Storeowners don’t want to think their employees will steal from their store. But every day merchants discover that their trusted staff members have done exactly that. According to a retail theft survey conducted by Jack L. Hayes International, a loss prevention consulting firm, one out of every 40 employees was apprehended for theft by their employer in 2012. The survey also found that on average, employees steal 5.5 times more than shoplifters on a per-case average ($715.24 vs $129.12).
Employee theft can range from seriously toying with accounts to taking home a stapler from the office, but it all adds up. The first thing to do in order to prevent employee theft is to simply expect it.
Deposit refer to payment schedule above staellite
• Employee Apprehensions: 78,085 dishonest employees were apprehended in 2013, up 6.5% from 2012.
• Employee Recovery Dollars: Over $55 million was recovered from employee apprehensions in 2013, up 2.5% from 2012.
• One in every 39.5 employees was apprehended for theft from their employer in 2013. (Based on over 3.0 million employees.)
• On a per case average, dishonest employees steal 5.4 times the amount stolen by shoplifters ($706.21 vs $130.89).
No company, including yours, is immune from employee theft. In fact, according to the US Chamber of Commerce, employee theft is costing American business $40 billion annually and is increasing by 15% per year. In the past, we recognized employee theft as “raw materials walking out the backdoor”. Today’s trends indicate a dramatic shift towards more sophisticated “crimes” involving fraud, embezzlement, or skimming often taking place over several (or many) years, usually involving older workers than younger workers and often involving the company computer network. Small, private employers are the most vulnerable to employee theft and abuse. But, public companies, not-for-profits and governmental agencies are far from protected against employee theft. At one time or another, it is likely that every employer will face some aspect of theft in the workplace, and typically, from their longest serving, most trusted employees. The typical examples of employee theft can vary from:
• A bookkeeper conspires with a vendor to submit phony or inflated invoices and split the company’s inflated payments.
• A payroll clerk overpays expenses to employees, splitting the excess payments.
• A purchasing agent buys personal items through company paid invoices.
