Employee stealing from a food bank

[QQWWEERRTTTYYY]

NC'd for this. I run a food bank. I have a (paid) assistant Mary, along with lots of volunteers. My assistant used to be a volunteer, for context, but this is now her first proper job. She's on the autistic spectrum but very high-functioning. She is due to leave at the end of this month (travel, then uni). She's 19.

Anyway - I'm pretty sure she's stealing stock. Not donations from the public, but corporate type donations - bulk packs of biscuits, crisps etc. Always treat-y things rather than the (many) more mundane foods we have. Eg we receive two boxes of Dairy Milk at 2pm on Monday, I see them on the shelf, I head off at 3.30 and leave Mary there to finish whatever task - and when I come back in at 7 the next morning, one of the boxes is open and two large bars are missing. That sort of thing, again and again. On some of these occasions other people are in too, but the common denominator is Mary (and she'd always be the one in last/locking up). It's also extended to leaving the wrappers lying around on occasion, which is both dumb and infuriating.

Lives at home in a very well-off house, no expenses/money issues, no shortage of food - I'm quite certain. It feels, instinctively, like "teenage bottomless pit" type behaviour.

So:
Catch her out definitively?
Give her a vague but pointed chat about our stock and what it's for?
Say something before I wave her off at the end of the month?
Ignore?
Some other thing?

I don't think the value of what she's stealing is any great shakes, but a) really, who the hell steals from a food bank? b) theft is theft c) I trained her up and gave her a brilliant opportunity with this job, so I find it quite hurtful. I also would rather she learn her lesson now rather than when she's, I dunno, Chancellor of the Exchequer.

I don't have any other managers etc to bounce this off. I have trustees, who I suspect will leave it with me to make a decision as I see fit. WWYD?

Consummation with chocolate could get very messy!

On a serious note, why is a junior employee being left to lock up alone?

A lot of people have very poor impulse control around treat food. We had a tuck shop at school where things would go missing. We kept it in the headmaster's office during lessons and it turned out he was helping himself in the afternoons! He paid for the stuff but it was very awkward as year 9s to have that conversation!

I would call a whole team meeting. Make it clear it's stealing from the people you are supposed to be helping. You hope it stops here but if it happens again, you will install cameras in the stock room.

HR at a charity, this is theft and it speaks to her character, and honestly I think it's very serious, no one should be stealing anything! I think that's a basic expectation of any staff or volunteers.

No, because she’s a 19 year old employed adult. Jesus Christ.

I think calling a staff meeting is a good idea. Dont tackle her directly. But some staff could be hurt if they feel suspicion is on them.

A 19 year old in one of their first jobs(especially an autistic teen) deserves to have this spelt out very calmly and clearly. The food is to be given away BUT it is not just to be taken by staff with out explicit permission. Young people are often clueless.

I know of someone who lost their job taking a single M&S chocolate out of a broken box that was to be binned!

She has autism and might not be seeing the problem of taking it as it doesn't affect her directly because of the autism. Be nice and approach her kindly op.

I hate that passive aggressive style of management, sending everybody the email when you know Damm well who it’s addressed to as does everybody else getting the email and it just annoys everyone.

Seriously? Pretty sure if you have autism you still know what's stealing !

Consumption not consummation. 😁

A young person, autistic or not, about to start university would certainly understand the concept of theft.

Are you sure she’s not just giving extra to certain people who come in to cheer them up? I worked in a similar place and I know when we got mums upset about not being able to give their kids a treat, I’d do what I could to cheer them up.

If you’re sure then you need to be completely upfront and brazen, being subtle won’t work. ‘M, it’s come to my attention that some items are going missing. I’ve checked and this is only happening when you’re on shift. You know how much I’ve loved having you work here but this cannot happen, you need to make sure it doesn’t happen again or I’ll have to let you go and that may damage you getting a reference in the future. If you’re struggling in anyway, let me know and I’ll see what I can do’

Put it in writing to her also.

If she does it again, sack her. It’s a lesson she needs to learn. Better she learns it at 19 with a nice boss.

Have a meeting with everyone- explain some items are missing and then set up a system for things to be logged in /out

Are you sure she’s not just giving extra to certain people who come in to cheer them up? I worked in a similar place and I know when we got mums upset about not being able to give their kids a treat, I’d do what I could to cheer them up.

definitely not, it doesn’t match the circumstances - when we are open there are more people in, and nothing goes missing.

love the choc consummation, thank you for that!

Do you handle money?

eg is there a donation tin? I know at my job (in a bar so not the same!) I will often have a packet of crisps but put the money in the till. Obviously there is no till here but could she be putting some money into a tin or replacing the items?

please check before you speak to her. Alternatively, could you make a selection of things available to buy by the employees? Eg if they fancy a chocolate bar they can purchase one with the funds going to replacements.

Just a quick note to say that the rules about what food one is and isn't allowed to help yourself to can be more confusing than you'd assume. Think like food in a work fridge that is 'someones' but a biscuit barrel on the counter that is 'everyones' - My guess is that to her the food is 'free' and therefore when she takes the thing she wants she is paying the appropriate price (which is nothing). You occasionally get similar issues in charity shops.

Like many people have said talk to her, IF it is an autism issue the good news is it should be pretty easy to sort out with clear rules - is it no taking anything ever, or can staff and volunteers take stuff but they have to write it in this book and pay full retail price?

Fair enough. So when she leaves the pilfering, which yes is unacceptable, will either stop , thus resolving the issue, or carry on because it wasn’t her at all. If it stops you will know not to employ her again, if it doesn’t stop you will have to find another scapegoat who has got such sad and desperate things going on in their head or life that they are reduced to stealing bars of chocolate from a food bank.

I think I would leave it because she will no longer be working for you in a few days.

My guess is that to her the food is 'free' and therefore when she takes the thing she wants she is paying the appropriate price (which is nothing)

but why then only do it when alone?

If she is on the spectrum, vague comments about rules may not be enough. I would tell her straight out that she is not to take any food unless she ask first and that corporate donations are the same as any other. I would guess in her logic it is not a big deal if it is donated in bulk, and that her impulse control lets her down. However understandable it is, she needs to know to stop. And if she does it again, I would tell her you are ending her contract early. If she does not get this before she goes off to university, she is heading for a world of problems.

Suggesting cameras is ridiculous, illegal if you don’t do due process and way over the top.

Shes only 19, speak to her again, tell her that you’re very concerned that food is going missing as it’s depriving others of food and is theft. Just leave that with her, hopefully she will get the message, you don’t have any concrete proof so you can’t really do much, she’s leaving in a few weeks anyway!

Yep. That's all you need to say really. Quite straight forward and to the point.

Totally see why you want to say something. I'd be inclined to speak to her 1:1 and ask an open question about numbers of bars. Expect a denial but don't be afraid to then say how disappointing it is that anyone would steal from the most needy.

Some of the posts here are really pretty sadistic, ignorant, and show a complete lack of understanding of neuro divergence generally and autism in particular.

Impulse control is an incredibly well recognised trait in many ND conditions, and can lead to many dangerous scenarios not least theft, addiction, self-harm, demand avoidance etc etc. There is a massive difference in knowing what is right and being able to control behaviour. Autism and other ND conditions can be very disabling and come with many and varied complications.