In Continental Oil Mills (Pty) Ltd v Singh NO and Others (2013) 34 ILJ 2573 (LC), the Labour Court held that the common factor in theft and unauthorized use of property is dishonesty. In the above-mentioned case, the Court was seized of an application for review and setting aside of the award of the first respondent (Commissioner) of 8 June 2010, declaring that the applicant`s dismissal of the third respondent (employee) was procedurally unfair and without just cause. The employee was accused of taking a bottle of mayonnaise from the production line, which was discovered in her bag. The reason given was that she had removed the bottle of mayonnaise for testing purposes. The court then had to decide whether the conduct constituted theft or unauthorized use of property. The court noted that “theft and unauthorized possession generally belong to the same kind of dishonesty. Both are based on the conduct of an employee who deprives him of ownership of a product. While theft has an element of intent, an employer is not required to “prove theft charges with the rigour that the state expects from law enforcement – evidence after weighing the odds is sufficient.” The employee`s dismissal was therefore not found to be wrongful. When it comes to employee theft, the conversation often revolves around a story about how someone stole so much money, and then everyone deals with “what the company did to get their money back” and “what happened to the employee.” The most important question is, “How will these and other losses be avoided in the future?” The answer to this question depends on the type of business you run.
There are many different companies whose sole purpose is to protect against employee theft. They can be hired to do this, but the problem is that while small businesses are often the most susceptible to employee theft, they`re the ones who can`t afford this kind of dedicated security. Exchanging funds is part of the day-to-day operational activities of any business organization. This includes employees involved in any type of money theft, including fraudulent returns, money theft, skimming fraud or any other form of cash theft involving the withdrawal of money from the company. Willfully falsify inventory, physically steal company products, or attempt to divert delivery for personal use. Employees are expected to use the Corporation`s assets and assets only appropriately and within the scope of their employment. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, as many employees have been caught abusing company assets for personal gain. While many minor infractions, such as using company stamps to send personal mail or take a box of staples with you, may seem “no big deal,” even the slightest misuse of business assets is misguided and could be considered theft.
When employees choose to embezzle corporate funds, simulate work hours to siphon money, or withdraw money from the cash drawer, it can seriously hurt a company`s bottom line. Some of the biggest losses a business can incur due to misuse of business assets involve the misuse of large amounts of business funds for personal gain. This misuse of business assets can ruin a company`s reputation, become a serious burden on the business, and have far-reaching legal consequences. It can be absolutely devastating to discover that a trusted employee has abused company assets and placed their own personal interests above those of the company. Unfortunately, this is such a common occurrence that the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners found that businesses should expect to lose an average of five percent of their gross revenue due to fraudulent behavior. Once you discover that an employee is stealing from the company, whether it`s embezzlement, falsifying records, or stealing money from the cash drawer, it`s important that you hire a fraud lawyer to deal with and mitigate those losses. Fraud lawyers can help you investigate what happened and take legal action against the party who abused the company`s assets. While criminal charges are possible, only a civil lawsuit will help you obtain financial compensation for damages caused by the guilty party. Fraud cases can be complex and it will be in your best interest to have a lawyer by your side who is familiar with pursuing fraud claims. Intellectual property is a categorical general description of all intangible assets held by a company or individual that are legally protected from unauthorized use or implementation without consent. An intangible asset is a non-physical asset that a firm or individual owns.
The four main types of intellectual property are patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. As a rule, the creator of a work is considered its owner. However, intellectual property may be determined differently for different types of property and in different circumstances. For example, if a work is created for an employer, the employer owns that intellectual property. In addition, ownership rights may also be transferred to other parties. Companies offer many services to employees, however, misuse of different services for personal reasons and profits is considered misappropriation of assets and a criminal offense. For example, the employee may use the fuel allowance provided by the company for personal travel, but claim that the fuel was consumed on a business trip. This type of theft does not refer to stolen tangible objects, but to high-value information such as customer lists, trade secrets, and self-developed enterprise software. The most common case of this type of theft is when an employee occupies a privileged position in an organization and then works in a similar position for a competitor.
In this case, the employee brings knowledge of customer lists, software procedures and other relevant business information to the competing company. Once something like this happens, the only remedy can often be found in the Uniform Trade Secrets Act. This legislation aims to protect trade secrets and prevent unauthorized employees from using them in other businesses. To prove that a company actually has a trade secret, it must first prove two things. First, the information in question would have an increased economic value which would not be realised if it were passed on to competitors. Second, they must demonstrate that they have made reasonable efforts to protect the trade secret. If the company has not taken steps to protect the information beyond what it uses to protect public records, the courts will not allow it to claim that it is a trade secret.