Self employed staff stealing off me!

[miss amy]

As the title says, I have got a member of staff who is self employed who I am more than convinced is stealing from me and the therapist.

When I was on holiday last year a HUGE bottle of shampoo and a HUGE bottle of conditioner wnt missing from the salon, now my member of staff in question was the only other member of staff at the time and no one else had a key/access to the salon, when I got back they claimed to not have sold it and they had no idea where it was etc got REALLY REALLY defensive, even got cheque book out to pay for it, bear in mind I had at no point accused them of taking it, just asked questions and expressed my confusion at how 2 750ml bottles of shampoo that were there before I went away had miraculously dissapeared and it hadnt been sold, we must have a ghost eh!

On sat I their bag was open on the sideboard as I was making my client a drink and I went to move the bag which was wide open and I couldnt quite believe my eyes that a tube of colour from a big box of colours,peroxides etc that a wholesalers had lent us to try and get us to swap from our current brand(the deal was that we would try it and if we didnt like it they would collect it and we would just pay for what we had used) anyway, we didnt like it so for the last 8 months this box has been sat downstairs waiting to be collected, you can only get this colour from this particular wholesalers and the staff member didnt like it so wouldnt buy it.....well the packaging is quite distinctive and it was lying there in the open bag. I am rather annoyed to say the least as I had not been asked if they could take this for personal use and if the wholesalers do eventually collect it I will have to pay for what has been ''used''

thirdly : Our streamline machine, the money obviously goes in to my bank account and the staff pay the charges for each transaction they make and come the end of the week their rent, charges and any other incidentals are deducted from the total amount that they have ''paid'' in to my bank and I pay them the difference in a cheque, the staff member is claiming an extra £54 off me this week and I randomly did a spot check of the workings out etc and checked all his reciepts and did all the calculations 3 times and got the therapist to check my workings out then my hubby checked today and we discovered this discrepancy, I am very trusting as I foolishly take everyone at face value and assume everyone is the same as me, ie: honest and trustworthy so dont normally check, now I feel very foolish for this as I dread to think how much he has skanked off me in the last year !

Finally : the therapist confided in me today that there is £50 that she can account for gone missing and she is like me and is very organised and switched on, all her bag etc is kept in the stock room(along with the above mentioned colour box) that this member of staff decided to clean last week whilst I was having a pedicure.....


HELP, I really dont know how to deal with this!

 

[kylz]

I feel for you as i am the same, i think everyone is like me, trustworthy and honest.
When i used to work at a hairdressing place one of the hairdressers used to steal from our purses in the lunch room. We soon all became aware of who it was, so we kept an eye out.

One particular day she was spotted taking money from the til and taking it out the back to the lunch room. I saw her take 2 colours from the colour bar and into the back room. One girl had a look in her bag and noticed them in there and the supervisor was witness (prob not the best thing to do). The police were called without us knowing and in 10 mins after the police arrived to check all our bags, she was caught red handed and confessed. She was sacked on the spot.

I certainly wouldnt be putting up with this, but until you have evidence it was her, theres not alot you can do but keep an eye on her.
Good luck.

 

[rtheoni]

I feel for you as i am the same, i think everyone is like me, trustworthy and honest.
When i used to work at a hairdressing place one of the hairdressers used to steal from our purses in the lunch room. We soon all became aware of who it was, so we kept an eye out.

OMG She had a lot of nerve!

 

[AndyP]

I suppose how much you actually want to keep the member of staff for her customers/rent. If you aren't that fussed then as she is self employed it should be very easy to get rid of her perhaps stating that you are changing your business and don't want her renting. This way you don't have to approach it head on. This i suppose would also depend on your contract with her, but surely you would only have to serve her notice that you wanted the agreement to end. If you wanted to keep her but wanted to tackle it I suppose you could introduce a policy of searching bags 'due to things going missing in the salon' and then seeing what you find.
My own view though is that they will always be the same so best bet is get rid.

 

[Lynne Baker]

I think AndyP is right in that you should tackle this head on. If you don't, you send a message to both her and your other staff that it's ok for you to be taken for a mug. I suggest you call your local police and ask for their advice, so that you don't fall foul of any law, and so that you don't run the risk of falsely accusing someone.

