Are you worried about employee fraud? While there are numerous types of fraud to watch out for, the most consistent involves time theft. No, this isn’t something from an Irish science fiction movie. Instead, it involves employees doing things like clocking each other in, or not working while they’re on the clock.
Depending on the type of business that you run, monitoring your employees can be tricky. This is why you need to switch your current time clock to one of the many biometric clocking systems out there.
Why Employee Fraud Is Problematic
It may seem obvious that employee fraud leads to a number of issues. You’ll end up paying workers for things that just don’t get done. This is a huge waste of money for you. If you’re one of the companies in Ireland that operate on thin margins, then you need to keep a close eye on your payroll. Every penny counts. Employee fraud can seriously harm your business.
General Types of Fraud
There are two main types of employee fraud. The first involves workers who aren’t there when they clock in. With a traditional time clock system, one employee (usually the first to arrive) clocks in another. The second person in this scenario isn’t even on your company’s property yet. They might have been running late and asked their worker to clock them in. This is blatant time theft, as they’re being paid for time that they aren’t putting in.
The second type of employee fraud is a bit trickier, as it involves your HR department. It also flouts a number of Irish laws. Yes, we’re talking about ghost employees. A ghost employee is not one that’s gone to the great beyond. Instead, they are a worker who doesn’t exist. They are being paid for work that they aren’t doing since they aren’t even technically employed at your company. The person who created them is more than likely using those funds for their own personal gain.
Stopping Fraud in Its Tracks
No matter the type of fraud, you need to put a stop to it. This is why you need to rely on biometric clocking systems. These systems use biometrics, such as fingerprints or an eye scanner, to log your workers in for the day. They are completely legal in Ireland, and can really help you prevent payroll fraud and time theft.
In the examples provided above, the first scenario would not occur with the good biometric clocking system. An employee won’t be able to clock in another, because they wouldn’t have access to their fingerprints or eye scans.
For the second, the ghost employee will simply disappear from your payroll. The HR employee who fraudulently created him or her will not be able to use their own fingerprints or eye scans for their creation. The system will automatically recognize the duplicate entries. Your problem will be solved.
Set Up Biometric Clocking Systems for Your Workers
The best thing about biometric clocking systems is the fact that there are several different types of them. This allows you to choose which will work best for your company. If you have workers who travel throughout Ireland, such as outside salespeople, to get things done, you can set up a biometric clocking system for their cell phones.
They can “swipe in” with their fingerprint when their day begins. However, if you have employees who stay in the office all day, then you can set up the system on their computer. Once again, they would use their fingerprint, only the device is attached to their computer, not their smartphone.
Proper Training Is the Key
No matter which type of biometric system you choose to use, you need to train your employees on how they work. This can be done through a series of training sessions, including ones with a version of the device that they’ll be using to clock in. You also need to make sure that your timeclock policies are clearly written. People need to start following the rules. Write some punishments into those policies as well, just in case. HR needs to have a system to follow should you catch employee fraud in action.
No matter what type of business you run in Ireland, it’s important that you watch out for things like employee time fraud and time theft. The financial health of your business depends on it. Too many companies go out of business due to cash flow problems. All that it takes is one ghost employee or worker committing fraud to make things difficult for your business. It’s time that you put biometric time systems and specific policies into place in order to prevent these fraudulent transactions.
