Woman ordered to pay employer that installed time-tracking software on her computer

A Canadian accountant has been ordered to pay back her employers for time theft

A Canadian woman has been ordered to pay back her former employer for “time-theft” after a software installed on her laptop revealed she had misrepresented over 50 hours of work.

Karlee Besse worked remotely as an accountant in British Columbia, Canada, reports The Guardian. Besse claimed she was fired without cause by her employer, Reach CPA, last year. She sought CAD 5,000 in compensation from the company.

But Reach CPA told the civil tribunal that Beese had logged more than 50 hours that “did not appear to have spent on work-related tasks”.

The company said it had installed a time-tracking software called TimeCamp on her work laptop, which found a discrepancy between the hours Besse said she had worked and what the software recorded as work activity.

Besse argued that the software could not differentiate between work and personal use. The company, in turn, demonstrated how TimeCamp automatically made the distinction between work and personal use like streaming TV shows.

Besse also argued that she had printed documents to work on. Reach CPA retaliated by saying that TimeCamp also tracked printing and the software found that few documents had been printed by Besse.

The court sided with the employer as it tossed out Besse’s claim of wrongful termination. The accountant was ordered to pay CAD 2,459.89 (INR 1.4 lakh approximately) to her former employer within 30 days. This includs returned wages and part of an advance sum she had received from the company.

TimeCamp is a controversial software that tracks the time employees spend on work tasks. It posits itself as the “Best employee monitoring software,” that can help boost productivity and maximise profits.