Ethical question about work

[maybeuptight]

Name changed just in case.

I work in a third sector organisation that helps vulnerable people. Yesterday we received a donation from a public body of a number of Bluetooth tracker tags. My understanding was that they were intended to be distributed to families where a carer might need to keep track of a vulnerable loved one in the community. They were branded items, that cost £25-35 online.

I went into a meeting, and when I came out I found that more than half of the tags had been "claimed" by staff with the permission of the manager. My understanding is that around a dozen trackers were taken by 2-4 individuals.

I know I'm short on sleep and might be inclined to overreact at present. But I felt shocked and angry at the idea of staff taking things for themselves that were intended for the people we are paid to support.

I emailed my manager and said I felt that some individuals had gone too far. I understand that some of the team have vulnerable family members and if they took a tracker home for a loved one, then it's still meeting its intended purpose.But if some staff are taking home goods that are potentially worth over £100 (on the day they arrived and without attempting to distribute them to service users), then I feel that they are potentially abusing their position. I said that I had already identified families in need of the remaining devices and asked that they be held in reserve.

Today I'm completely bricking it and second guessing myself. If the boss gave people permission to help themselves, then I've basically undermined her. On the one level I really can't relate to what these Co-workers did. But maybe my expectations were unrealistic?

Ethically, you’re clearly in the right. Expensive equipment donated to a charity obviously needs to be used in the service of the charity, whether it’s by the service users or staff doing work. Staff pocketing it is not servicing the charity.

Your manager’s reaction won’t necessarily reflect that, of course, especially if they sanctioned it and are feeling defensive. If you worded your mail sensibly and sent it only to the manager then you should be fine - if they still react badly then that’s their fault and not yours.

You are completely right, what they did was wrong. I hope your manager recognises this. The staff should not have helped themselves at all, regardless of their personal circumstances. The public body who made the donation will 100% have expected the items to be distributed by your organisation to the vulnerable people you assist, not to your employees.

I would be horrified if I made a donation intended to be used by vulnerable service users and found they had been taken by staff members.

I can't believe the cheek of people sometimes. I bet they think they are morally decent because of where they work too. I would be tempted to ask in general earshot why they had taken them and who they were giving them to, but I wouldn't trust my tone and the potential for drama is high so I would leave it.

I hope this has a peaceful resolution op, I agree it all depends on your managers original instructions and their reaction now. Good luck!

You’ve done the right thing. I hope you get a positive response from the manager but if not I would escalate. To the CEO or non exec directors. Do you have a whistleblower hotline?

I agree with pp , you have fine the right thing .
If your manager has agreed that the staff can take them home ( which I really hope they haven't) then I think s/he should be held accountable to their hire management.
The only thing you need to make sure of before going in guns blazing is that they haven't already been handing to the careers without you knowing about it.

Personally I'd see if there was a way to deactivate them so the thieving buggers can't use them.

I did try to be careful with the wording. I said even if they had permission, I felt that staff needed to exercise discretion in how many they took and how they were used.

But who knows how it will be received.

You were right to bring this up with your manager and I hope they have the integrity to, at the very least, ensure the remaining tags are kept for service users.

I directly asked if any had been given to service users, and no one could tell me a name of a person who had received them. A colleague was with me when I asked, and I think our gobsmacked expressions made it clear what we thought.

One colleague lied and said "well, I had one..." and I was later told she had actually taken "one" pack of 4. So around £100 worth.

Another colleague messaged me in the evening saying she had stashed a pack of 4 because another team member and I weren't in the room and she didn't want us to miss out. 🤦‍♀️ I know that's kind of thoughtful, but it's not about is missing out. It's supposed to be about keeping vulnerable people safe.

I have worked for charities for years and this completely unacceptable.

The donation was made with the understanding it would help the charity's beneficiaries, not be used as a freebie by staff for their personal use.

If she does not correct her mistake I would report her to her manager. I would be concerned that this is not the first time that theft (because that's what it is) of donated goods happens.

