We’ve recently dealt with two instances of embezzlement; both absolute, bare-faced examples of theft.
One in particular stretches the boundaries of belief, but I promise that it did happen!
The employee in question was an accounts and payroll person who’d been granted a ‘working from home allowance’ during the Covid lockdown.
Yes, six years ago.
She’d successfully managed to secure £500, tax-free, every month to cover the expenses of working from home.
That in itself was a particularly impressive feat given that she was already working from home a couple of days a week when lockdown hit, so had no need to buy equipment.
But if we think back to the chaos of that time, we can probably just about understand it.
Less understandable? The fact that she continued to take that £500 every single month, without stopping.
This arrangement was only queried in March this year, when her boss left, and the remaining owner and directors started looking at the finances. Her defence when questioned?
“I have never claimed for overtime, and I have done loads!”
It’s not the only case of embezzlement we’ve dealt with recently – another payroll person ‘forgetting’ not to pay themselves for days when they weren’t working.
Not logging them as holiday. Not treating them as sick days. Just getting paid as normal.
In both cases, the error, whether intended or not, was compounded by months of no one noticing.
Which highlights a key principle: you have to watch the watchers; payroll staff should have two consecutive weeks off each year, so you have ample opportunity to spot any abnormalities.
And during the year itself, I’d strongly recommend checking their salary, at a minimum, to spot any abnormalities or aberrations.
Yes, it’d be lovely just to ‘trust them’, but sadly I’ve seen too many occasions where trust results in trouble – trust is not a strategy!
