We're Not In This Together

Be wary of punishing the many for the actions of the few

- Ivan Israelstam

Employers frequently know that serious misconduct has occurred but are unable to prove which employee or employees are responsible.

This can occur in a variety of circumstances. Stock may go missing from a warehouse or store where any of a number of employees had access to the stock and opportunity to remove it. Damage may have been caused to business machinery in a workshop used by numerous employees. Confidential information may have been leaked. Or there may be cash shortages in tills or other cash storage points.

Employers are often tempted, in such cases, to discipline everyone who could have been involved. This buckshot approach may be motivated by a number of factors including the thinking that, ‘If we fire the lot, we will be sure to get rid of the culprit.’