CCTV over the till in the shop

custardy

RM buildings already have CCTV so the staff are already aware they could be being filmed

pitkin2020

custardy wrote: »

RM buildings already have CCTV so the staff are already aware they could be being filmed

The sorting office in question only had CCTV covering the exterior they only installed CCTV inside when they conducted the investigation. Obviously there may be areas of CCTV inside, but during the investigation everywhere was covered by CCTV.

pitkin2020

from CAB site
Some employers monitor their workers without informing them that this is happening, for example, by use of hidden cameras or audio devices. This is very rarely legal. Guidance under data protection law says that secret monitoring should not be allowed in private areas at work, such as staff toilets, unless there is serious crime involved, such as drug dealing.

The way I read that, is there is scope for secret monitoring especially in an open shop front area. I understand what your saying about the legality and maybe the OP would need to seek some legal advice first. This would probably be the last measure to use and maybe the first action should be to put some checks in place first to ensure errors aren't being made in the cashing of the till etc.

eyeinthesky

Don't know about cost but my employer uses stuff from this manufacturer, http://www.360visiontechnology.com/ if you want a covert camera, you can find lots on ebay at good prices. I bought one for £25 couple years ago, it is wireless, works on battery or mains and will transmit good quality colour video and sound, which you can record on a regular vcr or dvd recorder. Hope this is useful.
BTW, guess what my job is?

pitkin2020

Have to say if I was the OP I would be installing the camera if I was sure that someone was thieving and its not just a clerical error. After the advice on here I probably wouldn't tell anyone I was filming and I wouldn't tell anyone what I found out from it if anything at all. I would just need to know who was doing it and who I would need to keep my eyes on. Most small businesses just can't afford to sustain a daily/weekly loss from possible theft.

Obviously thats unofficial advice which you would never do:rolleyes::rolleyes:, and could get you into trouble looking at the legal side of things.

olly300

pitkin2020 wrote: »

The sorting office in question only had CCTV covering the exterior they only installed CCTV inside when they conducted the investigation. Obviously there may be areas of CCTV inside, but during the investigation everywhere was covered by CCTV.

RM is a bad example to use here as they have a specific law on their side - Section 83 of The Postal Act 2000. This law states it's an offence for postal operators to interfere with the mail in transit.

As a small employee thinking that every employee you "catch stealing" will resign quietly and won't seek revenge is wrong. At some point you will either have to sack someone who had an honest reason for acting like they did, or find someone who is dishonest but well connected/has some knowledge of the law.

The legal fees for tribunal claims and investigations by regulatory bodies aren't cheap therefore as I stated before you are better of seeking legal advice about the methods you can use to sort the problem out before you act.

olly300

anamenottaken wrote: »

Installing CCTV is not though changing the terms of an employee's contract of employment.

Unfortunately lots of people are not reasonable.

There are a lot of tribunal cases simply because an employer doesn't make it crystal clear with proof that they are monitoring/watching an employee do stuff.

Regardless of whether the employer is in the right to do this and the employee has been behaving badly, the claims wouldn't exist if it simply stated in the employee's contract that they would be under surveillance.

Lexxi

What if you catch them? Do you go to the police? Do you suspend them? When you hold your disaplinary and sack them, what happens when they appeal? What if they say it is a training issue?

You would be better to keep a chart of the till being up/down, do your checks, not necessarily at the end of the shift but when you have worked out who has the till up or down the most and then check your till journal. Things like using someone elses log in or amounts that you don't charge (meal £0.01) will give you a better idea of who it is. You can then confront them with their till being wrong a lot and ask if there is a problem, or tell them they should know the till by now.
A girl had her till down by £10, I only caught her because she was the only one that was on. We'd lost £50 from knowing it was her, confronting her with the problem and telling her we were going to investigate to her leaving.
Or tell people that under ringing, or taking money is theft and you will go to the police