You are right to challenge the decision of a manager in any situation. Managers are people and they make mistakes too, they need to be given the feedback. You are correct in saying that the donation was made to provide a solution in the workplace, not a personal gift to staff.

Objectively, the only thing you can question in what you did is how you did it. If you said ‘good morning, I’d like to clarify XYZ. My understanding is that this was intended in XYZ capacity, it has come to my attention that XYZ has happened, do you believe this is in line with the policy / intended purpose’ or did you just blow off and say ‘manager has done this it’s not ok’.

I work on charities too and your charity should absolutely have a policy on donations and also on gifts, including gifts to staff. Trawl your policies/intranet etc to find it and raise it again as it's totally unacceptable.

We do have a policy that covers accepting gifts and hospitality, which requires that gifts over a certain amount be reported to a part of the organisation with ethical oversight.

I did try not to just blow off at the boss and to keep things factual. Since the manager isn't "front line" they may not know the know the value of the items and they may not have realised how many were taken.

I said something like, "I'm aware that we started the day with X number (£Y value), and when I went to put them away there were Z remaining (A value). I was informed that staff had been given permission to access them, and on enquiry was unable to identify that any had been distributed to service users. Even when given permission, I feel that staff also need to exercise some discretion in how they use resources that could benefit service users."

I think you were absolutely right in raising this. Let's hope it was a momentary lapse in judgement by all concerned, and that your manager agrees with you that the devices should be for the benefit of service users.

Goodness me, you are totally in the right here. Well done for flagging it. I hope the situation is corrected and staff think twice in future before putting themselves ahead of your service users.

I think your mail is perfect. Would love to know how it works out!

They are appalling and you were in the right. Did your boss know!

What structure/roles do staff have? If you did that with supplies in a school staff room, staff would take them and use them for the appropriate purpose in the class at the time they were needed. To stock the cupboard in readiness, so to speak.

Are you sure staff didn’t take them intending to distribute them as and when they were needed by the clients they work with?

Jfc if your boss ok’d staff taking items donated for service users then they need the whistle blown on them.

No, staff weren't taking them to stock anywhere. They took them off the premises.

The email response I got was basically "Thanks for sharing your views and feelings. I'd rather you didn't bottle them up. Let's chat tomorrow."

I feel like that tells me everything I need to know.

So many charities are like this ☹️

Imanage a small team within a charity supporting people at risk of exploitation. I would go ballistic if any of my staff did this but tbh, I'd be gobsmacked that they would even think to do it. Jeez, even at any event with service users, they wouldn't go near a buffet until it was clear that all service users had more than enough and the opporthnity to take some hjme had been offered.. Even then, they'd only take obvious surplus that would be binned.
You did the right thing by flagging this but I agree from your managers response, they probably will focus on your reaction instead of a breach of ethical behaviour.

I would stick to any outlined policy in staff handbook etc and seek clarification.

Good luck.

Well, the follow up was only partly effective.

Manager insisted that it was "a judgement call" to allow staff to take one tag each and that "many hadn't realised" there were 4 in each pack instead of just one. Also "they had only cost the donating service £30 each". So staff were asked how many they had yesterday and they were redistributed so staff who were present had one each.

Also the manager had not taken an initial count to see how many there were. I had counted and that after redistribution, there were at least 2 packs missing. That was met with a shrug. Zero interest and definite annoyance that I had queried the situation.

In terms of policy, it's grey. The donating service didn't specify that they must be given to service users. (I would argue that the context of the donation did clearly indicate they were for service users). And since each member of staff ended up with one tag at a £30 value, it's just under the threshold where it would need to be declared to gift & hospitality services. (That's ignoring the 2 packs that went missing from the staff office)

I don't think I would get anywhere trying to take it to a more senior person. The wagons would be circled. But it made me re-consider my opinion of the people I work with.

They weren’t gifts to staff, they were donated for clients using your service. Your gifts and hospitality register does not appear fit for purpose and your manager’s judgement seems very off. Do you not also keep a conflicts of interests register detailing links and how you will avoid conflicts, e.g. you would not take donated items for your friends and family.

You're right. We have an anti-corruption policy. It might fall under that.