Cash Loss - Why am I liable?!

[SamuelNFrost]

Hello,

I work for a restaurant in the UK that charges for till loses and claim that all loses over £1 have to be paid by the employer. Recently I was working a Saturday shift and signed onto My till as always but during the peak hours 12 - 2, a manager started using My till. She was using it on and off for about 2 hours when I was carrying out another task or putting another order together - She could have handed out incorrect change which would make My till down. Another manager also took money of a figure unknown to Me out of My till numerous times which I though He would process on My till which He did not which would make My till down.
At the end of the day I was told that My till was £5 down and I was accountable and was told I had to sign for this. I explained the situation but denied the accusations. I do not believe this is acceptable or legal under the law as I was not the only person using My till an any other employee has access to My till with a managers card (Which are always lead around) so anyone could have dipped into My till. They also cashed up My till without Me allowed to watch so they could have taken money out of the till then. I am not sure what to do as I have now lost £5 off My next wage slip - Around an hours work - While managers using My till don't have any consequences, please can you help?

Thank you for your time.

[Buenchico]

Is there a WRITTEN agreement with your employer, which was in place BEFORE the till discrepancy occurred, allowing the employer to deduct any shortfall from your pay. If not, any such deductions are unlawful:
http://www.direct.gov...ployees/Pay/DG_175878

Chris

[The-HouseHusband]

If you want to be really awkward then ask for a print out from the till showing all transactions and card swipes carried out during your shift. If they didnt use a pass card then they wont mind doing it. More likely they will not know how to do it, which means they have no proof either way of any offence.

[SamuelNFrost]

Chris - Yes I have signed an agreement allowing till losses on My till to be My responsibility but other managers have used My till without My permission and removed cash from My till without My permission so surely this is unlawful?

The House Husband - This could be a good way to see if they can actually prove it, thanks for your help.

[joko]

is there cctv? that wll show people taking out money but not accounting for it...i woudl ask for this as you dont want ths to become a regualr thing...unless you alwys sign off from your till even for 3 mins

[society]

Signing 'that' is like professing you guilt. Think twice before you decide to do that.

[DavideMexia]

SamuelINFrost. Can you prove that the manager and other users has used your till on your behalf ?
The tills has always a log in number and a password. I would advise you next time to log off everytime you go and do a different task to avoid such a major problems. Because tills that are used by someone else but you without a log in number and a password is a bit harsh. In the place of work they are always cheeky people who wants to fool you once they get the chance. Why did you let them use your till knowing that you have signed a permission in case of till shortfall ? Be also aware that all the information in your till gets saved in the office in the till rolls. If you want to mitigate the case, ask your manager to compare the time in which you are not serving. Say you are not serving between 12:00-14:00. Ask the manager to control if any loss happened between that time. If any loss happened in the time you were not serving then you should not be liable to that loss. Sometimes it is a matter of "good faith". At my work at place of work all the staff looses in average 12£ (22 staff) a week. I always make sure the till is not logged in everytime i am not serving.
Good luck

[Eve]

I think it's definitely an issue if you are made responsible for losses from a till which, if it is usual practice for others to use it, is not solely under your control, especially if it's management doing it. Have they asked the other managers about this? It's not quite the same as you letting any staff dip in and out of your till.

You could point out that there needs to be a clearly defined and adhered to policy to safeguard honest users and stop any abuse of the system. If you can't have control over your till then is it fair to penalise you for losses from a till you do not have control over?

Unless you are allowed to assert authority over who uses your till while you are on shift it seems unfair to make a user solely responsible for any losses which cannot be directly attributed to them. Are there any other policies in place relating to who can use tills which might come into play?

One place I worked, a restaurant, we had sole responsibility for our cash (we carried it in bumbags) and it would be counted out in front of us by the shift manager at the end of each shift. Another place, supermarket, they would sometimes take the till to be cashed up after a change of staff or in case of a query - I had someone try it on saying I'd short changed them once but they took the till and counted it there and then and it was spot on.

Have they checked the amount against other tills to rule out money being put elsewhere ie if another till is £5 up. Definitely worth checking.

[peterdeanmagic]

i think you should mention to the management that all losses on your till are up to you....

its obviously not your till as its shared
good luck