Employee Timesheet Training
Employee Timesheet Training Overview
Policies and Procedures
The contractor should have policies and procedures for training employees to reasonably assure that all employees are aware of the importance of proper time charging. The training should cover indoctrination for new hires, management’s responsibility for accuracy of labor accounting, refresher courses for existing employees, explanations of penalties for mischarging, and the importance of segregation of duties. When evaluating contractor policies and procedures for employee awareness training, the auditor should consider whether there is formal company-wide timekeeping and labor charging training, and whether there is documentation to verify that the training has occurred (e.g., presentation and handout material, sign-in logs, and memoranda of attendance.).
Management’s Responsibility
It is critical to labor charging internal control systems that management continues to emphasize the employees independent responsibility for accurately recording time charges. The contractor should have training programs stressing management’s responsibility to provide for the accurate recording of labor hours.
Penalties for Mischarging
Individual employees must be constantly, although unobtrusively, made aware of controls that act as an effective deterrent against violations. There should be an explanation of the penalties for knowingly mischarging time. This would include penalties imposed by the company and those by the government (i.e., False Claims Act). Many businesses accomplish this by emphasizing the importance of timecard preparation in staff meetings, employee orientation, and through posting of signs throughout the workplace, which remind employees of the importance of accurate and current timecards.
New Hire Training
New hires should be trained on proper time keeping shortly after being hired. The training should include proper timekeeping procedures and the penalties associated with the statutes on false claims and false statements. Further, those employees with contractual responsibilities should be made aware of the FAR, DFARS, CAS, and contract provisions. Specific responsibility should be placed on an individual or group to perform the training.
Refresher Courses
The contractor should have periodic refresher courses on proper timekeeping and labor charging practices, especially for employees found not to be complying with company labor charging procedures.
Training Material
[[http://www.govcwiki.org/index.php?title=File:Labor_and_Timesheet_Training.pptx
|Time and Labor Training]]