Stealing

[RedAdmiral]

I'm not sure exactly what to write but on wednesday I left early to teach so the cash was left in the till and the end of day hadnt been done on the credit card machine so when I came in yesterday I had to cash up. I put the money in an envelope in the till. I always keep all the weeks cc slips together so that was the envelope I put the money into. I also had some money that the make-up girl had given me for rent in the till. On my lunch yest -bout 3pm I broke a fifty to get change I was gone about 10mins max and put the change into the envelope by mistake. I then sat at the desk for about 90mins playing wit glitter and got back up to do a tan and then a full set. Both the junior and the make-up artist sat by the desk in that time and went home at the same time.
When it came to cashing up at 9pm both the make-up girls envelope was missing and yesterdays takings PLUS all the credit card slips

I stayed until half 10 last night and ripped the place apart this morning. I know for sure they were there at 3pm so where has my money gone to? As you can see from my profile pics the salon is open plan so you would see if a client was in the till. I dont want to accuse anyone but why have only 2 envelopes dissappeared and not any of the cash in the till from last nites takings?
I'm so annoyed it 100% is not here, I 100% didnt move the money, I worked a 9-9 shift away for 10mins and on the shop floor all day. I understand I did a stupid thing by leaving money in the till but is that it should I investigate or what?

 

[glitz]

I would be tempted to ring the police Theft is Theft whether it was inside or not. How well do you know these girls, have you ever noticed product disappearing ? If you are sure it cant have been taken by a client or a passer by then, perhaps if you let your staff know that you are calling the police to take this further then if one or both of them are guilty you may find it turns up unexpectedly or at least you will notice a change in their behaviour. If it is logged with an incident number can you clam on your insurance?

 

[Exquisite Touch]

ring the police darling you cant afford to loose that money, if you can claim on your insurance i would do. It really annoys me when people are like that why cant they keep there fingers to themselves
I hope you find your money hun but if not ring the police maybe they can sort it. I had 100 quid stolen outta my house by one of my sons friends (hence why they dont come in anymore) I rang the police it was my mortagage money little sod had spent it on sweets in the shop.

thinking of you
Debbie

 

[sknight]

ring the police darling you cant afford to loose that money, if you can claim on your insurance i would do. It really annoys me when people are like that why cant they keep there fingers to themselves
I hope you find your money hun but if not ring the police maybe they can sort it. I had 100 quid stolen outta my house by one of my sons friends (hence why they dont come in anymore) I rang the police it was my mortagage money little sod had spent it on sweets in the shop.

thinking of you
Debbie

I agree babes don't wait a minute longer, the betrayal is the worst feeling eh? :hug:

 

[weezie]

If it was one of your employees then the threat of getting the police involved may make the money "turn up". Tell them you will be calling the police then if it does turn up then you will know it was one of them. If the credit card slips have been stolen there is no question of not calling the police as clients card details could be at risk for fraud. I would think you should be able to trust employees and it is unlikely they did it but one of my (ex) close friends stole from another friend and it was a big shock to me so anything is possible!

 

[connor1]

Yay I totally agree with Weezie, please call the police and or threaten to, and you will see the lost money suddenly turn up!! :hug:

 

[tigi]

you need to call the police. You will need a crime ref number if your insurance covers theft of cash.

its very sad, I know it must be heartbreaking not to know who has done it, but I think if you tell the girls you are going to have to call the police and you are telling them so that they wil be aware that they will need to make statements. (this way you are not accusing them as such)

Maybe the money will turn up, maybe it wont, but at the end of the day you owe to whichever girl is innocent and yourself to make sure that this crime is reported.

tigi

 

[marioned]

If you don't report it, even if the culprit isn't found, what is to stop it happening again? If you do call in the police it will make whoever is responsible certainly think again before stealing anything else. What a shame this has happened to you. xx

 

[bombini]

Definetley call the police. To be honest I doubt very much if they have taken it that it would scare them into secretly returning the money to the salon but you still need to call them.

Money has gone missing from our salon before, one time the police were called and although it was fairly obvious who had taken it, without proof nothing can be done.

Your insurance may or may not cover it but if they do you will still need a crime reference number.

If you think it is an 'inside job' so to speak then I would either restrict access to the til to yourself only or install a video camera at reception (no idea how much this would cost though)

 

[Noodle]

You should definitely report it to the police ... theft is a crime, in whatever shape or form.

 

[Urban Geek]

I do think you should report it to the police.

I would also interview each of the girls individually and see what you can find out from that. Perhaps ask the advice of the policy how best to approach this situation as I am sure they are best placed through experience.

