Employee Theft

One in four people in Germany has taken something from their workplace at least once. This was found by the market research company GfK in 2015. Writing utensils, paper, and office and paper clips are the most sought-after items. But what consequences do such thefts by employees have? The following article by Laura Gosemann for Aaden Detective Agency Cologne provides clarification.

Theft as Grounds for Termination

Unless otherwise agreed, any private use of company resources is prohibited. The value of the stolen item does not matter. This means that even printing or copying private documents in the office can be classified as theft and may therefore result in consequences. After all, ink and paper are paid for by the employer. Provided that the relevant evidence is presented, courts see such cases as a lasting disruption of the relationship of trust, meaning that immediate termination can be justified. Even a single offense can lead to a warning or even the loss of employment, as the property of the employer or a colleague is intentionally taken.

 

Even the suspicion of theft by a specific employee is grounds for termination if there are objective facts that make the alleged violation appear likely (termination based on suspicion). In this case, however, the suspect must first be heard in order to respond to the allegations. In addition, terminations based on suspicion are often overturned in court if there is insufficient evidence. This is provided by the team of Aaden Detective Agency Cologne, which is highly experienced in employee monitoring.

Measures Depend on Discretion and Evidence

In practice, employment law consequences for property offenses in the workplace are usually assessed on a case-by-case basis. For example, if it involves a newly hired colleague, even a theft worth five euros may justify termination, as it is hardly possible to establish lasting trust with such a person and continued employment is therefore only reasonable to a limited extent. In contrast, for an employee who has worked for 25 years without incident and is already in their mid-50s, embezzlement of several hundred euros may result only in a warning.

 

There is no obligation to report workplace theft. However, it is generally advisable to sanction thefts appropriately rather than ignore them, as otherwise the wrong signal may be sent to the workforce. For this reason, even minor cases are often handled strictly, and commissioning our Cologne detectives usually already expresses an intention to terminate employment. The fact that a completely different approach can also be taken to resolve such matters, and can be very effective, is demonstrated in the case study linked below.

How Can Companies Prevent Employee Theft?

First of all, it can be stated that bag checks are often counterproductive in many companies, as they tend to demotivate employees and create a negative atmosphere. For example, such practices caused discontent in the United States when temporary workers of the online retailer Amazon went to court because they wanted the waiting time caused by the checks to be compensated as overtime.

 

In the event of suspected theft, there should also be no covert searches of, for example, the employee’s desk, as this would constitute a violation of their personal rights. Accordingly, evidence obtained in this way would have no legal relevance in court in the individual case – it would be inadmissible and could even backfire on the company itself. However, the employee may be asked to open desk drawers in the presence of a supervisor and present the contents. Depending on the situation, our economic investigators from Cologne rely on setting theft traps as well as conducting internal and external surveillance of the suspected employee or the at-risk company property (the latter if the thefts are known but the identity of the perpetrator is not).

Video Installation for Employee Monitoring

Video surveillance of employees is a particularly sensitive issue. There are three different scenarios:

 

• open video surveillance of publicly accessible areas, for example a retail store;
• open video surveillance of non-publicly accessible areas, for example a storage facility;
• covert video surveillance.

Covert video surveillance of employees is only permissible under the strictest conditions. If evidence of theft is obtained through unlawful video surveillance, it is also inadmissible in court. Employers should therefore seek legal advice in advance or consult our Cologne private detectives on the subject of employee checks (info@aaden-detektive.de).

 

As a preventive measure, companies can, for example, keep detailed records of their inventory in order to detect theft at an early stage and investigate it before significant damage occurs. Engaging a detective agency always depends on the individual case, and the credibility of the selected investigative service should always be checked in advance, as many unprofessional detectives are not sufficiently trained in legal matters and may violate the personal rights of the employee under investigation during their work.

Aaden Detectives Cologne

Hohenstaufenring 62

D-50674 Köln | Cologne

Tel.: +49 221 9859 2399

E-Mail: info@aaden-detektive.de

Web: https://aaden-detektive.de/en

 

CEO: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Register Court: Amtsgericht Köln

Registration Number: HRB 83824