What to do when a customer accuses an employee of theft?
Ask the employee to acknowledge the conversation and sign the written record. Two managers should be present during the interview. Make operational changes if necessary – If many customers complain about the same thing, not always involving the same employee, review and change operations and procedures.
How is employee theft a problem in America?
As we discussed in last month’s blog, employee theft is a huge problem. It can be as simple as a clerk at a store stealing from the cash register or taking money from customers and voiding the sale, to a more complicated theft such as employees falsifying their expense accounts or writing phony checks.
How often does an employee steal from a business?
Sadly, employee theft is fairly pervasive. A typical business may lose between five and six percent of revenues from employee theft. According to the Department of Justice, nearly a third of employees engage in some form of theft. Employees are probably more likely to steal from the business than the customer, however.
When does an employer accuse an employee of fraud?
They are: search, surveillance and wiretapping. An employee’s right to their reputation clearly might be violated when an employer accuses an employee of committing fraud while the investigation is still underway and the employer is not yet satisfied that the employee is guilty.
Ask the employee to acknowledge the conversation and sign the written record. Two managers should be present during the interview. Make operational changes if necessary – If many customers complain about the same thing, not always involving the same employee, review and change operations and procedures.
How to prevent employee theft in the workplace?
Most incidents of employee theft are revealed by coworkers, but many still are hesitant to report these incidents to their employers. Set up a system whereby employees may report employee theft anonymously. You may also want to consider offering rewards for informants while keeping their identity confidential.
How long does it take for an employer to catch an employee stealing?
On average, it takes 18 months for an employer to catch an employee who is stealing. Most employee theft comes to the attention of the employer either by another employee or is revealed by accident. Every year billions of dollars are lost by businesses nationwide to employee fraud and theft and the number of incidents is rising.
How is employee theft different from fraud and larceny?
Employee theft — pilfering, larceny and embezzlement to name a few — comes under the umbrella of what is considered fraud. However defined, the end result is the same: businesses suffer a loss because an employee unlawfully takes something from an employer.