Can CCTV be used to check taking too long on break, before the employee is made aware of an investigation?
It's a grey area but yes.
Hmmm....CCTV usage of break timings...I don't believe they can as it's not under the terms of usage ???
If someone has complained you took to long on your break yes , as new signage says about breach of policy but I think a complaint has to be made first . So your manager could say another manager complained etc
The days of just randomly watching CCTV are over. There has to be a reason to look at it. If a manager has a reason to look at it they can use it to confirm said thing did happen. What they can't do is look at one thing but by doing so spot another unless it's related. So for instance there was a walk off on self service. Manager looks at CCTV and sees that the colleague had left the self service area so left it vulnerable, during this time the walk off happened. When colleague came back to self service it was seen that they were on their phone. Being on their phone should not happen but it was leaving the self service area that is the issue, not the phone. However, if there was a walk off and colleague was within the self service area but on phone so missed the walk off, this is different.
Your manager can't look at CCTV to see why you took longer to work a cage than was expected. It all depends on the reason they looked at the CCTV and if what is seen is related. However, if they look at CCTV and spot something serious they need to act on it. So, if they happen to be looking at a shop lifter but by doing so they see a colleague blocking a fire door, that needs to be addressed but it does not have to go to disciplinary.
I’m getting the impression you have done something potentially seriously wrong here Guftagu.
1st thread, if I lied about my absence will it go to disciplinary
2nd thread, wanting to know about investigations /disciplinarys
This thread wanting to know about CCTV!
All within a few hours and 2 seemingly different issues.
[mod]Please do not quote immediately prior post(s).[/mod]
Not me. Another colleague actually. What they did was take long on break, but I asked further questions based on events that have happened in the past; to see if CCTV had been used rightfully, which I now know it hadn't .
I’ve had this done to me, I never took longer on my breaks but others on my department used to go back early, which made it look like i was taking longer. Manager didn’t like my attitude when I told him I’m taking all of my entitlement rather then coming back early and doing more jobs. He then watched some on CCTV for the next month. I reported him and we had a big falling out (not that we got along in the first place) I’ve since moved stores and he has been reported multiple more times by other members of staff.
We have been told our managers are watching us to see why we are double scanning - lots of us have been pulled in for meetings, it is all deadly serious - we don't like the feeling we are being watched all the time, it is very off putting and some of my colleagues have been in tears over it - I think they should let it go till things go back to normal but our store manager is not prepared to let it drop and never has a word of praise, it's such a shame, we are all doing our best in the circumstances.
@sunshine girl, maybe you don’t realise but every time a cashier does a double scan and the customer notices, the customer gets double the difference back in cash.
Now the managers will most likely only view cctv for this when a double scan has been recorded at CSD, yes I can imagine it might be stressful if the managers have never bothered about it before but as you can imagine this can get quite expensive.
Ie, cashier scans 2 bottles of jack daniels, instead of 1 the customer has.
Considering it’s £32 per bottle when not on offer, that’s potentially £62 back to the customer all because the cashier scanned it twice instead of once.
Now don’t get me wrong, most of the time it’s low priced items, but I’ve known a £400 tv get double scanned before.
And yes the customer got double the difference!
Now add this up every week per store and it’s a lot of money for the company to lose.
I cannot remember if overchargers hit shrink or waste, but as both are normally hot topics in each store, if your store is not doing great on either of those measures then overchargers will be looked at by the senior team, and the relevant managers challenged on them.
The Services manager, Checkouts manager and who ever looks after PI these days(store dependent) all have to look at overchargers each week.
And then have to investigate each one.
Obviously the Checkout manager looks into all double scans each week, and there are a few reports to help them do this.
Most of the time it will come under poor performance for the cashier, however on rare occasions it’s collusion, and yes cctv could be looked at to ensure it’s not that, especially if the store has a big cashier double scan problem.
It will also be used to ensure that each double scan is actually genuine as well, as Tesco policy is that we will take the customers word that they have been double scanned, and I have known customers to abuse this policy, the only way to stop it was to get cctv evidence and then challenge the customer.
And yes I’ve known cashiers to be dismissed because of constant double scans.
You said they should let it go till things get back to normal, would you be saying that if everyone you did come out of your wages?
Shrink is a hot topic at the front end just now. The checkout managers have had to attend a zoom call training session and the group shrink managers are going round the stores to check on checkout shrink, along with shrink from other areas of the store.
Then there is the hub, if you have had the hub fitted then the store could be getting emails to highlight issues.
