Restaurant Ghost Shifts: How to Investigate Time Records
A name on payroll that you do not recognize, a missing clock-out, or a shift that ran beyond the schedule deserves a review. None proves that an employee was paid for work they did not do.
“Ghost shift” is an informal label. Use it carefully. Suspected false time records, unapproved work, and inefficient scheduling are different problems with different fixes.
Separate the possible explanations
A false time record might involve someone clocking in for another person who was absent. A long shift might instead reflect an approved cover, required closing work, or a missing punch. A payroll name might belong to a transferred employee rather than a fictitious worker.
Start with a neutral description: “Punch does not match posted schedule.” Preserve the original record, its edit history, the schedule version, and the manager's explanation before deciding what happened.
Build a location-level exception review
Use these fields for each case:
| Record | Question it helps answer |
|---|---|
| Posted schedule and revisions | What work was planned, and who changed it? |
| Original punches and edit history | What time was recorded, and was it corrected? |
| Manager approval or shift log | Was additional work requested or explained? |
| Employee and location identifiers | Was the person working elsewhere in the group? |
| Payroll detail | What was actually paid for this period? |
Compare the same employee and pay period across systems. Names alone can be ambiguous; an employee identifier is more useful when available.
Do not confuse a budget problem with unpaid work
If work was performed, an approval failure does not automatically make the hours removable from payroll. The U.S. Department of Labor explains that work an employer permits can be compensable even when it was not requested. Preserve accurate hours and address the scheduling or authorization issue separately. DOL hours-worked guidance. For the separate budget question, the labor cost calculator checks your sales and labor inputs; it cannot establish whether a time record is false.
A future schedule can be improved; a historical time record must reflect what happened. Apply the relevant wage, break, and scheduling requirements to any proposed staffing change.
Prevent the same exception from returning
After resolving a case, change the control that failed. Examples include assigning an approver for shift extensions, confirming missing punches before payroll, and reviewing staff who work across locations.
Check the capabilities you already pay for. Some scheduling systems have live overtime warnings. For example, 7shifts documents real-time overtime push notifications with integration, time-clocking, configuration, and plan requirements. It also lists unsupported real-time POS connections. 7shifts overtime alerts.
Copy an exception record
Use a neutral record before assigning a cause. This blank worksheet is a suggested operating control, not an accusation. Keep the investigation owner and next check consistent with your manager accountability log.
| Field | Entry to complete |
|---|---|
| Location, employee ID, work period | Identify the exact records |
| Scheduled and recorded hours | Preserve both, including revision history |
| Explanation requested from | Employee or manager with relevant knowledge |
| Evidence still needed | Missing punch, approval, transfer, or payroll detail |
| Status | Open, explained, correction required, or verified closed |
| Owner and next check | Named person and agreed date |
| Closure evidence | Accurate time record and documented explanation |
Keep the original alongside any authorized correction. Close an investigation only when the explanation and records agree.
Carry a timekeeping issue through to resolution
Marty is a managed profit-control layer for multi-unit restaurants.
Find → Assign → Follow up → Verify. Find an unexplained difference between the schedule, punches, and payroll. Assign the review to the appropriate manager or payroll owner. Follow up on the correction or process change. Verify accurate records and whether the same exception recurs; an alert is not a finding of misconduct.
The paid Cash Recovery Plan establishes the baseline that tells Marty what to watch first.
Optional Managed Profit Control adds monitoring, alerts, follow-up, escalation, and verification for the labor exceptions agreed after the initial investigation.
Sources checked September 15, 2026: linked DOL and 7shifts documentation; Marty's Review offer. Workflow is editorial guidance, not a finding about any employee.