Recently, an accountant was ordered to repay her employer for engaging in time theft. In Besse v Reach CPA Inc., the employer submitted evidence via time-tracking software proving that the employee had engaged in time theft while working remotely. The British Columbia Civil Resolution Tribunal found that the employer had just cause for dismissal, dismissed the employee’s claim of wrongful dismissal, and held that the employer was entitled to compensation for over 50 unaccounted hours.
This decision serves as a warning for employees, including those working remotely. It also provides a glimmer of hope for employers seeking compensation from misbehaving employees, but employers should remember that negligent acts, poor performance, and trivial misconduct is not going to warrant a lawsuit, and any allegation of just cause must be supported by compelling evidence.
So what happened in this case?
Facts
The employee was an accountant who worked from home. Among other things, the employer and employee agreed that over time, the company would forgive an advance it made to her for purchasing home office equipment.
Due to time management issues during the course of her employment, the company installed TimeCamp, a time-tracking software, on her work laptop. The employee knew that the software was being installed.
With time, things got worse. The employer became concerned that some of her files were behind schedule and over budget. In addition, the company discovered through TimeCamp that there were about 50 unaccounted hours of work which were documented on her timesheet. The company met with the employee and offered her the opportunity to explain the discrepancy in her hours. The employee, however, declined.
The company then dismissed her for cause.
The employee filed a wrongful dismissal claim seeking $5,000 in unpaid wages and severance. The employer counterclaimed for $1,506.34, seeking wages that it paid which it alleged amounted to time theft, plus $1,096.73 for the debt relating to the home office equipment purchase.
Analysis
Based on the evidence submitted by the company, including TimeCamp data and videos showing how the software tracked the employee’s time and activity, the Tribunal found that the employee had engaged in 50.76 hours of time theft. Although the employee argued that she worked with paper copies of client documents that were not captured by TimeCamp, the employer submitted data to establish that the time she spent printing showed she could not have printed large volumes of documents, and in any event, that she would have had to enter information into the software which the data did not reflect.
The Tribunal did not believe the employee and commented that time theft in the employment context is a “very serious form of misconduct”. Importantly, the Tribunal found that the employment relationship had been irreparably broken by the employee’s misconduct and that the company had just cause to dismiss her.
The Tribunal dismissed the wrongful dismissal claim. They then addressed the counterclaim and ordered the employee to reimburse the company for the debt relating to the home office equipment purchase and pay damages for time theft; she also had to pay interest and Tribunal fees.
Key takeaways
Time theft is undoubtedly a serious issue but it will not necessarily end up in summary dismissal in every case. Just cause for dismissal has a very high threshold, and in many cases, time theft may warrant discipline, but not dismissal. A contextual analysis will be applied considering all relevant factors to determine whether just cause for dismissal is warranted in the circumstances. Often, courts will expect some progressive discipline before summary dismissal is warranted. Alternatively, an employer can always dismiss an employee on a without cause basis at any time, but then they will have to pay severance.
That said, this decision is helpful for employers, especially those worried about employees engaging in time theft given the remote work landscape. In this case, the employer was able to prove just cause for dismissal based on time theft given the data captured by the time-tracking software. Employers who do not have evidence to support an allegation of time theft will have difficulty proving time theft and, in turn, establishing just cause for dismissal. Accordingly, employers should proceed with caution before alleging time theft and/or dismissing an employee for cause. Employers should also be careful and seek legal advice before installing time-tracking software without the employee’s knowledge and before proceeding with summary dismissal.
As for employees, it is important to remember that trust and honesty are the cornerstones of an employment relationship, and a breakdown in the employment relationship due to their dishonesty and misconduct will not be tolerated.
By Nadia Zaman
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