Safeguarding Ex-employee's personal items

Uncertain

GavB79 wrote: »

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.

No.

This of it this way......

You invite me to a party at your house. However, during the party we have a screaming row. I walk out forgetting my coat. You don't suddenly become the owner of the coat.

GavB79

Uncertain wrote: »

No.

This of it this way......

You invite me to a party at your house. However, during the party we have a screaming row. I walk out forgetting my coat. You don't suddenly become the owner of the coat.

Poor analogy. So I keep the coat indefinitely do I?

Uncertain

GavB79 wrote: »

Poor analogy. So I keep the coat indefinitely do I?

Not poor at all!

Like so many things in English law there is no hard and fast time period it all comes down to what is reasonable. You certainly don't have the right to sell it or dispose of it the next day.

Three months ??? Six months ?? A year ?

GavB79

Yes but I think the majority would define eight months as unreasonable, especially for £50 of goods. By extension I could have a row with a girlfriend I lived with, throw some stuff in a suitcase and walk out then reasonably expect anything I left behind to still be there a year later?

Regardless, how about the proposal to counter-invoice for storage fees? This could be deemed reasonable also.

LadyMissA

Uncertain wrote: »

No.

This of it this way......

You invite me to a party at your house. However, during the party we have a screaming row. I walk out forgetting my coat. You don't suddenly become the owner of the coat.

but you would go back for the coat no? Or wait 8 mths?

SarEl

dseventy wrote: »

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

Have they? - it isn't clear whether the OP is the company or the employee who has been told this by the company.

Everyone has a right to be a private citizen - you do seem to have a frequent need to bring up Bar ethics whenever you don't like something I say. I can express a private opinion and not breach Bar ethics.

paulwf

So invoice for £50 is sent. The employer could send one back reclaiming their costs incurred when the employee left without notice. It could come to a lot more than £50

Andy_L

Did the company contact them about their stuff during the 2 months they were holding it?

InsideInsurance

Unfortunately you cannot simply destroy someone elses property. The correct course of action would be to inform the former employee that their personal effects needed to be collected by X date or they would be destroyed or simply send them back to the employee by recorded delivery (given their value).

The matter of them leaving and their property remaining are two seperate issues. Yes, the employer could sue the prior employee with breach of contract (assuming they had a written contract) for failure to give notice and look to recover the losses it sustained and can prove as a consequence.

I'd expect most employee's to realise this as a course of action and let sleeping dogs lay rather than risk a series of court claims against each other.

skintandscared_2

I'm surprised the ex employee has the nerve to even get back in touch, but it seems odd that if the "personal items" were just paperwork, why the company didn't just post them on?