To think they've blown this way out of proportion (work related)

[Jessiepops]

I work for a hotel as a housekeeper.
As well as the standard rooms there is an option is to pay an extra fee on top of the room rate for an upgraded room, where they get a few extras like bathrobes, slippers,a range of complimentary drinks and what not.
Today whilst cleaning a room, I went to throw what I thought was an empty soft drink can away and noticed the can was un-opened, since whoever had paid for it didn't want it I opened it, had a drink and put it on my trolley.
A while later one of the managers came up to check my sheet, and asked where the can had come from, I told her it was what a guest had left in their room and she started going on about gross misconduct! And how it would affect her budget, for 1. I offered to pay for it but she refused, It had already been paid for in the room rate so if any thing they were making a profit on it,
And 2. It was a can of pop! I don't see it being any different to when the other ladies make themselves a cup of tea in their rooms using tea, milk etc that's been left there.
Any how that was this morning, so I went down for lunch and everything was fine.
Started back to work and had a conversation with said manager and another housekeeper about the pop, everything was light hearted, and the other housekeeper mentioned that she'd done the same thing herself before.
So it gets to 15 minuets before I'm due to clock out and the manager appers saying she needs to send me home as she's spoke to the head manager and they're suspending me till further notice.
I'm shocked to be honest, it was a can of pop for gods sake, it says on the letter that I was steeling supply's and why did they allow me to work for a further 3 hours before they sent me home?
So now I'm sat worrying that I'm going to lose my job over drinking a can of pop!

I think if it was theft, the intention to steal would have to be there. The OP was open about having the can, taking it from the room and not attempting to hide it or be dishonest. Therefore I do not think this is theft. OP genuinely did not realise she had done wrong and apologised when she did realise after. anything more than a warning would be OTT

The item doesn't have to be concealed for it to constitute an offence of theft. The intention to deprive can be shown as she cannot replace that can as she found it once she has opened and consumed it.

Obviously, like I said earlier it's a technical point as realistically there wouldn't be a prosecution!

She may still get a warning but I would have thought her employer still has to follow the disciplinary guidelines?

Good luck with the hearing. I really hope they accept your explanation. And, y'know, lessons learned and all that. It does feel a bit OTT even if it's technically gross misconduct, so with any luck they'll be looking to make it abundantly clear that it's not ok for staff to take even small things, but ideally they won't want to lose an otherwise good employee. Hope it goes well.

also, in theory the can was bought and paid for by the occupant who had left it behind, so I reckon it belongs to the occupant and not the hotel. and then it should be a case of finders keepers! if I took a pen from work, then the pen belongs to my employer so that would be theft.

Get someone to write out a note saying "to the housekeeper,please have this can as I did not want it in the end!" then say to your boss you had
permission to have it! or ask the receptionist to contact the occupant to get retrospective permission! sorry, please ignore this paragraph

There is no such thing as "finders keeper". There is theft by finding, however.

if it was theft, was it stealing from the occupant or the employer?

Technically, it would probably be from the occupant. For a theft charge to be pursued then a statement regarding the ownership would be required and also to establish if any person had permission to remove it.

However, theft charges can also be brought if the owner can't be traced (incidents where people remove clothing from charity banks, for example)

in the case of a charity bank, wouldnt the charity now be the owner because the previous owner has left the clothes in it with the intention of the charity putting them to good use.

whereas the occupant of the hotel room has either forgotten the can or left it without any specific intention of who should now become the owner of the can and in all likelihood would probably be happy for any low paid staff to have it

We had this discussion at work about the charity banks and if memory served, the owner was deemed to be the original owner until the charity had uplifted them from the bank. That may have changed now, it's become a lot more common unfortunately.

In the can situation, the op can't assume she has been allowed to take it. Obviously in all likelihood they wouldn't care but at that point she had no reason to think she had permission from the owner to take it.

Op, whatever the legalities, I hope they just give you a warning, it appears that you were taking your cue from what other staff do, and that needs to be taken into account.
Having worked in similar job in the past I'm amazed that staff have time to make themselves drinks in the rooms they are cleaning. Where I worked we were flying around like maniacs, with a set time allowed for each room!

