Safeguarding Ex-employee's personal items

GavB79

Employee leaves company without notice. Employer writes to employee asking for confirmation of resignation and receives no response.

Employee visits company eight months later requesting return of personal items left behind. Company had held said items for a period of two months then disposed of them.

Company is entitled to tell employee where to go?

Employee states they may invoice for value of discarded items. Company is minded to ignore such an invoice, but if so inclined is within rights to raise a counter invoice for storage of abandoned items for two months, to coincidentally match or exceed value of employee's invoice?

Abandoned items not deemed to be valuable at all (paperwork).

SarEl

What personal items? I saw no personal items. Are you sure you didn't take them? Well how can you prove that - you walked out and the only person who knew you were walking out was you.

kingfisherblue

GavB79 wrote: »

Employee leaves company without notice. Employer writes to employee asking for confirmation of resignation and receives no response.

Employee visits company eight months later requesting return of personal items left behind. Company had held said items for a period of two months then disposed of them.

Company is entitled to tell employee where to go?

Employee states they may invoice for value of discarded items. Company is minded to ignore such an invoice, but if so inclined is within rights to raise a counter invoice for storage of abandoned items for two months, to coincidentally match or exceed value of employee's invoice?

Abandoned items not deemed to be valuable at all (paperwork).

Sounds like something off Judge Judy.....

Uncertain

SarEl wrote: »

What personal items? I saw no personal items. Are you sure you didn't take them? Well how can you prove that - you walked out and the only person who knew you were walking out was you.

Tut tut........

The OP said "Company had held said items for a period of two months then disposed of them"!

The truth and nothing but the truth???

Uncertain

GavB79 wrote: »

Abandoned items not deemed to be valuable at all

In which case offer to pay the full market value - i.e. nothing!

SnowyOwl_2

Give the employee directions to the tip and s/he can find them for him/herself. There is no duty of care for the employee and his/her possessions, and particularly not after the employee had terminated their own contract.

Though as the personal items were paperwork, then the company could have posted them to the employee along with the P45.

Any invoice sent by the employee would quite rightly go in the bin.

bluenoseam

I would suggest ex-employee is lucky that they retained them for 2 months prior to disposal, 8 months, you're joking right.

Mistral001

Looks like a war of claims and counter claims could start. They have dug their heals in and are not willing to give you anything. Accept it and move on.

Call in when you are managering director of their biggest rival and remind them of the issue - they might have a few red faces then, but at the minute they are not bothered.

GavB79

Mistral001 wrote: »

Looks like a war of claims and counter claims could start. They have dug their heals in and are not willing to give you anything. Accept it and move on.

Call in when you are managering director of their biggest rival and remind them of the issue - they might have a few red faces then, but at the minute they are not bothered.

In this hypothetical situation, I am on the company side - hopefully this is clear. I wouldn't dream of walking back into an ex-employer 8 months later asking for my stuff back.

As it happens, a hypothetical invoice may have turned up for this hypothetical situation, for the grand total of £50. Seriously, would you bother 8 months later??

dseventy

SarEl wrote: »

What personal items? I saw no personal items. Are you sure you didn't take them? Well how can you prove that - you walked out and the only person who knew you were walking out was you.

The company has recognised the fact that they had the items.

So much for the bar council guidance about highest standard of ethics?!?

OP, can you prove you tried to contact the employee about them leaving?

D70

GavB79

The company could prove letters were sent to the last known address. But why should it matter? The company has no responsibility here surely, it's not as if the employee was escorted from the premises without an opportunity to gather their things.