Are the wages and benefits received by employees who clock in and then leave work, in a company suffering from the shutdown of most of its production units, permissible or forbidden?

It is not permissible for an employee to leave before the end of official working hours, or to be late for its start, or to leave during it without an excuse; because that constitutes a breach of contract, and Muslims are bound by their conditions. The employer has acquired ownership of this time through the contract, and the employee is not permitted to spend it on anything other than their work, even if they have no work to perform. However, if they are given permission to leave by someone authorized to grant it, then there is no blame, and customary permission takes the place of explicit permission. But if there is no explicit or customary permission, then what employees do by leaving deceptively is forbidden, and they do not deserve what they receive in salary and incentives.