A BC Civil Resolution Tribunal has ordered an accountant, working remotely, must repay her former employer more than $2,700 after allegedly claiming for hours not worked on her timesheets.
The dispute between the woman and the employer was one of claims and counterclaims.
The accountant sought $5000 for unpaid wages and severance pay claiming she was fired without cause.
Her former employer made a counterclaim citing "time theft" as the reason for termination, using evidence from tracking software (TimeCamp) that was installed on the employee's work computer.
The software allegedly showed a discrepancy between claims made on the employees' timesheets and data collected by TimeCamp of approximately 50 hours.
The BC Civil Resolution Tribunal has ordered the accountant to pay her former employer $2,756.89.
The total of $2,756.89 is broken down as follows:
- $2,603.07 in debt and damages for alleged "time theft" and the outstanding part of an advance (1)
- $28.82 in pre-judgment interest under the Court Order Interest Act (COIA)
- $125 in Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) fees.
The accountant has 30 days to pay the amount owed.
(1) An advance was given to the employee to purchase office equipment and pay for CPA Professional Education Program fees and dues.
The advance agreement says the employer would forgive 1/24 of the $3,666.95 advance for every month their former employee was employed. If employment was terminated before the advance was fully forgiven, the agreement requires her to “otherwise repay the Employer should the last paycheck be insufficient”.