Facing Blame for a Missing Laptop at Work: How Should My Friend Handle This Situation?

Hello seniors, I have a question regarding the leading HR. My friend is working in a logistics organization as a logistics associate. He is facing a big problem. On Saturday, he closed his office and gave the keys to a reliable person to further hand them over to the guard who was late for duty. On Monday morning, one of the laptops was missing from the lot, which was received by the organization on Saturday. His seniors are blaming him for the missing laptop.

What Should He Do Now?

He is not guilty. He was working from 8 A.M to 8 P.M that week because his senior was on leave at that time. His organization should have recruited a guard for the day as well, but they didn't due to cost-cutting.

Please help with what he should do?

Thanks and regards,
Medini

Bad news, there are few options for your friend. He is rightly being blamed by his management for the missing laptop. Have they asked him to pay the amount? Did they lodge a police complaint?

However, the good news is, who is the 'reliable person'? It's not about passing the buck but working along to bring the laptop back.

I am certain all these people in line have been questioned and are still being interrogated. No matter how high the pressure runs, stay focused on finding the laptop.

The machine has been taken away only by the one who had access. Take the fear of punishment away, and partner with the 'reliable person' and the security guard to bring it back.

Your friend might leave this job one day and move away with another. This incident mustn't create any dent in his career.

Pleading innocence might not help him out unless it is proven. Assuming that there was no CCTV or even an account of how many people entered the office at what time from the register, his options are few but to zero down upon these two people.

Thank you very much for the guidance. There is no CCTV. He was accused by his colleague of negligence because nobody knows if it is a theft or not. Maybe a lot goes missing with one less laptop. There are too many loopholes in their organization.

They asked him to pay for the laptop. They can't complain because they have too many loopholes in their security.

Thanks and regards,
Medin

Preventive Measures for Asset Security

Tracing the missing laptop is one issue, but the key issue is to take preventive action as this could be a recurring feature in that organization. I agree that providing a CCTV will be a solution, but the easier option in this instance is fixing the responsibility on the person.

Implementing Key Control Procedures

There seems to be no formal procedure for key control. Key control can be done by the person who hands over the keys of a location and signs in a register indicating the date and time of closing. The same information is replicated on a small tear-off slip. Thereafter, the key is sealed inside a pouch, and the pouch is then sealed with sealing wax along with the tear-off slip. Anyone who wants to open the location once again has to tear open the pouch to access the keys. Upon opening, the person who opens the pouch has to sign in the key register for having opened the location. Hence, the system of opening and closing becomes foolproof.

In this case, when your friend left, he should be checked by the colleague himself as you have mentioned that there is no security guard in place and confirmed that he did not carry any company property. But if a security guard is in place, he will do the job.

Though I have not offered a solution to your immediate problem, I felt that you can prevent recurrences in the future. In the present case, filing a police complaint will be the solution.

Regards,
M.V. Kannan

Missing Laptop Incident: Key Questions and Considerations

What appears from your post is: "On Monday morning, one of the laptops was missing from the lot that was received by the organization on Saturday." i.e., from the newly received laptops, one is missing.

In your second post, you have raised doubts about whether one laptop was short-delivered by the courier.

Pertinent Questions to Consider

- At what time on Saturday were these laptops delivered?
- Was your friend on duty/present at the time?
- Who officially "received" the laptop? Did that person sign the Receipt Note? Did they ascertain the quantity (and quality) of the consignment received? Was this person authorized to receive it? If not, why did they not refuse to accept and defer the receipt to Monday when the office would be open, and authorized persons would be present?
- Was your friend authorized to receive materials?

If yes, then his responsibility for the safekeeping of received material cannot be denied.

If no, he should not have received the materials at all after the closing hours.

In any case, he should have informed or consulted the right person on the phone and asked for advice.

Role of the "Reliable Person"

Who was the "reliable person"? Was it customary to hand over the keys to him?

Your answers to the above will guide the further course of action.

In any case, responsibility for the lapse has to be fixed.

If it was not part of his duty to receive office materials, then he cannot be blamed for the theft, but for his carelessness and not informing the right person.

If he was not present during the incident, then he cannot be penalized.

Concerns About the Courier Agency

About your doubts on the courier agency; I agree with it. I personally know of two instances in our office where we have received one less laptop from one of the best companies delivered by one of the most reliable couriers. These laptops were being delivered in lots of 18-20. However, the person receiving it and the delivery person endorsed it accordingly in the receipt note, and proper follow-up was done; this prevented any further problems, as it was acknowledged by both the manufacturer and the courier agency that the available numbers of laptops were being dispatched. However, due to an oversight in some documents, the total quantity ordered was being reflected.

Hope the issue is resolved satisfactorily, and everything ends well.

Warm regards.