Theft in the workplace is at an all-time high, with eight in 10 employers admitting they have experienced incidents in the past 12 months.
A survey of 529 UK employers by law firm Peninsula found that 87% of them admitted to having a problem with theft during the past year – a 10% increase on the previous year.
Almost nine in 10 (88%) believe that employees were responsible for theft, but less than half have put measures in place to try and prevent stealing in the workplace.
However, two-thirds said they had challenged workers in instances of suspected theft.
Peter Done, managing director of Peninsula, said: “It is up to businesses to adopt a work culture that regards theft not as a normality, but as a serious threat to both trust and relationship ethics.
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“It would be widely believed and agreed that stealing from your employer is wrong,” he said. “Regardless of how big or how small the item of theft may be, theft is theft.”
