Is It Fair for Companies to Charge Employees for Laptop Damage? Seeking Advice on Company Policies

Some time before, I noticed that the USB port of my company's laptop was damaged, and I requested my IT department to replace it. My IT team responded that it is physical damage and it might have happened during plugging or removing the USB. As this is physical damage, the replacement cost has to be borne by the employee. I paid the amount and got it replaced, but I have a few doubts in my mind.

Company Asset Responsibility

1) If the laptop is issued to me by the company, then it is the company's asset, and the company should bear all the costs related to it. We don't charge a worker if he breaks a tool while working on a machine, do we?

Condition of Issued Equipment

2) The company had issued me a used laptop, and I'm not sure if the damage was already there as it is difficult to understand. But I had signed the paper stating 'Company has issued me a laptop in good condition.' This paper is mandatory to sign, and I am not a Computer Engineer to understand if it is having hardware issues. How can the company ask a non-expert employee to sign such a declaration?

Company Policy on Damage and Loss

3) My company policy says if my laptop is stolen or gets damaged in an accident (while on or off the job or during official or personal travel), then all or part of the cost will be recovered from the employee. Does company law allow this?

Please advise.

Welcome to CiteHR! You have come to just the right place for your query; at CiteHR, we are interested in various HR matters, including employee-employer relationships and work-life balance—every aspect of it!

Coming to your query, you have the right to feel upset about being asked to pay the replacement cost of a new component, especially when the equipment (laptop) must have been old and used. However, there are certain things in life and work that can be avoided, and certain things that cannot. Your company has been too stringent and stingy; it could have been more employee-friendly and generous.

Having said that, I shall try to address your issues one by one:

1. You are right that, "We don't charge a worker if he breaks the tool while working on the machine, do we?" However, you must note that such breakages need to be through wear-and-tear and should not be willful. There is a certain "life" of a tool beyond which it is replaced, or no questions are asked if it breaks or becomes unusable.

2. I concede that you have a valid point here. The company should ask employees to sign the paper with remarks like, "...old laptop in working condition..."; it should also list out damages such as corner chipped, USB port slightly damaged, keyboard not working perfectly, tear in laptop-carry case, etc.

3. In case a laptop is stolen or accidentally damaged, some companies recover a part of the cost not covered 100% by insurance. They may recover the full cost if insurance is not paid to them, or if there is no police report in case of theft, or if it is ascertained that the loss is due to carelessness on the part of the employee.

I hope the above helps in resolving your queries and dilemma, making you feel better. Stay tuned by logging in; you may receive more opinions and views from our members who are eager to contribute and help.

Warm regards.

Yes, I agree with you; in the same way, I got it resolved. At the same time, recovering the cost from an employee can become a big issue when a costly part like a hard disk, battery, or even a motherboard gets damaged. For a fresh graduate engineer, the average salary will be 15,000-20,000 INR, and a hard disk will cost 10,000. There is no way to define if the HDD is damaged due to mishandling or a manufacturing error. In this case, the employee will be left to the mercy of the company management only.