I suspect that you would be able to replace her if she is got rid of, given the number of redundancies etc happening currently. If she is ripping you off, how do you know that she's not ripping off her clients in some way too?

All in all, it's YOUR business name and reputation that's at stake; rarely do clients realise that your staff are self employed - they'll just associate your business with theft and dishonesty.

I wonder why she's nicking stuff? Does she do hair on the side and is financing it with your products?

You could also take advice from the feds about how to reduce the risk of this happening again. They'll be able to tell you about camera laws, bag searching etc.

If she is dismissed then I think you could explain to your other staff that she has been dismissed because of theft, and that you will not tolerate such disloyalty. Again, check out with the police about this. I suspect you will not be able to disclose this until she has been successfully prosecuted.

Horrible situation to be in, and I feel for you. It reminds me why I don't intend to employ people!
Best wishes.
lynne

 

[geeg]

Sack the offender/s immediately .... no messing. Get rid and I mean it. Others will take it as a strong example that stealing of any kind will not be tolerated for an instant. Give them the choice of leaving immediately or you will call in the police immediately. Trust me they will go.

Check everything from now on. Don't trust anyone at all.

I've been there several times and I've given second chances ......... DON'T! Scum like this see your best points (your trusting and taking their word for things) as your biggest weakness and they prey on it. Bastards !

Zero tolerance and no second chances. I'm very serious. In the whole scheme of things it will cause a minor blip in your business ... a minor blip is far less costly than what has been happening, is happening now and WILL continue in the future if you do not act right away.

 

[TIPTOP]

Sack the offender/s immediately .... no messing. Get rid and I mean it. Others will take it as a strong example that stealing of any kind will not be tolerated for an instant. Give them the choice of leaving immediately or you will call in the police immediately. Trust me they will go.

Check everything from now on. Don't trust anyone at all.

I've been there several times and I've given second chances ......... DON'T! Scum like this see your best points (your trusting and taking their word for things) as your biggest weakness and they prey on it. Bastards !

Zero tolerance and no second chances. I'm very serious. In the whole scheme of things it will cause a minor blip in your business ... a minor blip is far less costly than what has been happening, is happening now and WILL continue in the future if you do not act right away.

I agree with geeg on this, dont let this person get away with it, as if you turn a blind eye to it, this situation could escalate further.

Get rid!!

Sue x

 

[lady R]

you could always introduce a nightly bag search or random bag search so they don't know when its coming. Explain it by saying you have noticed items going missing and that way everyone can be in the clear as "of course you trust them all, it must be a customer...."

That will put them off if nothing else!

 

[miss amy]

they do do hair on the side yes so thats a reason why they are stealing from me, its made me so angry! I am so rubbish at confrontation and dont know if I am strong enogh to deal with it, this person is a very strong character which makes it harder!

They dont have a contract as they refused to sign one, well a rental agreement (it was a simple few bits about when the rent was to be paid, how much etc, so not even a contract as such)

Been on the phone to ACAS today and they seem to think that I will be able to get rid with no comeback, its so hard because apart from me seeing the tint in their bag, the therapist telling me that she has £50 she cant account for(bear in mind the tint is kept in the same room as her bag, the room that the stylist decided to clean last week) the shampoo going missing when I was on holiday I have no hard evidence ie; catching them in the act.

I just feel so hurt by it, I dont know if I can ask someone to leave with no hard evidence apart from me seeing things and there being no other explaination?!

 

[Cathie!]

they do do hair on the side yes so thats a reason why they are stealing from me, its made me so angry! I am so rubbish at confrontation and dont know if I am strong enogh to deal with it, this person is a very strong character which makes it harder!

They dont have a contract as they refused to sign one, well a rental agreement (it was a simple few bits about when the rent was to be paid, how much etc, so not even a contract as such)

Been on the phone to ACAS today and they seem to think that I will be able to get rid with no comeback, its so hard because apart from me seeing the tint in their bag, the therapist telling me that she has £50 she cant account for(bear in mind the tint is kept in the same room as her bag, the room that the stylist decided to clean last week) the shampoo going missing when I was on holiday I have no hard evidence ie; catching them in the act.

