Buddy Punching Definition

When one employee requests another to clock in or out for him, this is known as buddy punching. Buddy punching, for example, might be used to clock in for someone who is late or cover for someone who wishes to leave work early. Buddy punching may appear to be a decent approach to show your support for a friend though it is actually timesheet fraud and if the time clock is connected with payroll, most likely a criminal offence. An employee, for example, who has slept late and is on his way to work, contacts ahead to have someone clock him in so that the shift supervisor is unaware. Alternatively, an employee may have an emergency child care situation and needs to get to day-care right away without informing her supervisor, so she asks someone to log out on her behalf at quitting time.

By implementing a biometric time clock, you may fully eliminate buddy punching. To ensure that the person clocking in is the proper person, these gadgets use a fingerprint, retinal, or hand scanner. Alternatively, a company can put video surveillance over the time clock to catch buddy punching in the act or after it has occurred. However, because video surveillance is more of a detective control, buddy punching will continue until someone spends time studying the footage. A biometric time clock acts as a preventative control, as it prevents buddy punching in the first place.

Buddy punching is fraudulent action, regardless of the purpose, because it entails compensating someone for work that they did not complete. Both the employee who directly benefits from the arrangement and the employee who engages in the clocking in or out behavior may be terminated as a result of this.