Theft from employer

[Undertaker90]

Hello peeps

My husband maybe sacked due to a incident that happen months ago. He took one written off, non-working and not fit for use laptop home from work.

The background story was that he wanted to buy a laptop and he came across a used laptop with some faults. He was discussing with the seller and trying to narrow down the fault for weeks. Eventually he had some idea and asked the seller for a part number of the fault chip. But the part number wasn’t present. Since the item was a similar age to the a broken laptop at work. He decided to bring it home and record the part number. The idea was to take the laptop back once he recorded the info. But he was reported and suspended for a week so the business can investigate. He is in possession of the laptop and he will return it.

The husband is having a very stressful time and locked himself in a lock. He is crying and not eating well and I can’t see him like that. :(

He thinks he will possibly be fired and maybe reported to the police. Will he expect a prison sentence for the theft and breach of trust?

I've had another read of your circumstances, so forgive me but I'm still confused.

You say this happened months ago but has only just been suspended for a week. He isn't doing well so I assume this is current.

So did he take the 'not fit for use' laptop home months ago and has not returned it yet? Did he intend to remove the part or restore it for his own use? Or have I got it wrong?
If it is the case that the laptop was removed from the premises months ago, it would have been reported a while ago so he will have been given ample time to return it without anything been made of it, maybe a disciplinary. The fact that he hasn't is why he is here now. As another poster has said it depends on the content of the laptop. If confidential it shouldnt be removed from the premises without authority and the longer its been away from the workplace obviously opens them up to a whole lot of breaches and crap.

If it was a 24 hour turnaround I would get it but you said this happened months back and they are only taking action now

Can you find some evidence of his intentions (the part number thing) through texts or emails or even browsing history?

I can't work out the timings of this. If it was "months ago" surely he returned the laptop. Doesn't theft have to have an "intent to permanently deprive" someone of the item? Still probably gross misconduct though.

To be honest I still can't work out the timings either, if it happened months ago and he was suspended the following Monday after he took it, and the suspension was for a week, why has he still got it.

Also the allegation of theft (title :theft from employer') would imply that the laptop has never been returned.

How was it reported? Did someone see him doing it? Or is there a tracker or something on there that when turned on alerted them to its whereabouts? Sorry if that sounds far fetched but I really am finding this hard to understand, which is probably why there are so many comments now challenging this post.

Whether innocent, a genuine mistake, or done with intent to never return it, you would feel shit when getting found out, as you have still been employed by them for all that time so you know full well you have betrayed them whilst still working with them and getting paid.

It's defo time to take responsibility and resign or take whatever their decision, which is likely to be dismissal.

He will get over it and I hope to God learns a lesson from this