thistle
New Member
Ummmm yeah, as you may have guessed I now have to deal with the fact that amongst my staff is a thief
To set the scene.
Approx 3 weeks ago one of my staff poned to ask if any money had been found in the staff area....I said no and double checked, she told me that the day before she had withdrawn $60 (sorry no pound sign on the laptop) at the bank on her way to work, when she went to get her shopping after work she had no money in her purse. As Carol (not real name) ALWAYS uses her locker we put it down to the fact that she must have lost the money elsewhere...
Yesterday I sent Carol for her break and she went across the road to get some food shopping. When she came back she asked to speak to me in private....she told me that when she got to the checkout and took her purse out her bag $20 was missing.
Now given that her purse was in her locker, normally I would say that she must be mistaken however....here comes the interesting part...
When I hired Carol, I gave her the key to locker numder 7, a week later I hired a girl called Laurie (again not real name) ... on my day off Brian also told her to use locker number 7 and she took the key and kept it on her keyring. As all the girls work part time and we are short of lockers, I asked if they minded sharing and gave Carol the spare key to no'7.
Now....Laurie told me she lost her locker key so she just used whatever locker was empty when she started her shift.
I am faced with 2 possibilities here..either Laurie is lying and still has that key and has used it to steal money from Carol ....or.... she is telling the truth and someone has found the key and is using it to steal money from Carol.
I have already discounted the possibility that Carol is lying or mistaken because she was distraught yesterday at losing this money and as I have already said I KNOW she cannot be mistaken because I KNOW she checks her purse when she arrives at work.
There were only 4 people that could possibly have removed that money yesterday...myself, Brian, Tina and Laurie. I know it wasn't me, Tina I would trust with my life and Brian has access to thousands of pounds in the safe so would hardly risk his job for a measly $20.
My gut tells me that Laurie is lying about losing the key but unless I find the key in her possession I can't prove it
. In the meantime I have given Carol MY locker to use and taken her key to number 7 which means I do not have a locker as I do not want to risk using number 7 and have to lock my purse in the office (against company policy). In theory I should now be the only person with access to number 7 right? 2morro myself and Brian are gonna boobytrap the locker to see if it gets opened. Just a simple trap with fishing line, after every member of staff takes a break or is even in the vicinity of the lockers we are gonna check whether the seal has been broken.....if it has we have found our culprit and a thorough staff search should in theory find the key....in THEORY.
I hate this....I detest the fact that someone I emloyed is a thief, I could cope with someone dipping their fingers in the till (still would sack them mind you) but to steal from a workmate is the lowest of the low especially when you consider that Carol is only 25(ish) and has 4 kids under 7 years old, has a disabled partner and is supporting her entire family on her meagre part time wage PLUS it's the week before damn Xmas !!!! I had to give this poor woman $20 out my own damn pocket so she could feed her kids until payday !!!!!!!
I have no doubts about Carol's honesty, her reaction yesterday was so upsetting she could not possibly have faked it......Laurie on the other hand? well lets just say I have heard enough to make me doubt her honesty but I am powerless without proof
I hope that the culprit is found next week, I hate the thought of sacking someone the week before Xmas but if it has to be done then so be it.
To set the scene.
Approx 3 weeks ago one of my staff poned to ask if any money had been found in the staff area....I said no and double checked, she told me that the day before she had withdrawn $60 (sorry no pound sign on the laptop) at the bank on her way to work, when she went to get her shopping after work she had no money in her purse. As Carol (not real name) ALWAYS uses her locker we put it down to the fact that she must have lost the money elsewhere...
Yesterday I sent Carol for her break and she went across the road to get some food shopping. When she came back she asked to speak to me in private....she told me that when she got to the checkout and took her purse out her bag $20 was missing.
Now given that her purse was in her locker, normally I would say that she must be mistaken however....here comes the interesting part...
When I hired Carol, I gave her the key to locker numder 7, a week later I hired a girl called Laurie (again not real name) ... on my day off Brian also told her to use locker number 7 and she took the key and kept it on her keyring. As all the girls work part time and we are short of lockers, I asked if they minded sharing and gave Carol the spare key to no'7.
Now....Laurie told me she lost her locker key so she just used whatever locker was empty when she started her shift.
I am faced with 2 possibilities here..either Laurie is lying and still has that key and has used it to steal money from Carol ....or.... she is telling the truth and someone has found the key and is using it to steal money from Carol.
I have already discounted the possibility that Carol is lying or mistaken because she was distraught yesterday at losing this money and as I have already said I KNOW she cannot be mistaken because I KNOW she checks her purse when she arrives at work.
There were only 4 people that could possibly have removed that money yesterday...myself, Brian, Tina and Laurie. I know it wasn't me, Tina I would trust with my life and Brian has access to thousands of pounds in the safe so would hardly risk his job for a measly $20.
My gut tells me that Laurie is lying about losing the key but unless I find the key in her possession I can't prove it
I hate this....I detest the fact that someone I emloyed is a thief, I could cope with someone dipping their fingers in the till (still would sack them mind you) but to steal from a workmate is the lowest of the low especially when you consider that Carol is only 25(ish) and has 4 kids under 7 years old, has a disabled partner and is supporting her entire family on her meagre part time wage PLUS it's the week before damn Xmas !!!! I had to give this poor woman $20 out my own damn pocket so she could feed her kids until payday !!!!!!!
I have no doubts about Carol's honesty, her reaction yesterday was so upsetting she could not possibly have faked it......Laurie on the other hand? well lets just say I have heard enough to make me doubt her honesty but I am powerless without proof
I hope that the culprit is found next week, I hate the thought of sacking someone the week before Xmas but if it has to be done then so be it.
