate. I often have urgent things to do for one of the jobs in particular. However, I would not be expected to complete the urgent task on a day I aren't in that post, as both my employer and I know it would muddy the waters. If it's that urgent a task it's handed to a colleague who is in.
She's either very naive or taking the piss.

I would love to see her face when you highlight other discrepancies in her claims. I bet she’s feeling very anxious at the moment.

Cheek!