Seeking advise on a "touchy topic"

[Raymond]

"Fear" is a wrong word.

And If I had "fear", i would have paid immediately when the employee returned after 5 minutes. But I called the guards ( we have 4 at any time in the building) and told them to escort the employee out.

Lets say, my predicament ..is to keep clear of any vigilance, to not to have my name on any records in the city on any issue.

In this city the police will not bother with petty instances even proper assualts they pay little attention!!

 

[Ceviche]

In this city the police will not bother with petty instances even proper assualts they pay little attention!!

Thanks mate. This was really what i wanted to know!

And if they come to me, what should be my response?

Pardon me, if its again a stupid query.

 

[Ceviche]

End of sermon..sorry for preaching ...hope it works out for you!

Not at all a sermon.

Very grateful for your input.

Thanks mate.

Really mean it.

 

[earlyretirement]

I realize you were trying to be a "nice guy" but Raymond is correct that you will be EATEN alive and you will be ABUSED if you continue to act foolish like you did.

Immediately upon catching someone doing something unethical, you have to cut all ties with that person. You made a HUGE mistake keeping them around if you already caught them stealing. Why you kept them around after you caught them once I don't understand. You know the saying..fool me once shame on you...fool me twice shame on you. I'm not sure what expression they would have for a person that let a person fool them or steal from them 3 times!

I'm not sure why you are asking if you did something wrong reprimanding them??? That seems strange.

The only cases I've seen where people acted so foolishly as in your case was when there was more to the story. For example, I once met a guy that hired a girl and he ended up fooling around with her.....so yeah they were having sex and that clouded his judgement. But he had a similar type of story. I had to almost beat him over the head to get him to fire her!

Who in the heck cares if this person is broke or Buenos Aires is an expensive city. As an employer, that isn't your problem. Especially if they are stealing from you!

You have to assume, if you catch someone stealing from you...it means they have done it several times. You just found out about 2 or 3 times so in all reality they were probably doing it far more often. Thieves are like that.

Look, you already made the serious mistake of keeping them around. Just pay them the 500 pesos owed and be done with them forever! It will be important to make sure you let ALL the security guards know that this person is NOT allowed in the building again.

I'd also take the added step of sending a signed letter to your landlord as well as the property administrator letting them know the name and DNI/Passport # of the person that is NOT allowed in the building.

You could suffer consequences far greater than this 500 pesos. In a town like Buenos Aires, this person could just hire some thug to rob you blind or follow you out of your apartment one day and beat you. Don't dismiss that possibility because I've seen a lot of shady things there.

Don't even think about it...pay what you owe and just end your relationship and never talk to them again. Wish them the best of luck.

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

As any owner of a business here will tell you, the laws are completely on the side of the employee. We caught an employee stealing - had it on video. Dismissed the employee who then sued. Went to court and showed the video. Decision in favor of the employee because the employee didn't know we had surveillance.

You can figure one month's salary in severance for every year worked at your company, plus the 13th month salary, plus anytime they might have worked that was outside of their regular work hours undocumented, even responding to an email at night. That's double if the employee is pregnant. If you fire a woman and she get's pregnant within (I think) 90 days of dismissal you will owe her double. You have 4 days for this money to hit their account or you are in for more legal problems.

I could go on but you get the point.

Your first mistake was letting the first stealing event go by. I've found it's better to yank the snake out of the hole first and deal with it than to sit around and hope it doesn't come back. You have 90 day's evaluation period at the beginning of an employment. That's your chance. After that, it's really hard.

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

And, I would agree with some of the other posts. You can't be a bambi here. Be respectful at all times, but hold your line! Otherwise you will get taken advantage of. Use this event as a warning. You have a relatively easy case. A worst case might look like you owe the employee more than your business is worth.

 

[Ceviche]

You have 90 day's evaluation period at the beginning of an employment.

well, we have not even finished one month.

and this was part time work.

and not in white.

and am dealing with a overseas broke student. Not a Argentine.

 

[Gringoboy]

I still don't see what you're so worried about......................scratches head....
You took him on as casual labour.
Bloke stole from you several times.
You were a good guy and acted like a gent.
He didn't.

Listen, learn how to be a little harder. That way, you take the knocks a little easier.
This may sound harsh, but in business there isn't a lot of time for Mr Nice Guy nowadays.

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

Not in white could be worse. Someone else with deeper knowledge of Argentine Employment law and undocumented workers might have more to add.

 

[Ceviche]

I still don't see what you're so worried

Thanks for your input.

Just wondering if I should reimburse the salary owed or should I hold it for some days or not give it at all. And any consequences if I make it hard for the employee to recover the salary owed.

For acting like a gent, got abused by the employee , door banged on my face, and a scene in front of the building security.