I just feel so hurt by it, I dont know if I can ask someone to leave with no hard evidence apart from me seeing things and there being no other explaination?!

I know it must be really difficult for you, I don't deal with confrontation very well either, but it's your salon and your rules, so you must bite the bullet and ask her to leave. She is self-employed and you have no employer obligations towards her.

Good luck.....she'll sure as hell try and sully your business as a result of asking her to leave but you'll be able to ride the storm. xxx

 

[AndyP]

Amy, I'm not far from you in Burton - i'm 6'2" 15 stone and not worried about confrontation do you want some help ?????

Seriously if they won't sign a contract I would take that as a warning sign anyway, why woudl she refuse as it protects her as much as you. I would definetly as for ACAS they are right as she is not an employee but a contractor and you woudl just be ending the contract. Looking at your website, you have a quality salon, you need quality staff you can trust or they will ruin the reputation you are obviously working hard to build. My view hasn't changed - get rid.

 

[tog]

if she has no contract you could imply that in giving her notice you are cutting down on your overheads as times are hard etc etc in other words use the recession as an excuse if she tries to question you . We all know that some other businesses are having to cut staff hours or lay people off at the moment.
BTW I agree with Andy about your website - it's FAB!
I hope you get things sorted out, I really sympathise.

 

[geeg]

Man alive .. you saw the evidence with your own EYES .. what more proof do you need?

These people wouldn't even sign your contract why?? Because they don't trust YOU. Why should you trust THEM?

People who don't trust others are generally not trustworthy themselves or they have been burnt too often.

Any confrontation will only last minutes and if you wait to long you will not be able to do it at all until the next time; and there will definitely be a next time I can assure you.

Of course it won't be nice ... so what? In a few minutes it will be OVER. Do it or you will be sorry you didn't.

 

[Nco London Gina]

I have to agree with the majority here...
She has to go. You don't even have to give a reason if she is self employed. Don't torture yourself over it any longer.

Gina xx

 

[xAnnaBannAx]

I think if you give this girl her notice...shes got time then to get as much else out of you as she can before leaving!

If you saw something in her bag then you know for definate she has stolen...even if you have no evidence of the other things...you have seen the evidence of one thing....and that is enough!

If you know you cant face the confrontation then how about writing her a formal letter outlining the facts ....then hand it to her and tell her you are giving her notice x

 

[geeg]

I think if you give this girl her notice...shes got time then to get as much else out of you as she can before leaving!

If you saw something in her bag then you know for definate she has stolen...even if you have no evidence of the other things...you have seen the evidence of one thing....and that is enough!

If you know you cant face the confrontation then how about writing her a formal letter outlining the facts ....then hand it to her and tell her you are giving her notice x

NO ... Tell her to hit the highway. No notice at all.

 

[xAnnaBannAx]

NO ... Tell her to hit the highway. No notice at all.

Tell her your giving her her cards! is what I meant :lol:

 

[sknight]

Tell her your giving her her cards! is what I meant :lol:

I agree, what a cheek, show them the door babes I know its not nice but dont let them walk over you. You will feel so much better when its done.

 

[izzidoll]

On sat I their bag was open on the sideboard as I was making my client a drink and I went to move the bag which was wide open and I couldnt quite believe my eyes that a tube of colour
...well the packaging is quite distinctive and it was lying there in the open bag.

Been on the phone to ACAS today and they seem to think that I will be able to get rid with no comeback, its so hard because apart from me seeing the tint in their bag,

This is hard evidence, and I know it is easy for me to say in the cold light of day....but I would have called her through immediately and pointed the tint out, lying in her bag, and asked her to explain.
There would be no decent explanation as she had no permission to take the tint...therefore I would have told her to take her bag (minus tint!) and LEAVE there and then.
I would even have escorted her out the premises in front of everyone, even if it meant leaving her client sitting there with perm curlers in and her chin on the floor!

NO ... Tell her to hit the highway. No notice at all.

ABSOLUTELY, no hesitation!!....let the door hit her on the way out!!!

 

[miss amy]

will keep you updated, they have been off today xx