Hot Checks

T

I have an employee who is writing insufficient checks for inhouse purchases. Is there a confidentiality issue if I inform other employees not to accept checks from her for other inhouse purchases she may try to make?

Said employee will not return phone calls or respond to letters.

I would say not, we are trying to look after the "good" of the company by revealing this information. And we are not telling the other employees that the reason for not accepting the checks is due to insufficient funds, however, I am sure that can reach that conclusion on their own.

Thanks.
-T

Balloonman

My thought is you will just get yourself in a jam. It won't take long for a couple of employees who have been burned by this person to spread the word. Keep out of it.
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman

JM in ATL

I'm assuming that when you say that she doesn't respond to letters or phone calls that she is not in the same office as you. Correct?

Does she have a supervisor on site? If so, can you ask him/her to have her call you before she starts her shift to discuss this?

Do you have a plan for recouping the money? Payroll deduction? And, if it was a customer who bounced a check, what would you do with that information? Post it for all to see or keep it confidential and try to collect the money in a different way?

I would have a plan put together before I took action. Do you have a policy on this topic? No employee can purchase company goods with a personal check, only cash or credit or payroll deduction?

Let us know what you plan to do...

Don D

The company should follow whatever its policy is. I assume the company has a policy in place regarding a member of the general public who bounces checks. Typically some sort of flag goes up in the system to tell the cashier to not accept the check. We used to see a list of names taped to the cash register on the bouncers.

If the company has a policy in place, simply enforce it. But, the point of enforcement should stay where it belongs. If it's an HR responsibility, which I doubt, handle it according to policy. If accounting/finance handles these things, stay away from it. HR is neither the caretaker nor sheriff of all things. Only most.