A newsagent colleague recently was stolen from by an employee. The cost to the business was $2,500. The person’s story at the interview was they had been out of the workforce for a year taking time off. However, given their age and health the story did not make sense. But it was not questioned. The reality is they were working in another newsagency for much of the year and were intimately sacked because of theft. They paid money back and left without prosecution. They found a new job in a newsagency an hour from the old job and the new boss eventually discovered their dishonesty.
If there is a gap in a resume, pursue it, ask questions. If you are not sure, don’t hire them.
There are people who like working in newsagencies because of the family aspect and the last of strict controls managing cash. This can provide a window long enough for them to steal, as they did in the latest case, thousands of dollars.
Employee theft costs between three and five times more than shopper theft yet small business retailers obsess about shopper they and tend to ignore employee theft – until it hurst them.