I understand how you feel but as had been said above there is a cost involved but double scans can be avoided. Firstly is you scan identical items next to each other and the customer has put identical items on the belt but comes back saying they have been scanned twice its hard to argue otherwise. The best way to avoid this is to either use the quantity button or put other items between them. When I was trained nearly 30 years ago this was part of the training in the store I worked in. Secondly, look at the screen. As posted above it has been seen that high value items have been double scanned. You would think the customer would notice that the bill was £400 more than expected, most do but not always. To avoid this when you scan a high value item just watch the screen.
Good service is to chat with the customers. It's also good service not to overcharge our customers. Some will come back angry because they have been overcharged but some work the system and may target the colleagues as they know they can get double the difference back.
In my store a customer in years ago who used to go to the older talkative cashiers and would have a big shop, then when a high value item went through the scanner they would distract the cashier and put the item back onto the belt and get it double scanned.
You don't get double the difference for double scans. Or you definitely don't get it if a colleague scans it a second time through a carrier bag etc.
Double difference is for price errors.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/1888357/how-you-can-get-free-food-and-money-back-at-tesco/ (https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/1888357/how-you-can-get-free-food-and-money-back-at-tesco/)
and
https://www.tesco.com/help/in-store-faq/ (https://www.tesco.com/help/in-store-faq/)
Follow Payments, coupons and vouchers then Payments.
QuoteI seem to have been charged twice for the same transaction. What should I do?
We’re very sorry for any mistake that has occurred. Please contact our Customer Service team via our Contact Us page and our colleagues will do all they can to help.
What shall I do if I’ve been overcharged?
We do everything we can to make sure that you should never be overcharged. So in the unlikely event that we charge you more than the price advertised on the shelf edge or on the product, please visit any store’s Customer Service Desk (excluding Express stores) with your receipt. A member of our team will be more than happy to offer for a “double the difference†refund.
From the horses mouth, nothing about "double the difference" under being charged twice (double scan).
That bit about being double charged for the same transaction is not referring to double scans. A transaction is the whole thing together not an individual item. That's why it refers to the customer service team not the CSD.
Ah ok, fair enough.
Quote from: Katarn2000 on 14-06-20, 04:17PM
It's a grey area but yes.
You don't say whether it is just one break or maybe more than one ? But it does seem management think they can just peruse the security cameras for their own personal vendettas. If it is just a one off they would have a serious problem if you were to take a grievance against them for bullying ! I would let them have their 2 minutes of fame in a meeting not answering any allegations see what they have and take it from there.
Misuse of CCTV monitoring in the workplace carries an extremely hefty fine and possible dismissal for the SM and manager concerned!
Stores that have the hub get notifications from the hub team, stores obliged to comply.
Seems very wrong that staff can be watched by cameras and then what is seen can be used against them, but staff are refused permission to make a simple audio recording of a meeting with management.
Strikes me as a huge inequality of rights, and it needs challenging in some way.
Harsh reality is that loss can be down to colleagues. Key focus of the hub is waste cages and the tills. Incorrect recording of waste is one issue, can be mistake or a pda problem but it's still an issue. Till can be double scans or cash loss.
I have worked with the company for nearly 30 years and I have seen numerous staff sackings due to theft. I have yet to see one for mistakes, and that is as it should be. Mistakes can be corrected, with coaching. Theft should not happen but it does. In one store I worked in there was someone taking money from the tills, they eventually got caught and funny enough after they left the business theft in colleague areas also stopped. People lost coats, things out of pockets, shopping done on breaks, shoes, food left in fridge for breaks etc.
Managers complaining about GA's taking too much time on their breaks is like the Chinese Communist Party accusing other nations of poor food hygiene standards. ;D :D
Another harsh reality is MM are on many occasions 'economical' with the truth/facts of policy and the alleged incident during meetings of many kinds, and the fact is that they are not always mistakes but attempts to 'win the day'.
An audio recording would do no harm to those who speak the truth and know their job.
In one location I worked I heard more MM lies in 3 years than I ever thought possible.
In the whole of this year I have done 3 double scans, the total amount of which was just over £7 - this occured all in the same week when I tried wearing gloves - how can it possibly be cost effective to have a 'lets talk' and be told 2 managers have looked at cctv over such a trivial amount - the time involved with those on managers pay, plus time taken with me sitting in an office much have cost the company much more than the small amount I accidentally lost - and as I said, seeing colleagues in tears and distressed because they have been given a warning is very demoralising - NOBODY double scans deliberately - common sense needs to be applied sometimes - I am now going very slowly on my till so I hope my manager is satisfied - a word of thanks for working all through this crisis would have gone a long way - I can hear you all laughing now!! :D
Does anyone actually believe the company is providing a safe work place for our mental health anymore I certainly don’t.