A Broken Vase Can’t Always be Fixed: When Employees Lie in the Workplace
We have all hidden something from someone else. We’ve also all likely hidden something or lied in the workplace. Don’t think you have? Don’t lie now (LOL!) After all, how many of us can say that they have never been part of a surprise party for a colleague’s birthday or baby shower. That is not an unreasonable lie. But as I said in Part 1 of this blog series, not all lies are made equal.
The Web of Workplace Lies
There are many diverse types of lies in the workplace. They can range from serious criminal matters (i.e., fraud and embezzlement), to an employee taking a sick day when they are healthy and want to watch their child’s school play, to exaggerating work productivity when checking in on a workflow meeting with a boss. Sometimes the workplace lie can involve and/or impact third parties such as when an employee makes a false or fraudulent claim for health benefits; when an employee falsifies company financial statements or reports which are given to or relied on by shareholders; banks or investors; or even where an employee makes a false allegation of misconduct or inappropriate behaviour against a colleague. Depending on the type and nature of the lie, there is also a broad range of reasons why an employee may lie in the workplace.
There is a difference between an “innocent lie,” one engaged in out of kindness, and a lie told for an improper or even menacing purpose. Telling a lie is seen as wrong when it’s done because telling the truth will get the person in trouble, but it’s, generally, not wrong when the person is honestly mistaken or tells a lie for the greater good – like the birthday surprise party example mentioned above. Unfortunately, telling the difference in the moment, or, more importantly, knowing that a lie has been told at all, is not always easy. It’s not like we live in a land of Pinnochios, where a lie is easily detected by the growing length of the speaker’s nose. Instead, lies, in their various forms, may only be detected when the individual slips up or are caught thanks to an independent or third-party process.
Why Should Employers Care?
Walter Anderson, an American painter and writer once said, “Trust is like a vase, once it’s broken, though you can fix it, the vase will never be the same again.” Lies, generally speaking, directly impact the trust between the employer and employee, a fundamental element of the employment relationship. It is trust, or more accurately the breakdown of trust, that lies at the heart of the January 2023 BC Civil Resolution Tribunal case of Besse v. Reach CPA Inc.[1], that has made recent headlines about a common workplace lie: time theft.
Time theft, in its simplest terms, is when an employee is not working when they should be (or saying they worked when they did not), but being paid for it anyways. The result is that the employer unknowingly pays the employee for time they did not, in fact, work, despite being “on the clock”. Time theft can take many different forms including the following:
taking a longer than scheduled break or lunch;
logging off early;
one employee clocking in or out for another who may be late or leaving early without permission;
using work time for personal business, errands, or for work on behalf of another business or interest;
using work time for personal reasons, such as excessive social media use during company time;
intentionally working slowly or ineffectively in order to work overtime and receive overtime pay; or
submitting a time sheet that is incorrect.
And while it may not sound like much at first, time theft is “considered a fundamental breach of the employer-employee relationship” and “often results in the employer discharging the employee.”[2]
In Besse, an accountant sued her former employer, Reach CPA Inc., in Small Claims for unpaid wages she alleged were owing and 1 month’s severance pay in lieu of notice for her wrongful dismissal. Reach counterclaimed, alleging Ms. Besse was terminated for cause after she had engaged in time theft, resulting in an overpayment of fees. The counterclaim relied and was supported by Reach’s time-tracking software, TimeCamp, that had been installed on Ms. Besse’s work computer with her knowledge to assist her with managing her files. As noted by the Tribunal, TimeCamp recording when an employee opens a document or accesses a client file, how long the employee was in the document/file, and when the employee printed documents/files. Importantly, TimeCamp also recorded when an employee accessed a “personal” resource, such as social media or a streaming service, and how long the employee spent on that activity. When these reports and records were compared to Ms. Besse’s own time sheets, Reach noted a 50.76-hour discrepancy that could not be explained, though Ms. Besse certainly tried. In fact, despite facing a counterclaim that, on its face, accused Ms. Besse of lying to her employer, she added more lies to try and explain the time discrepancy, arguing unsuccessfully that she worked on hardcopies of client documents she had printed. Remember, TimeCamp also captured printing activity so the evidence did not back up her claims.
