Buddy punching: What is it? (And How to Avoid It)

Every year, what is known as “time theft” affects over 75% of small firms in the United States. In simple terms, time theft is when an employee takes payment for the time not spent working. Time theft includes remaining clocked in during breaks, failing to clock out to perform errands, and monitoring social media while at work.

The main reason for employee time theft involves more than one person. It is referred to as “buddy punching.”

What exactly is buddy punching, then?

Buddy punching is when a coworker clocks in for you on your time card when you aren’t there.

Imagine that you will not be able to clock in on time since you are running late for work. You ask a coworker to clock in for you in a brief text message. Another option is to ask a coworker to clock you out after your shift if you need to leave a few minutes early and don’t want the boss to find out. You might not be able to report for your shift at all. As a result, your friend clocks in and out for you, punching your timecard as a favor; hence, buddy punching.

Everybody experiences life. But a few minutes here and there of buddy punching by coworkers might mount up on your paycheck. According to the American Payroll Association, buddy punching costs three-fourths of businesses’ money, and employees receive pay equivalent to 4.5 hours of unworked time each week.

The federal minimum hourly wage in the United States is $7.25. For part-time employees making minimum wage, 4.5 hours of buddy punching would result in weekly wage theft of about $30 for each employee. Although it might not seem like much, buddy punching can cost businesses an average of nearly $1,560 per employee annually. Since most small firms have fewer than 20 employees, buddy punching by several employees could increase your payroll costs by up to $30,000 per year.

No small business owner wants to forfeit $30,000 in time stolen. Here are some tips for avoiding buddy punching and managing your payroll.

How to stop coworkers from “buddy punching” each other

Establish a “zero tolerance” stance.

Dealing with buddy punching head-on is the cheapest and quickest option. The moment has come to create an official buddy punching policy if you don’t already have one. Let everyone know that tampering with another employee’s timecard or utilizing your timekeeping system under a different name—or for any other reason—will not be tolerated.

No specific employees need to be named, but you should make your team aware of the buddy punching policy. The new buddy punching policy should be printed and posted so all employees can see it. If you witness an employee punching a coworker, you can fire them.

Employ passwords

Simple but powerful. An inexpensive way to prevent buddy punching in the workplace is to use passwords for employee timekeeping. Establish strict guidelines for passwords, such as extensive sequences, digits, symbols, and capitalization, to make them more difficult to transmit or enter by a colleague.

Then, instruct. Make sure your employees know that revealing their timekeeping login could also imply sharing their data when personal data hacks are becoming increasingly prevalent. They can give their coworker access to private information if they share their password.

Put technology to work for you.

Modern technology and new workplace regulations give managers and business owners more tools to stop buddy punching. Most alternatives can be obtained with minimal additional work or expense. Employees can use built-in functionality on their devices to continue logging in when and where they should be, rather than using their phone to ask a friend to do it for them.

1. GPS monitoring
You may monitor an employee’s whereabouts in addition to their hours’ thanks to timekeeping software and mobile GPS. Many timekeeping solutions include GPS tracking and geofencing, which GPS-stamps an employee’s location when they clock in or only permits them to clock in when they’re close to your business, similar to other smartphone apps.

Depending on the program, employees can often clock in after their mobile or GPS is turned on. Some timekeeping apps even keep track of your employees’ whereabouts and send you updates while they work. As a result, you can monitor where employees are when they clock in and, with geofencing, prevent them from buddy punching when they’re off office premises.

2. Geofencing
To enclose your company in an invisible “border,” geofencing uses GPS, WiFi, and cellphone data. You decide how close employees must be to the front door or the parking lot to clock in. Once the barrier is in place, workers cannot clock in until their device confirms that they are inside the boundary.

Additionally, some mobile timekeeping apps offer various geofencing capabilities, similar to GPS tracking. Employees are either automatically logged in after they pass the barrier or must be within a set distance to manually clock in on the app. Buddy punching is prohibited since they cannot clock in at all when not at work or be clocked in by someone else.

3. Biometrics
It turns out that nothing compares to the real thing. The same biometric standards that ensure we use our devices, such as thumbprints and facial recognition, may be used to verify that the appropriate employee is checking in.

Biometric clocks only allow 3 percent of employees to steal time from their employers. By adopting a distinctive fingerprint, handprint, or retina scan, biometric timekeeping prevents buddy punching. It can be (nearly) impossible for workers to take advantage of your timekeeping system.

Biometric time clocks, however, may have higher upfront expenses and regulatory obligations. Several states have passed legislation governing the use and protection of biometric data related to employees. You may need the written permission of your employees before collecting and storing their biometric information. Additionally, once employees depart and their biometric information is no longer needed, there are legal procedures for discarding the data. If there is a hack or data breach, you might also be in charge of informing the staff.

Which came first: bad attendance or buddy punching?

Remember that buddy punching is frequently a symptom of more severe attendance problems rather than the issue itself. Take this time to look more closely at your overall attendance policy while already talking with your staff about these topics. If staff members are frequently abusing the timekeeping system, punching in for one another, and arriving late for work, there may be a more significant issue.

Try out a handful of these other no-cost attendance tips in addition to revising your policy and timekeeping system: