Employee Lost Company Assets on a Train: Should We Seek Reimbursement or Take Another Action?

Hi all,

I am writing here because I am not able to find the solution for one problem. One of our employees has lost his company mobile, data card, and secure ID during travel time on the rail. The person who has lost the mobile has informed me, but I am unsure about the appropriate action to resolve this issue.

My question is: Should the company seek reimbursement from the employee for these costs? Or should some other action be taken?

Regards,

Lavanya

Hi Lavanya,

First, check your company policy to see what is written regarding employees losing company assets such as mobile phones, laptops, etc. If there is a specific guideline stating that the employee needs to replace the asset or reimburse the company, then you should follow that protocol.

Alternatively, you can ask the employee to replace the lost items and return them to the company. For a mobile phone (worth the same cost or 50-75% of the cost), it is advisable to have it replaced. Data cards can be expensive, so getting it replaced would be necessary. Regarding the ID, you can relieve the employee and provide a new ID, especially if it is the first time it has been lost. If the employee loses the ID a second time, you can charge them for the replacement.

Thank you,
Gladys

Hi Lavanya,

No issues at all. In that case, you can define a policy stating: "Disciplinary action can be taken against an individual for any misuse, damage, or theft of company assets. Replacement charges might be imposed on the individual."

After that, you can discuss and decide with senior members of your company on one of the options suggested earlier.

Thank you.

I think Lavanya is right. In no way are you supposed to pay any amount for somebody who is so careless about his belongings. You should deduct all the costs from his salary. The maximum you can do is deduct it in parts instead of in one month's salary because that will be a big deduction. This incident should be a lesson for people who don't take care of company assets.

I would say I am a bit surprised to see the responses on this issue.

Why do you always go to extreme steps every time?

Put yourself in his shoes and understand the situation. Just because he lost the materials, you cannot term him as careless. If he has a history of the same, then it could be thought.

Please ask him to file a complaint with the police to get an FIR, which is very vital. Talk to him and understand his current situation. By this time, he must have undergone a lot of turmoil regarding the situation.

On top of this, if you go by the suggestions, the employee will be under mental stress, resulting in less productivity, detachment from the job and the company, eventually leading to a loss for the company.

Make an alternative arrangement, give him a laptop or PC (if the work done by him can be finished with a PC). Provide him with a budget mobile and only charge for the travel ID.

Take a written statement from him, stating that he will be responsible in the future. By doing this, you are also making him comfortable, ensuring no pause or stop in his job and, at the same time, making him realize his mistake and become more responsible.

Please understand, we are human resource professionals.

Any disciplinary action must be referred to the company policy. You cannot implement a policy retroactively. Normally, such matters are addressed in the company's code of conduct or policy manual. If not, you can add it now.

In the current situation, you must review the circumstances objectively and make a decision that is mutually beneficial.

How come you guys are convinced that he has lost the items? He may have given it to someone, sold it, or done a number of other things. The first thing he needs to do is explain his conduct in writing, stating that he has lost these items, and a FIR should be lodged for the same. A show cause notice should be issued to him, asking him to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against him for such behavior. Based on his response, further action can be taken, or if his response is satisfactory to the management, replaced items should be provided to him. As an employee, it is one's moral responsibility to be cautious with the goods provided unless something has happened beyond one's control, such as theft, snatching, etc.

I am very happy with the comment from Mr. M. Peer. Please, HR people, before posting any suggestions, consider that you belong to HR, not Accounts.

Dear All,

Mohammed is right. After all, we are human resource professionals, and we are there to make people comfortable, not to annoy them. So, think of a way to make him realize his mistake in a manner that does not hurt him at all. First, study the situation and then act because this type of behavior from HR people will result in dissatisfaction among employees, leading to their departure. We all know that employees are the biggest assets of any organization.

Regards,
Sunil

This kind of incident can happen to anybody these days. Many people lose their mobile phones while travelling. I suggest solving it at the organizational level instead of lodging an FIR against the person. Check his past records, talk to his reporting head, communicate with him about the incident, and then take appropriate action.

I don't at all think Mr. M. Peer is right. Can Mr. Peer guarantee that if Lavanya forgives him, he will not do the same thing again? For heaven's sake, he is not a kid, and he should have been more careful since he was carrying the company's assets.

I don't think Lavanya's seniors will be very happy if she simply lets that guy off without penalizing him. Isn't it strange that this fellow lost all three things together? I agree with Gagan that he might have given or sold it to someone.

Since it's not Lavanya's own company, I don't think she can be so liberal. Or rather, she should. It sends out a very negative message to everyone else in the company.

Hello All,

Following the email, I received from an employee who lost company assets:

I lost my secure ID and Airtel USB modem on the train during travel to the customer product installation. The incident happened like this: My train (Swarna Jayanti-2782) was scheduled to depart from Pune at 9:30 a.m. on 6th Jan. However, the train was delayed by 5 hours. Additionally, the train's scheduled arrival time in Mysore was 5:00 a.m., but it reached Mysore at 12:15 p.m. When the train arrived in Mysore, I was using my laptop. As I started to pack up my laptop bag, I inadvertently forgot to put the pouch containing the USB modem, mobile phone, and Secure ID into the bag. It was only when I returned to the hotel and needed to use the internet that I realized I had left these items on the train.

