can my company do this legally?

coley

coley

Active Member
I had my company vehicle keys stolen from my locker at the gym and now my employers reckon I have to pay them back £250 for the re-coding of the other set of keys.:evil::evil::evil:

Thing is I have not signed any disclaimer to say in the event of such like happening I would have to pay and also I have a crime ref number. :!:

I signed for the phone and head set to say I would pay for them if damaged but never for keys and if I knew they would cost that much to sort out I would not take them home with me.

They reckon they are going to dock the full amount from my next pay day.:eek::twisted:

Can they do this?. Surely its there responsibility to insure their stuff against such situations.:evil::evil::evil:
 
If it was stolen from your gym locker you should get the money from your gym. Was anything else stolen?
 
well, it really depends how much you value your job. No, they can not take money from your salary for that issue. However, you kick up a fuss and you will be out of a job soon I suspect - in which case you have a case of unlawful dismissal.

I suggest that you write them a formal letter stating the facts you have explained above. If things do go to the next level, then you have some back up.
 
Check your house insurance, some policies cover valuables stolen outside the home...

You may be able to claim back the cost from the insurer?


But your company is being a bit harsh IMHO, they will have insurance so why would they charge you unless they feel you were in any way negligent?
 
You lost the keys while on personal buisness not company time.

Therefore I would feel that you are responsible.

Also I am sure that you will find that you are expected to take proper care and attention of all "company assets" in your original employment contract.
 
Its a security issue. I work in a place where keys are cut and it is a big deal. Especially when more than one key is involved in keyed alike situations. When a key is stolen the lock or cylinder has to be changed, the reasoning is simple, because who ever has the key can then break in, or, duplicate it (depending on the profile. Certain keys need to be duplicated by certain key cutters and signed for etc) but the gist is, its a lot of hassle.

Cars I'm not 100% sure on, but from a property perspective, I think it could have been a lot worse. That's the problems with coorporations tho. It's a very "us and them" environment. If it had happened to me I'd of offered to pay for them and would of felt bad had they NOT docked the money from my pay. It's about responsibility as well. You were responsible for placing them in a safe place.
 
NakedAge said:
Its a security issue. I work in a place where keys are cut and it is a big deal. Especially when more than one key is involved in keyed alike situations. When a key is stolen the lock or cylinder has to be changed, the reasoning is simple, because who ever has the key can then break in, or, duplicate it (depending on the profile. Certain keys need to be duplicated by certain key cutters and signed for etc) but the gist is, its a lot of hassle.

Cars I'm not 100% sure on, but from a property perspective, I think it could have been a lot worse. That's the problems with coorporations tho. It's a very "us and them" environment. If it had happened to me I'd of offered to pay for them and would of felt bad had they NOT docked the money from my pay. It's about responsibility as well. You were responsible for placing them in a safe place.
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locks and cylinders don't always have to be changed when keys are stolen. When i had my keys taken BMW and VW just replaced the key and recoded the car so it only works with the new key.

And putting them in a gym locker is a safe place to put them surely. If i hadn't signed i wouldn't be paying to replace them unless it was my own fault.
 
The vehicle wasn't near the gym at the time. They insist on us taking the keys home with us to pick up the motor in the morning as I start really early some days. I signed a disclaimer for my phone but NOT the keys.

I have already claimed against them and won once due to there lax ways and IMO its just retribution for that it seems.
 
Bez said:
You lost the keys while on personal buisness not company time.

Therefore I would feel that you are responsible.

Also I am sure that you will find that you are expected to take proper care and attention of all "company assets" in your original employment contract.
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There is no stated hours at work... They insist on us collecting the vehicle at night for the next day.

That means that I have to mix my personal time with my business time.
They even leave the keys out for you where they could easily be stolen from if you do not take them home.
 
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that sucks crappy poo!! :(

Don't they have this sort of thing covered by insurance?

When i was in Ibiza in 2007 and we got our apartment broken into, the thieves got a hold of my work credit card

(at the time, when we realised we'd been robbed, i wasn't even thinking about my work credit card... only my personal one, cash and passport0

anyway, it wasn't until I got back to work the following week when I had a message at my work phone telling me that someone had racked up over $8000 on airplane tickets, La Coste clothing and household appliances!!!

Luckily (really luckily!!) my workplace had insurance and I didn't have to pay anything.

Not really the same situation, but as someone else mentioned... do you have insurance?

Usually gyms and places have a disclaimer saying, "We are not responsible for any stolen or damaged property"

good luck!
 
legally they probably aren't able to do this, as you correctly say they will have insurance against such things, I would also follw dans lead and see what the gym say, but they probably have a "at own risk" policy. Sounds like they are just trying to avoid coughing up on the insurance or like you say, just teach you a lesson. I would definately take it futher and get some pro advice though. £250 is a lot of dough in current times!!
 
They are a tight fisted mob anyway. They are getting slaughtered by H+S at the moment because some guy had his leg broken in the warehouse (that didn't surprise me ) and I have just had them over on another similar issue.

£250 is a hell of lot of cash when I gotta pay all the bills and provide for my wife and daughter. The D I CKhead should have got his keys insured or at the very least informed me of the financial ramifications of losing them:rolleyes:
 
gibs said:
locks and cylinders don't always have to be changed when keys are stolen. When i had my keys taken BMW and VW just replaced the key and recoded the car so it only works with the new key.

And putting them in a gym locker is a safe place to put them surely. If i hadn't signed i wouldn't be paying to replace them unless it was my own fault.
Click to expand...

I think for commercial estates they have to be changed, but like I said I'm not sure 100% with cars. But, a gym locker I wouldn't really call a safe place because, you don't know who has a copy of that locker key.

When I go to training we dont have lockers, we have like, shelves. I put my keys and mobile in my jacket pocket and leave it on a shelf but I always can see the shelf from any position of the the floor. Not only that its a small group of guys (and one possible man bitch) whom like, are tight knit and just wouldn't do it. But anywhere where I'll be leaving my keys where people can get them, I drive my **** car.

I just got back from the city and my pants pocket wasn't as deep as I'd like for my keys and wallet so, I took my **** car just incase I accidently dropped my keys whilst going for my wallet so that if they steal a car its just, $1000 car, peice of **** sperm mobile.
 
Sorted...My firm have seen sense at last and realised that they can claim on there OWN insurance.

Cue the music....

Roll VT

Duh dun duh dun dun dun dahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

It's time to play the music
It's time to light the lights
t's time....and so on:rolleyes:
 
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