What is Buddy Punching?

Buddy punching is a form of time theft that occurs when one restaurant employee clocks in or clocks out another who is not present at work. Most commonly done through restaurant time clocks, POS systems with an attendance feature, or punch clocks.

For Example, an employee might tell a co-worker to clock them in while the employee is en route to work or clock them out once the employee has departed work prior to the end of their designated shift.

Buddy punching is regarded as a payroll or labor management issue due to the likelihood of incorrect employee work hours being logged, leading to higher labor costs.

How does Buddy Punching work?

Buddy punching usually occurs in restaurants using one of the following- time share clock system, employee PIN, swipe card system, or a simple attendance system.

This is how it typically works-

• An employee arrives late, is absent, or leaves early.
• A second employee swipes that person's login number, PIN, or accesses the time clock to log their time.
• The computer now thinks that the employee worked through that time, and shows a false report.
• The restaurant unknowingly pays wages for work that was never worked.

Buddy punching can happen intentionally between coworkers or due to weak attendance monitoring systems.