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?

Does your company have a Whistleblowing policy? It should direct you on how to report a potential fraud. This would protect you further from retaliation and bring it to the attention of Legal/Compliance, where they have to document an investigation and findings.

There might well be more of a back story but it's telling that the deputy manager won't sign the sheets off either. She'd be really really unwise to sign them off if she strongly suspects them of being fraudulent. If she does, he can just blame her for any ensuing shitshow and it'll be her that gets sacked and not him.

I'll tell you why he'd defending her.

Because sometimes letting this sort of shit go is better than having a law suit against the company and dragging it into disrepute.

Really, I get the it's more than my jobsworth.

But the money is not coming out of your pocket.

Some might say, this employee reported to you, you should have been checking their timesheets.

If it were me and I wanted to keep my job, I'd sign off the timesheets.

Because the company is very lucky she was on a casual contract and she's gone, because it's very very very hard to get rid of a bad employee once they are permanent.

Don't make this personal.

My dd checked the time sheets of a person she was asked to manage, and noticed a strange pattern, always called in sick on the Friday before a bank holiday, and on the nearest weekend to their birthday they were “ sick” on the Friday and Monday.

Then he can sign off the timesheets, can't he? But he's refused.

I get that it can be more hassle than it's worth to make a big deal out of stuff like this, but if the OP signs them, she's then implicating herself in whatever is going on.

FYI The boss if off for another week.

*is off

This is something that the boss would need to address even if he is off. Can he pick up his emails on hols?

As I've said before I'd agree to sign off the timesheets AND I'd write an ass-covering email to Deputy and the Boss saying:

"As per our meeting I have signed off Mary Jones timesheets, even though I raised questions about discrepancies regarding the hours claimed and the hours actually worked. "

Depending on the size of the company and the structure of the company it's hard to gauge the right approach.

Your department fucked up here.
That includes you because who was responsible for this employee? Who wasn't checking each week?

So yeah, you all might have to just shut up and move on with your lives.

For those suggesting there must be a backstory. Yes, I’m picking up on that. I’d love to know what it is.

But then why isn't he signing them himself?

I'd either call in sick next week or take someone in to any meeting he calls you in to. Also, not read the whole thread but are you in a union? Call them today if you are.

Because sometimes letting this sort of shit go is better than having a law suit against the company and dragging it into disrepute.

Nonsense. What case would SHE have for a lawsuit??

There's a reason he's doing this and I bet it's something personal.

Do NOT sign off these time sheets.

Is this a small town, or a place where people live locally for a long time? I bet there is some connection between them like that. Or he is doing it too, or a friend or relative of his in the company is doing it and he knows.

I'd either call in sick next week or take someone in to any meeting he calls you in to. Also, not read the whole thread but are you in a union? Call them today if you are.

This is really good advice.

Employee can claim she is getting bullied and harrassed.

She can claim her pay is not forthcoming, that the company have broken their contract with her by with-holding pay.

She can claim the company is making false claims about her and calling her a liar, a cheat and a thief.

She can claim cannot work or get another job due to being made ill over the whole nasty episode and her GP has signed her off with stress.

You contact your HR dep't and say you are not happy to sign off these worksheets as you are currently investgating a potential fraud and feel that signing them off would make you complicit. You then cc. your boss and this other manager. Then organise a meeting with both managers for when your boss has returned.

That's all very well, but he's aggressively strongarming OP into defrauding the company.

If she does what you say, she could herself be liable for it. What if the boss or other high up staff members take a dim view of this fraud?

Or what if this bullying man decides he doesn't want to cover for the shitty employee any more (for whatever reason), and passes the blame onto OP? He's leaving this option open for himself by refusing to be the one to sign off the shitty employee's timesheets.

It's apparent there's more than one person in on this fraud within your organisation.

Well done for refusing to be intimidated or part of it.

Wait until your boss gets back from leave - he can have the final say.

Depending on if the OP is part of any regulated body or profession, an ass-covering email might not be a sufficient defence against participating in suspected fraudulent activities.

Well done OP for standing your ground ! It's takes a string person to do that .. please keep us updated .. and definitely more going on then you initially thought

OP: keep as much evidence as you can of this woman and her friend who signed off her fraud, so it can't be covered up.

Go to your union if you have one and tell them the situation.

Don't be alone with this man again, it will only give him more opportunities to bully you, and lie about you. It will be his word against yours. He might even threaten you.

I'd make a report of his bullying.

Strong *

Hold onto all evidence and back it all up on a system that's not your work server. Someone at my last work had a similar issue and the manager got IT to go into their files and emails and delete everything they didn't like. The person in question ended up leaving and had no way of even proving constructive dismissal.

Sack her…