Stolen Bottle of Champagne

[NameChangeAndLifeChange]

A bottle of champagne, worth about £70, has been stolen from the office.

Our manager said that if it's not replaced then the four staff members will need to pay for it between us.

I've got an idea who may have taken it but I can't be 100% sure.

I'm simply not prepared to pay for it. Why should I? Everyone else thinks we should!

Apparently I may get a written warning for not contributing (whilst that thief walks free)!!!

Oof I'm so with you!

Does anyone else know if that's legal?

Are you in a union?

Of course that's not legal, you can only make deductions from someone's pay in very limited circumstances and even then it has to be written in the contract.

How do you know it wasn't the manager, or the cleaner.

Contact ACAS for advice

I wouldn’t want to pay for it either. Can they be sure it was one of the four of you? Could it have been someone visiting the office? Seems unfair that the guilty party will get away with it, whilst you have to contribute £17 or so to avoid a warning! Plus not everyone might be able to afford to pay. I think they would need concrete proof to give you a warning though and so I would probably refuse to pay.

Written warning for what exactly? Call HR, then ACAS.

Who did the champagne belong to and why were they keeping it in the office?
It could be anybody. Even if the office is locked overnight it could be security or cleaners.

Who owned the champagne? Surely if it was part of the office 'kitty' set aside for celebrations then the business will just have to take it on the chin, if the culprit won't own up.
There's no way you should have to pay for something that went missing from work. How do they know it wasn't the cleaners, or a visitor, it just someone who snuck in?
Just say someone's Rolex went walkies, someone's Maserati was nicked from the car park? Where on earth would it end?
The office management should put out an official notice saying it's 'unacceptable and disappointing that it went missing. Theft is classed as gross misconduct. All alcohol will now be locked away in X cupboard. This will only be accessible by X staff member/ office manager.'
Also I'd have thought it would be covered on insurance if they were really pressed?

Well your manager is a fool. He cannot force innocent people to reimburse him for missing champagne- or anything else for that matter.
He needs evidence as to what happened to it, or he will land himself in legal shit.
Call HR or escalate to his boss if he attempts to progress this threat. I am angry on your behalf.

The manager has no right to do this.

I notice they are not offering to contribute.

I assume the champagne was theirs?

You can't take/demand money from staff in lieu of theft. That's what insurance is for (or you write it off).

It was a bottle that was brought in as a gift for us all from a client.

The boss can be a bit of a bully boy, so the other staff think I should just pay to keep the peace and so the matter goes away. I'm now the baddie for not agreeing to pay.

No union or anything but I refuse to contribute, out of principle.

Let's see what happens. I won't let it drop!

Oh and no HR either.

I'm prepared to walk away from the job it comes to it (just to prove I can)!

Don’t pay (boss can’t deduct wages) but it’d be silly to resign over it IMO unless you have a better job lined up.

Well, there is still ACAS if there is no HR. So your boss can still very much be held accountable. Wish him luck at the employment tribunal if he decides to press on. I hear unfair dismissal cases usually pay very well. You can even swing for a bottle of bubbly for the office after you get your check.

@NameChangeAndLifeChange AND who do you suspect has taken it?? a co-worker or the boss?????

I wouldn't pay - the boss is ridiculous. Like a PP say, what if something else is stolen, are you all liable then.

No way would I pay, I would tell the manager you aren’t paying for something you haven’t stolen and he needs to check cctv and call the police if he wants to persue it, you’re happy for him to do that as you are 💯 sure if your innocence.

I wouldn't resign as such, I'd just tell him where to stick the job and walk out of the door.

I've thought of doing it previously and would probably enjoy doing so!

If it was a gift then technically nobody is out of pocket. Your manager is an idiot.

I'm with you OP plus im sure other people than the 4 of you have access to the office.

Realistically I don't know, but out of the co-workers and the boss, there's one co-worker who, to me, appears slightly more likely.

However, it's very unfair of me to guess as I've no idea and it's only based on the fact this co-worker likes a drink. This obviously doesn't mean they are guilty!

If it was a gift, who will the money be going to? Nobody is out of pocket.

It was probably the manager who took it. Refuse to pay and look for a new job,

How is he planning on getting the money from you all?

Id be making sure this was documented with exact and verbatim records of the conversations.

The manager’s on the rob.

So in fact you are being asked to pay for something that , in fact, actually "belonged" to you in the first place (joint ownership), if it was a gift for all the staff, which adds insult to the injury of the bottle going missing.

The only grounds for anyone paying for it would be if they had been caught on CCTV taking it home.
Of course it's disappointing, but no one is going to miss a glass of champagne, whereas £17 from your disposible income could be significant for some people.