Management theft

Kelly E · July 2003

This is a hard thing to have to post, but I really didn't know where else to turn for advice.

What do you do when you know your boss is stealing?
Not mega bucks or anything but still a few bucks a day. There are no cameras in our building, so I have nothing to be able to show to anyone else. I have worked with this person for 20 years and am just having a hard time deciding on how to handle this. This person is my boss and in charge of the whole building, so I really have no one else to contact at our location. I would have to actually contact our main location and I am not sure if that is my only option. Only one other person in our building is aware of the problem and we are both just totally confused on what to do. Without some kind of proof I really don't see what I can acomplish. The money that is being taken is from our vending machines. I know for a fact that this person had at least $6 in vending money on their desk one day because I counted it to see what was there. The next day this person came in and after leaving the money was gone. I have tried ignoring the fact that it is happening, but I know that's not going to solve the problem. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I really don't want to see this person loose their job, but how do you continue working for someone you can't trust?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.......

Thank you
Kelly E

Doug · July 2003

Tough one but not impossible.

1. Get a locking cash box and put the money in there immediately after taking it out of the machines. Make sure the key is not acessible.

2. Mention to the boss that "someone" is taking the money and you need his help in setting up a better security program. May also ask him for permission to have someone come in and investigate. That should put him on notice that the thefts are known.

3. Recognize that sometimes theft is an acting out behavior for a different problem. I woudn't mention that to him but ask yourself if he has any other problems that you know of which may be a factor. Hopefully it is only a temporary situation.

Good luck!

Balloonman · July 2003

Wow tough situation. If a person is stealing that how do you know they are not stealing from the company in other areas? False invoices etc. I don't know what kind of company you work for, but can you secure the vending machine money? Leaving it on the desk is not smart. Question for you, do you have an outside janitorial crew?
If it were not your boss, I would say you could go to an outside security company and get a hidden camera installed to catch the thief.
I work in the loss prevention department as a safety manager of a large retailer and they stuck me with all the responsibility of security for the corp. offices. We had to drill bits come up missing that were about to go into an employee sale. Reviewed all my video tape, turned out 20+ year 6 figure manager took them to work on a home he was building.
We had trained interviewers on staff, but we terminated his employment for theft. Theft is theft.
Tough spot when it is your boss. You need to proceed cautiously and understand the consequences. I am not saying you do not address the issue, I am just saying don't be naive about it.
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman

Kelly E · July 2003

Tough thing is my boss has the keys for vending and myself and my co-worker are the only other ones that have access to the other set of keys. My boss is also the only one that vends the machines. I have on occassion vended them myself to try to deter the theft, but it didn't seem to help. I was thinking of starting to vend them more often myself so maybe my boss would get the point that I know something is going on. I thank you for addressing my problem as best as you can. Just really lost on this one on what to do.

Margaret Morford · July 2003

This is not my favorite piece of advice to give, but maybe it will help you. How about a anonomyous call from an unidentified employee to the corporate offices to report it, an employee who reports he/she saw him take the money?

Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]

RussJ · July 2003

>This is not my favorite piece of advice to give, but maybe it will
>help you. How about a anonomyous call from an unidentified employee
>to the corporate offices to report it, an employee who reports he/she
>saw him take the money?
>
>Margaret Morford
>theHRedge
>615-371-8200
>mmorford@mleesmith.com
>[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]

I agree with Margaret. I would also suggest that your co-worker be included in making the "anonymous call", meaning discuss it with her and get her commitment to be willing to be supportive when questioned. Otherwise, the boss may become quite retaliatory when he figures it is one of two who blew the whistle.

Rockie · July 2003

You are between a rock and a hard place.

#1 - Make darn sure this person is the one that is doing the stealing. Does anyone else have any type of access to his office (cleaning crew, etc.). As bad as it may seem, make sure the other co-worker that has keys does not have access to funds. When an investigation is made, everyone who has keys will be under suspicion.

#2 - If you are sure this person is the thief, I agree with Margaret about making an anonymous call to the corporate office. For sure, you can't confront the boss about this yourself or he could turn the tables on you and/or your co-worker.

This is a very nasty situation, but it's clear that you can't just sit by and do nothing.

Good luck.

Pork · July 2003

A thief is a thief whether $1. or $1 million. Contact the home office under the "whisle blower" policy and let the chips fall where they may. The vending company should also be able to help you with where to tuen. We had a 10 year employee steal 4 hours two weeks ago and he is headed out the doooooor very soon!

Good Luck, PORK

Kelly E · July 2003

Thank you for all the advice. I know that my boss is the one doing this, but why do I feel so guilty? I don't want to have to ruin someones life. I know stealing is stealing.....I am just very unsure how things will get if I open this can of worms. What if for some reason my boss is not terminated and then I have to work with this person yet. My boss will automatically know who "blew the whistle". I am afraid of loosing my own job. I don't want to keep waiting to see if this is just a phase and dies off, but on the other hand I really don't want to involve the main building because I don't want to see someone crushed by my doing. Well I will take your advice and do my best.

Thank you,
Kelly E

Crout · July 2003

Kelly, I like the idea of going to him and saying with complete innocence on your face that you think someone is stealing, and what does he think should be done about it? You are absolutely correct that at the end of the day you will probably still have to work for this person.

sonny · July 2003

YOU are not ruining their life, they have chosed to ruin their own!!

Management theft

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