It is very disappointing but don't penalise both the girls as there may be one of them may be innocent and I sympathise with her too.

If you don't nip it in the bud now, you will never be able to relax/trust anyone you work with.

Good luck! xx:hug:

 

[Jinxy]

Hi. This is a horrible situation, one i have experienced. Not only do you have to deal with the loss of money but your trust in your staff becomes eroded. Yes go to the police of course but install a security camera a.s.a.p, this will give you proof should you go through it again. Plus it will prevent a potential witch-hunt, like in my first job when two innocent members of staff walked out after being hounded and persecuted. Not suggesting this will happen but its the last thing you need on top of everything else. Hope this resolves itself swiftly, best of luck.

 

[soriminah]

A friend of mine was a manager of a shoe shop and about $1000 went missing from the till. As 3 other girls worked there it was hard to try and find out who it was. No-one ever said it was them and my friend never trusted any of them again as she didn't know who it was and who she could or couldn't trust.

I'd ask the girls individally what they were doing, what they saw etc. You could say it along the lines of 'moneys missing, did you see anyone hanging around, was the till left unattended etc', That way you're not accusing anyone and they're not feeling like they're being interrogated. There's nothing worse then being accused of doing something when you haven't and you don't want to lose staff if they're accused of doing something they haven't.

If someone walked in off the street - they could pinch money from the till in less than 30 seconds. If you were doing the tan and the room was unattended for a few minutes while the other girls were doing something else, it's always a possibility.

I'd look at investing in a hidden camera that the staff don't know about. One salon owner I know had one in a clock so she could easily see what was happening. She found out that one of her girls was going to leave in a few months and was trying to take the clients from the salon with her. Needless to say she was sacked immediately.

Hope you get it sorted though and find out what happened.

 

[1999judy]

That's so awful hun. I hope you get it sorted but it kindof leaves you with a sense of betrayal and bad feeling now doesn't it? The police won't do anything tbh but you NEED a camera definately xxx

 

[Lucia Etch]

I found an article on the MSN news website about this same thing.America in financial crisis - MSN Money
It's about the U.S. but scary for everyone.
Im sorry that you have to go through this.
It's the B-word.

 

[Lynne Baker]

Before installing a hidden camera it would be worthwhile checking out the legalities of doing so.

"Some employers monitor their workers without informing them that this is happening, for example, by use of hidden cameras or audio devices. This is very rarely legal. Guidance under data protection law says that secret monitoring should not be allowed in private areas at work, such as staff toilets, unless there is serious crime involved, such as drug dealing."

Taken from this website.

 

[Teebster]

I would definately contact the police but just a word of warning make sure you do everything by the book. Look on the ACAS website to make sure you are within your rights as unfortuanately it is at times like this when it feels as though it is stacked up against the employer and it seems as though you have less rights than ever. My husband owns his own business and one of his shop staff was stealing money from the till which he had monitored for some time and had all the evidence. When confronted she admitted to stealing and even boasted how long for and how much, but because he dismissed her immediately in front of an independant whitness of her choice, she took him to a tribunal appeal for not calling her back the next day to give her time to mount her defense. She did not win the appeal but it still cost us money (£5,000) in costs because she had now money and jobless, and is still paying back a pittance and probable we will never receive all she stole. So do go ahead or you will feel uncomfortable with all your staff and have trust issues (obviously) but be carefull and seek advice. xx

 

[soriminah]

Before installing a hidden camera it would be worthwhile checking out the legalities of doing so.

"Some employers monitor their workers without informing them that this is happening, for example, by use of hidden cameras or audio devices. This is very rarely legal. Guidance under data protection law says that secret monitoring should not be allowed in private areas at work, such as staff toilets, unless there is serious crime involved, such as drug dealing."

Taken from this website.

Of course not but RedAdmirals till is in an open plan room. It's no different to the security cameras used at the local supermarket to keep an eye on customers and discourage theft. The lady I knew, her nail salon was open plan also and she had a camera in a clock on the back wall which showed the entire room which was the nail tables, waiting area and front door. This is also for your own safety as well, so if it happens to pick up staff stealing, at least you know who it is. It's no different to a normal security camera except you aren't telling everyone you have one.

 

[Lynne Baker]

Some employers monitor their workers without informing them that this is happening, for example, by use of hidden cameras or audio devices. This is very rarely legal.
This applies to open plan areas too!

 

[Lucia Etch]

I let everyone know they are being recorded.

I put camaras in.
I also post a sign that there are cameras being used.

I did it for myself, and the safety of my staff.
It keeps people honest.