M&S probes £100,000 staff theft

HIGH STREET stores group Marks & Spencer has effectively accused staff at one of its biggest outlets of having their hands in the till.

In a remarkable letter attached to payslips, employees were encouraged to inform on the minority of their colleagues suspected of stealing.

The retailer warned that 'everyone, including management, is under suspicion until the thieves are detected and dismissed'.

Losses from staff stealing at the flagship M&S branch in Reading, Berkshire, were 'off the scale', the letter added.

Store manager Rob Davies claimed £100,000 had gone missing from tills between September and February, amounting to £5,000 a week.

The payslip letter, on bright red notepaper, said the loss 'is largely due to theft, but also mistakes and carelessness on the till'.

Davies added: 'Most staff are honest, but sadly some are not. We know they steal merchandise, steal from cloakrooms and now we know how much they steal from tills. We will catch and dismiss them, but we need your help. We are all under suspicion until we dismiss these people.'

Staff were invited to speak to a manager in confidence or call a special hotline.

Notices were put up in the store asking staff if they would be 'shocked' to learn that over £100,000 'went missing from our tills'. It stated: 'Most colleagues are honest, but we know many are not', and described the thefts as 'a cloud over our store'.

Staff are furious at the way the problem has been handled.

One worker, who did not want to be identified, told the Financial Mail on Sunday: 'One of the managers stood up in a morning meeting and said we were all under suspicion. We are fed up with being treated like this. It seems almost impossible to steal such large amounts from tills, but it's impossible to tell who does what.

'Tills are used by several staff a day and the float isn't checked with every changeover. But instead of bringing the police in and sorting this out properly, the company is hoping staff will inform on each other.'

The company is testing radio frequency tags to combat 'shrinkage' from its stores, the term used by retailers to cover losses from theft, genuine losses and breakages.

However, stealing cash from tills is thought to be harder to combat. Davies told Financial Mail: 'I have no comment to make.' He directed questions to the M&S press office.

A spokeswoman there said: 'Clearly this is a matter for urgent review internally and it is being treated as a matter of priority.'

She confirmed the letter was sent by Davies personally who is 'trying to combat the problems in his store. Store managers have a level of autonomy and this is an internal Reading issue. However it is an industry-wide problem'.

M&S said that the police could be called if appropriate and that the priority was to resolve the situation as soon as possible.