DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS - 27.01.2011

Employees who commit crimes in their spare time

A subscriber has been tipped-off that an employee “may be involved in shoplifting”. So they want to know whether or not this is grounds for disciplinary action, or even dismissal. How should they deal with this tricky problem?

What’s the best approach?

Normally when we cover situations that involve employees who are engaged in criminal activity, the “bad deed” has already been done. But this time, our subscriber finds itself in a different position. They’ve recently been informed that one of their employees “might be shoplifting on their days off”.

Reputation at stake

Naturally, they’re worried about the negative impact that this could have on their business. For example, it could result in bad publicity, or jeopardise good relationships with other local firms. So they’ve asked us if disciplinary action is appropriate at this stage. What’s our advice on the matter?

Is there any (real) evidence?

At the moment, our subscriber has nothing more than a rumour to go on; they can’t even be sure that this is really happening. After all, it’s quite possible that the allegation is malicious. Plus, there hasn’t been any workplace misconduct, e.g. theft. Neither is there a real and apparent risk of reputational harm to their business.

Think before you leap

So if they disciplined or dismissed the employee concerned at this stage, it could easily result in a costly trip to a tribunal. So before doing anything they must find out whether the allegation has any substance, i.e. by asking the employee or finding other evidence. If it’s denied (which is more than likely) and no other hard evidence exists, nothing can really be done at this stage.

Police involvement

However, the situation will be quite different if there is hard evidence, e.g. the employee has been caught shoplifting and receives a criminal conviction. If this is the case, our subscriber needs to decide how to respond. As shoplifting will amount to theft, it arguably impacts on their job. Therefore, it’s perfectly acceptable to suspend them pending a disciplinary hearing.

Tip. If you decide to suspend an employee during disciplinary proceedings, you must continue to pay them in full until a decision, e.g. to dismiss, is made. This will avoid the risk of an unlawful deduction of wages claim.

What about disciplinary sanctions?

Provided they have solid evidence, our subscriber can impose a disciplinary sanction; they could also view the shoplifting as gross misconduct, i.e. not only is it a criminal activity, it brings their reputation into disrepute. However, it’s important to remember that each case must be judged on its own facts; there’s no one size fits all solution here.

Tip 1. We advise you to have a robust policy that outlines how you will deal with staff who commit criminal offences (see The next step).

Tip 2. Require all staff to inform you of any criminal charges that may affect their ability to carry out their job and emphasise the negative impact this can have on your business.

For a free sample criminal offences committed by staff policy, visit http://personnel.indicator.co.uk (PS 13.03.05).

Accusations of criminal activity outside working hours aren’t enough to bring disciplinary proceedings; hard evidence, i.e. a conviction, is vital. You can require their disclosure in criminal offences committed by staff policy. If an offence is committed, a disciplinary sanction, e.g. dismissal, can safely be imposed.


The next step


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