The Tribunal concluded that Reach had proven Ms. Besse engaged in time theft and ordered her to pay, in part, $1,506.34 for the overpaid fees to her former employer. The Tribunal further concluded that Ms. Besse’s conduct supported a finding of just cause such that her claim was dismissed. In doing so, Tribunal Member Megan Stewart found as follows (at paragraph 26):
“Given that trust and honesty are essential to an employment relationship, particularly in a remote-work environment where direct supervision is absent, I find Miss Besse’s misconduct led to an irreparable breakdown in her employment relationship with Reach and that dismissal was proportionate in the circumstances.”
While the termination of Ms. Besse’s employment was upheld, not every lie will, or should, lead to a termination. So, what can employers do to prevent and respond to employees who lie in the workplace?
Employer Tips and Tricks
Regardless of the size of your organization, or the industry you work in, honesty, integrity and ethical practices should be a pillar of the company’s operations. That said, it would be naïve to think that no employee is, would or could lie, even in the most successful company or close-knit work environment. Here are some tips for minimizing the likelihood and impact of workplace lies.
Review available resources: Particularly in the new remote and hybrid workplaces, the manner in which employers monitor the work and productivity of employees who are not physically in the same workplace as their manager or colleagues means “keeping an eye” on them in an entirely different way. For some employers, such as Reach CPA Inc., above, this can include using electronic resources that monitor employee log-ins, work time, keystrokes, etc. (all subject to a compliant Electronic Monitoring Policy[3], where required, and privacy considerations of course). But resources do not have to be digital or complicated. Old school resources such procedures that require a Manager’s review and sign-off of an employee’s expense report/submission, for example, can nip honest mistakes and intentional deceit alike in the bud.
Use policies: Like any other form of misconduct, employers can proactively deal with lying and cheating in the workplace by developing, implementing and, most importantly, enforcing good workplace policies and procedures. Key amongst these is a well thought out Code of Conduct, but other useful policies include Expense Policies, procedures for tracking and reporting work hours, and discipline policies and/or procedures. Employee Handbooks and policies should clearly set out the employer’s expectations regarding the employee’s activities, and the consequence for any breach or failure to comply.
Enforce policies: Policies are not just books that take up space on your shelf (I’m that old school) or documents that take up space on your company intranet. But they might as well be if you don’t make sure that your employees know about the policies, receive a copy of or acknowledge reviewing the policies, and know the company will enforce the policy and procedural requirements imposed. So if the issue is one that covered by a policy or procedure, act accordingly.
Don’t wait to act on wrongs: Even lies that seem to be small instances of dishonesty they can have extensive negative implications for the organization both financially and reputationally. And the associated breakdown of trust can make the work environment less productive and isolating. So don’t pretend you don’t notice the behaviour, minimize it or justify it. Not only does it risk that the employee who is acting wrongly will allege that their conduct was condoned, but it may fuel other employees to feel they too can get away with it, or that they have been taken advantage of. So take steps as soon as possible to investigate your suspicions or any report of lying or cheating.
Don’t jump to conclusions: The first step when you suspect an employee is lying is the same step an employer takes when they suspect any inappropriate conduct or breach of a policy or practice – make sure the employee has engaged in the conduct. The lie is an allegation until you have taken the necessary steps to conduct an appropriate investigation. The lie may be a case of a simple misunderstanding by the employee (particularly if, there has been some form of condonation by the employer (i.e., where the employee’s work hours, report, accounting or expenses have been reviewed and signed off by a manager)), or it may be a blatant and intentional act to benefit the employee, but you won’t know that until you review all of the information available, including speaking to the employee to get their side.
Be consistent: Where the issue is one covered by a policy or procedure, take consistent corrective action. If employees have not been terminated for similar conduct in the past (with or without cause), why terminate now? Is there something that makes this case different (not the first offense, increased severity of the conduct, involvement of a third party)?
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In an ideal world, the workplace is a cooperative environment where honesty is promoted and employees work reasonably and ethically for the good of the organization, which in turn is good for them. Unfortunately, the world is not ideal, and employers should be mindful that trust and trustworthiness can, at times, be fragile. Working to cultivate a workplace that rewards honesty and removes deception may very well be the glue that holds the vase together.
[1] 2023 BCCRT 27 (CanLII).
[2] Integra Support Services v. Hospital Employees’ Union, 2022 CanLII 5181 (BC LA), at paragraph 59.
[3] See my colleague Janet Lunau’s August 2022 blog, “Writing the Electronic Monitoring Policy Right”.
