‘Time theft is considered even worse... where an employee is provided with trust to work independently’

“There are a few categories of misconduct that are considered so significant and so bad that when an employee engages in them, it can attract discharge, even for a first-time offense or for long-service employees - and time theft is one.”

So says labour and employment lawyer Laura Dunnigan of Mathews Dinsdale in Calgary, after an Alberta arbitrator upheld the firing of a worker for two instances of time theft on the same day.

Martin-Brower of Canada Co. operates a supply-chain business providing food, beverages, and supplies to McDonald’s restaurants – the company’s only client. The company maintains several distribution centres and employs drivers to make deliveries with its fleet of trucks.

The company sets up scheduled runs for drivers that limit on-duty time and requires drivers to maintain logs to ensure compliance with hours-of-work regulations. Drivers also have to certify the accuracy of their logs and use an electronic system called “Samsara” to maintain their logs while allowing Martin-Brower to track its vehicles. Maintaining and certifying driving logs are the responsibility of drivers.

The worker began employment with Martin-Brower as a driver on July 22, 2020, working out of the company’s Calgary distribution centre. He worked with little supervision, as he was on his own for most of the day. Logging into the Samsara system indicated when he was at work and...

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