Fingers crossed for you!! I hope they will give you another chance.

I remember a story a while back about two guys who worked at a supermarket. They found a broken pack of M&Ms in the stock room and shared them. They were sacked for it.

Lets just hope that they don't throw the book at OP and give her a second chance as I think she has learnt a tough lesson here

It is still gross misconduct. A relative of mine worked in a supermarket. Her and a colleague were asked to take an apple pie that had went over it's best before date out to the big bin before they went for their break. They thought this was a shame/waste of a pie that still seemed okay to eat, so ate it on their break with their usual cuppa. They were seen on cctv and both got the sack. They were devastated. Neither had ever been in trouble before. I think it's stupid and leads to a lot of unnecessary waste, but better to be safe than sorry in cases like this, don't consume what you haven't paid for yourself.

I hope she gets a second chance too as seeking employment with a sacking for theft on her record would be awful. She deserves a warning, not to have her employment prospects blighted for the foreseeable future.

Also from the hotels point of view, if it was a can, it could have been left for the next occupant who opted for extras. But milk and a pot of tea that has been sitting out couldn't be re-used, so they turn more of a blind eye to staff helping themselves to a cuppa from the leftovers. Iyswim? Hope you only get a slap on the wrist op.

It's only theft if you were deliberately and knowingly dishonest. Taking something in the honest but mistaken belief that you are allowed to take it when in fact you are not is not the same as deliberately stealing something. Hopefully your employer will take that into account.

As I see it it was the guests property, they left it you took it without their consent, therefor it is theft from the workplace and as such you should be given at least a written warning

Wow some really harsh replies.

Op I think at most you should be given a verbal warning. I am struggling to see this as theft. I can understand how this could be seen as a perk of the job.

Do you have any perks in your job? Is management usually so harsh? I would contact your trade union if you have one.

If it was a perk of the job then surely management would have said
but not in so many words - iyswim

I think they have blown it out of all proportion. They could have just given you a warning and that be it. You clearly weren't being devious as you didn't hide what you had done.

I think it's harsh too. I assume you're not a member of a union? Worth talking to Acas though and remember you can (and must) take someone to the hearing with you.

A verbal warning would have been sufficient, it's ludicrous to do anything else.

And this story ladies is why you should always always be a member of a union. I learnt the hard way 3 years ago (although I did get a decent pay-off). Since then I've paid my dues. You don't need to work in the public sector to be a member, anyone can.

" wickedlazy

Also from the hotels point of view, if it was a can, it could have been left for the next occupant who opted for extras. But milk and a pot of tea that has been sitting out couldn't be re-used"

But a tea bag, which is more likely to be in a hotel room than a made up pot of tea can be reused. And its presumably these that the other cleaners are helping themselves too.

I'll admit, I steal pens from work. In that I take them hone when working from home and do not ensure they always go back. It works in reverse too, there are a lot of pens on my work desk that I personally paid for.

But whoever asked about fiddling expenses, as if everyone does it...er no I don't and never have.

Hi, for your meeting tomorrow, please emphasise these points:

You didn't realise that you were stealing something. You thought it was standard practice at the hotel (hence telling manager openly, and your colleague confirming that she also does it.).

You now realise that you made a mistake - you are very sorry and it won't happen again. Perhaps you were naive.

You don't understand why, if you were indeed a significant risk, you were allowed to work for 3 more hours (and presumably go into other rooms).

you are excellent in other ways (timekeeping, cleanliness, attitude etc).

The bottom line is that you have no rights so you are going to have to charm them. but if i were you, I'd consider a meeting a positive thing because if they wanted to sack you then they could have done it earlier. They may not have made their mind up which gives you an opportunity to persuade them to let you off with a warning.

Have you asked them if you can bring a friend or nice colleague for support? They don't have to but might say yes.

Personally, I think they are being very harsh, and if you had employment rights then you would have a good case for UD (if indeed they do dismiss you tomorrow). I say that as an employment barrister, so do feel that I actually know what I'm talking about, unlike some of the posters here (yes, I mean you, Mia1415).

How did the meeting go.