135 newsagents responded to the poll on theft and indicated that theft is not a major concern.
On theft by customers, 72.9% said it cost up to $5,000 in the last year while 14.6% said it cost between $5,000 and $10,000.
On theft by employees, 69.1% said they had suffered none in the last year, 20.2% said it has cost up to $5,000 and 8.5% said it had cost between $20,000 and $50,000 in the last year.
55.1% said there had been no increase in theft i the last year.
Click on the image for a more detailed breakdown on employee theft.
My experience working with newsagents on theft is that most don’t know they have suffered until after the event. This could be years. Often, by then, the cost has reached $200,000 or more. Studies in other retail situations show that theft is retail costs between 3% and 5% of sales. My experience in the newsagency channel is that this is an accurate assessment.
The key for newsagents is to manage for measurement of employee and customer theft. Saying there is no time or that it is too hard could be costing your business tens of thousands of dollars a year.
Employee theft is happening even if you think your employees are like family. It could be a drink here, scratchie there. It does not need to be solely cash but like Mark stated it could take years to find and only after they get greedy.
We found one long term employee had stolen hundreds of thousands over the years only after his daughter got into the act and took money on the same day.
These were people we had over for xmas dinner and birthdays but when they got caught they could not care less as they had no way of paying it back and we could not get them for a large enough amount for the police to charge them.
It is happening so follow the steps Mark has set out, if tills are not balanced to within $5 it comes out of the employees pocket or they stay behind and find it.
Luke,
Deducting money from employees when the tills are out is completely illegal.
You may be able to get them to stay longer than their rostered shift, however they must be paid as per the relevant award or agreement.
I have said it before SSSH Jarrod the adults are speaking
I’d never deduct money from an employee if the tills are out.
Luke,
Unauthorised deductions are a serious matter. Employers can, and have, been prosecuted for it.
I would advise any employee that has had their wage deducted without authorisation to speak to their employer or contact the relevant workplace authority. The same applies to anyone who is being under-paid.
Do not attack me personally to deflect from the fact you are not only breaking the law – but flaunting it.
All employers have a responsibility to both follow the law and act in good faith towards their employees. No employer should be surprised when they get screwed over if they’ve been doing the same to their employees.
http://www.workplaceinfo.com.au/resources/employment-topics-a-z/wages-deductions-from
When we bought our business we tookover staff who thought it was their right to help themselves to confectionary and stationary, One even used to take petty cash and go to the cafe and get coffees for all. Of course we clamped down and put some rules in place. 2 staff members we so upset about “withdrawal of priviliges” that they resignated. They’re not missed.