I went back to the railway station and informed the station master of the situation. He advised me to check the train parked on the spare track. Despite my efforts to locate the lost items, they could not be found.

I kindly request you to issue another phone, USB modem, internet card, and Secure ID for me. Please forgive me for this serious mistake.

Thanks and Best Regards,

Regards,
Lavanya--

Hello,

Based on the email, it appears to be a clear case of negligence on the employee's part. How could they be so casual with office materials? They are fully aware of their actions. Therefore, it is recommended to impose an immediate fine and issue a new ID card to the employee.

Thank you,
Kavi

The employee himself thinks he has made a similar mistake, my dear LAVANYA. Keep in mind, what will you answer your seniors if you forgive him, basing on this letter? Man, it has got no evidence to prove what he said was right (besides the late factor). By the way, what has the train being late got to do with him losing all the three things at the same time? I guess we are human resource professionals, but not dumb. AND IT'S ALWAYS BETTER TO BE CYNICAL THAN A FOOL.

If the secure ID provides access to your company's business secrets or product secrets that are not supposed to be known otherwise, I should say, you have lost significant business secrets. This requires a departmental inquiry and further proceedings as deemed appropriate in the departmental inquiry.

If the secure ID has nothing to do with trade secrets, safely issue a warning letter to him and replace his secure ID. Loss of a mobile phone, Airtel card, etc., should always be reported. Whether you charge him for that or not depends on your company's financial position and the employee's track record in terms of his effectiveness and carelessness. Keep a record in his file that he has lost items and ensure the same person is careful with official belongings henceforth.

If you, being in HR, are really confused about this, then safely ask the employee's boss to comment on this before replacing or charging him.

Hi Lavanya,

Mr. Peer Mohamed, who was suggested the right way to solve the problem, you can solve this problem using this method only. Just take the mobile IMEI number, which consists of a 15-digit code inside the mobile, and file a complaint mentioning that number along with the date, time, and place. Please report this to your nearby police station and request them to take necessary action. Our Cybercrime Police can track the lost mobile using that IMEI number, which is very important. I had a positive experience with this method, and you can also benefit from it to reduce mental tension.

Phone, === can be blocked, both SIM card and IMEI number. USB modem internet card == this also can be blocked, and it costs around 2-3K. Secure ID--- secured ID can be easily blocked, and it's of no use to any petty thief. Thieves are more interested in money. Even if a thief is not tech-savvy, he will throw out the USB modem. All he will do is sell the mobile handset, that's all. So, don't be harsh on the employee; mistakes happen with humans only. If you HR think like this, SHAME on UUUUUU...

See that an FIR is filed in this regard and a copy of the same is produced along with the application given by the employee to you seeking the replacement. If the company is replacing the items lost, then take an undertaking that the same would be handed over back to the company provided the lost one is recovered at a future date. Replacing at the cost of the company after following all these formalities would be a better option and it would make the employee indebted to the company and more loyal too. But before replacing the lost items change your policy and make it known to all the employees that the items given to the employees if lost would have to be replaced by the employees themselves or the replacement to it can be obtained after getting the depreciation amount deducted from the initial date of issue calculated.

Regards,

Premson

Hi All,

I am writing here because I am not able to find the solution for one problem. One of our employees has lost his company mobile, data card, and secure ID during travel time on the rail. The person who has lost the mobile has informed me, but I am not sure what action would be good to solve this problem. My question is, should the company seek reimbursement from the employee for this cost? Or should some other action be taken?

Regards,
Lavanya

Hi,

It is really surprising after seeing these types of responses. Does your company believe in the philosophy of "Respect for People"? If your philosophy is aligned with that, then you should not charge anything to your employee.

Shaikh Sajat Tulla

Thank you, Mr. Peer Mohammed, for your nice thinking.

I am impressed by the comments of Mr. Peer Mohamad, but the only thing we have to ensure is that others should not start trying to make a fool of HR by claiming they have also lost company assets issued to them. A fine can be imposed in addition to obtaining a written acknowledgment. 😉

Hi Lavanya,

First of all, if the employee loses the company assets or his ID card, Access card (a very sensitive one) by any means, he has to lodge a police complaint and get the FIR registered. Other issues like reimbursement vary from company to company depending on policy.

As an HR professional, one should look into both sides of the coin to arrive at a good solution to such problems. People can be good and bad, careless and careful. Apart from this, incidents can happen due to carelessness, ignorance, or accidentally. Therefore, before coming to any conclusion, investigating the matter will lead to better decision-making. Finally, company policies should be framed in a manner where no injustice is done to anybody, yet a positive outcome is achieved.

Dear friend,

As suggested by M.Peer, an FIR will make way for the recovery of the lost items by the police. It will alleviate the employees' concerns. The replacement items will help in continuing work in the company.

Anyone can lose their luggage while traveling. It is not due to dishonesty or carelessness but rather a common incident during travel. However, as per company policy, the recovery of costs may be addressed.

gpagarwal.