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Should stealing employees be let off?

Journalist: Elizabeth Howlett, People Management Magazine

ended 21. March 2023

I am covering a story today about a rise in employee theft and wanted to ask if employees should be let off/given more leniency because of the cost of living crisis? 

My deadline is sadly 1pm 

5 responses from the Newspage community

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Steven Mather
Lawyer & Director at Steven Mather Solicitor
Employers can certainly start civil legal proceedings against employees to recover losses and should report crimes to the police (although if relatively small they’re unlikely to do much). Employers should not deduct money from wages though, however tempting, as that will just end up as a tribunal claim you’ll lose. Obviously if disciplinary action follows a “theft” then it’s still important to follow a fair and reasonable process.
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Samuel Mather-Holgate
Independent Financial Adviser at Mather and Murray Financial
Absolutely not! On the scale of disciplinary matters, this is rightly at the top. Any trust between the company, management and the employee is broken and unfixable. No equivocation.
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Kate Underwood
Managing Director / HR Director at Kate Underwood HR and Training
If an employee has stolen from their employer due to financial hardship caused by the crisis, the employer should show some understanding and empathy. While it's not okay to steal, the employer should try to find out why the employee felt they had to do it. Depending on the severity of the theft and company policies, the employee might face disciplinary action or even lose their job. However, if the employer is willing, they could offer financial counseling or assistance programs to help the employee manage their finances better and avoid resorting to theft in the future.
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Joshua Gerstler
Chartered Financial Planner at The Orchard Practice
"No! Stealing is stealing. If employees are struggling because of the cost of living crisis the best thing to do is to talk to their bosses. Once you start breaking the law, you will lose all trust with your boss and they will not want you working with them anyway which will put you in an even worse position."
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Gemma Alicia long
HR Director at Gemma Alicia long
Employers must ensure they investigate any allegation, letting the employees explain their case and carefully considering any mitigating circumstances,

I would suggest employers carefully considers the circumstances of any employee theft, if an employee discloses they are financially struggling and this is the reason they stole from the company, the item they stole and its value should carefully be considered.