Can bags be searched at work w/o knowledge?
Discussion
from another forum, someone asking advice, thought someone here might know better
"my wife has been asked to start searching bags of staff at where she works, without their knowledge.
shes not happy about this, ive told her to tell them and to refuse to do it for now. shes worried that theyll hold it against her if she refuses and so is hoping she can find something that says its illegal
surely this is against the law? the staff must have some kind of privacy rights?
if anyone knows anything about this it and how she could get out of it would be much appreciated."
surely they can't do this? or is it just down to terms and conditions in their contracts?
"my wife has been asked to start searching bags of staff at where she works, without their knowledge.
shes not happy about this, ive told her to tell them and to refuse to do it for now. shes worried that theyll hold it against her if she refuses and so is hoping she can find something that says its illegal
surely this is against the law? the staff must have some kind of privacy rights?
if anyone knows anything about this it and how she could get out of it would be much appreciated."
surely they can't do this? or is it just down to terms and conditions in their contracts?
Doesn't sound legal to me.
If she absolutely has to do it, I would advise getting written authorisation from someone high up in the company first as a) it covers her arse if it is illegal and b) she can use it as a Teflon coating for when she gets caught red handed by someone having their stuff searched and doesn't have to take any abuse ("I have written authorisation - take it up with Mr. Bloggs, not me" )
>> Edited by JonRB on Wednesday 7th December 10:06
If she absolutely has to do it, I would advise getting written authorisation from someone high up in the company first as a) it covers her arse if it is illegal and b) she can use it as a Teflon coating for when she gets caught red handed by someone having their stuff searched and doesn't have to take any abuse ("I have written authorisation - take it up with Mr. Bloggs, not me" )
>> Edited by JonRB on Wednesday 7th December 10:06
Or she could stir it with the workers. Send an e-mail from a hotmail account to a few of the busy bodies saying:
"Dear all,
I'm not going to reveal who I am but I heard (insert bosses name) telling another member of staff to search our bags without us knowing!
From x"
Then things should swing into action...
"Dear all,
I'm not going to reveal who I am but I heard (insert bosses name) telling another member of staff to search our bags without us knowing!
From x"
Then things should swing into action...
mojocvh said:
No way. However would failing to comply with these instructions lead to constructuve dismissal???? (Hope not though)MoJo.
Could never be a firing through not complying with what is esentially a criminal offence!
With no permission from owner, and not in their presence, such a search is ILLEGAL!!!!
If she was to have anything to do with it then she should be properly trained in the legal and practical aspects of searching, should have proper paperwork and methodology drawn up by an expert, and should have a witness at all times. All the bag searches I have heard about take place with the employee in attendance, but I don't imagine it is illegal to do it otherwise, it would just make it trickier from a legal perspective.
Gareth
Gareth
It would be totally unreasonable to ask a member of your staff to do this, unless they were security staff.
It is surely illegal, unless in the presence of the owner of the said bag and unreasonable for the employee, because it then places them in an impossible position if these staff are work colleagues.
It is surely illegal, unless in the presence of the owner of the said bag and unreasonable for the employee, because it then places them in an impossible position if these staff are work colleagues.
From what I remember, you cannot search their property without permission, and has to be in their prescence.
If they refuse, then you can not do anything about it. The next stage is having the police come and do the search etc, on suspicion of theft or whaterver you think they have been doing. Not sure if you could stop them leaving the premises before the cops came though.
If they refuse, then you can not do anything about it. The next stage is having the police come and do the search etc, on suspicion of theft or whaterver you think they have been doing. Not sure if you could stop them leaving the premises before the cops came though.
JMGS4 said:
No way. However would failing to comply with these instructions lead to constructuve dismissal???? (Hope not though)MoJo.
Could never be a firing through not complying with what is esentially a criminal offence!
With no permission from owner, and not in their presence, such a search is ILLEGAL!!!!
In fact, asking an employee to do something illegal would be grounds of constructive dismissal. They certainly would not be able to sack her if she did not comply. I would place my concern that what I had been asked to do was illegal, and ask the company to put in writing if they believe the seaching legal and on what grounds.
At this stage, if she was to now resign, she would have grounds for a constructive dismissal case against her employer. That is, she could apply for comensation for lost wages if she decided to leave, and can even demand her job back on the original conditions.
I would also get her to refuse to do this on the basis that she could be searching through personal documents, needles, knives or anything else people may be carrying.
It must be illegal to search someones bag without the owner being present, unless of course the bag was lost and the finder wanted to know who the owner was, so it could be returned.
The persons doing the searching could be accused of theft, and would be liable if a credit card was stolen or anything else in the bag could be stolen by the searcher.
As far as I know, the owner of the bag and preferably two witnesses should be present at the search.
The persons doing the searching could be accused of theft, and would be liable if a credit card was stolen or anything else in the bag could be stolen by the searcher.
As far as I know, the owner of the bag and preferably two witnesses should be present at the search.
To go through someone's personal posessions without their permission is a breach of the Trespass Laws. Any person doing so is in breach of these Laws and requires either a Police Officer present with a Search Warrant, or the owner present with a Legal Representative. Failure to comply with these pre-requisites means prosecution of the person carrying out the search.
Sounds like another case of an employer taking the p*ss
Sounds like another case of an employer taking the p*ss
JMGS4 said:
No way. However would failing to comply with these instructions lead to constructuve dismissal???? (Hope not though)MoJo.
Could never be a firing through not complying with what is esentially a criminal offence!
With no permission from owner, and not in their presence, such a search is ILLEGAL!!!!
To get an adjudication confirming constructive dismissal, the person has to leave the company. The issue of dismissal would be always subject to industrial tribuneral.
This reminds me of that story a couple of months ago of someone who rang pretending to be a police officer and instructed a manager to strip search one of their employees. I'm not convinced the story that started this thread is true, but if it is then I'd question where the orders came from.
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