Q: I’ve been informed that the manager I employ to look after my shop has been stealing. These thefts coincide with periods when I was abroad and the manager had sole access to the premises. What should I do next?
Mar 24 2009
Answered by: Peter Done Ask a question
Before you take any action against the employee, you first need to find out if your ‘caller’s’ allegations are to be taken seriously. It may be that the caller has a personal grudge against your manager so you need to be sure of his intentions.
Once you are satisfied he is telling the truth, the normal course of action is to suspend the employee on full pay while you carry out an investigation. You should ascertain whether there are any other witnesses to the alleged theft because if the ‘caller’ is aware of what has allegedly happened, so may other people be. The amount of evidence you can find will assist you in your decision on whether to take disciplinary action against the employee.
If you do wish to take disciplinary action, you should make sure you follow the provisions of employment organisation ACAS’s code of practice on disciplinary and grievance matters. If you fail to do this and the matter progresses to Tribunal, you may be penalised.
In brief, these provisions require that you should inform the employee of the problem in writing and invite them to a disciplinary hearing, allowing the employee to be accompanied. You should explain the problem to the employee, allowing him/her to see any evidence and witness statements you have. The employee should be allowed to answer any allegations you make.
After the hearing, you should decide on appropriate action and inform the employee in writing. If you decide the allegations are proven and you impose a sanction on the employee, you should allow the right of appeal against it. If you decide the allegations are unsubstantiated, you should inform the employee of this and confirm that no sanction will be imposed.
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