What To Do If You Are A Cleaner Accused Of Stealing?

One of the quite alarming issues that can arise as a cleaner is being accused of stealing something from the place you are working. As cleaners are normally in the building when no one else is there, the finger can quite easily point in their direction should a theft appear to have happened.

Plus, on the rare occasion that a cleaner does steal something, it always seems to make it into the news. Such as the case of a cleaner in Florida who stole a $350,000 diamond ring and sold it for a fraction of its real worth.

So imagine you get a call one day and someone has accused you of stealing from somewhere you have worked recently. What can you do?

When Accused:

Call Citizens Advice – First thing you should do is called the Citizens Advice Bureau. They will inform you what your rights are and tell you what you can expect to happen next. If your employer is bringing civil legal action against you, which is a civil and not a legal charge, they will normally be looking for compensation and not to take you to court.

Call a Lawyer – If they want to press legal charges against you then you may want to get a lawyer. They will be able to help you through all the court proceedings and present your case properly to the judge and jury. Though if it is a small amount it is unlikely to get this far.

Prove Your Innocence – The best thing you can do is find a way to prove your evidence. It might be through office CCTV or your bank statements or a witness, or maybe even finding the real villain.

To Avoid It Happening:

Good Relationship with Client – By making sure you have a good working relationship with your employer you can hopefully avoid this ever happening. Getting to know the owner of the house or the manager of the company can prove to them your good character so they have no reason to suspect you.

Reputable Cleaning Company – Another good move is to work for a reputable commercial cleaning company. If you work for yourself then you don’t have much support, and you don’t have the good reputation of the company automatically making you a much less likely suspect.

If You’re Guilty:

Own Up – The best thing to do is to own up immediately and try to avoid any legal proceedings. A criminal record will make the rest of your life much harder.

Get Away with It – You could hire a crack legal team and find some mitigating evidence that gets the case dismissed.

Run Away – If all else fails and you don’t want to face the consequences, you could flee to Mexico, change your name and get plastic surgery to change your face.

Have you been accused of stealing at work? What happened?

Penny Makers manages cleaning services in London. She has been involved in cleaning services London since she was 16 and loves it more now than ever before.