'Where's my stapler?' | Shocking data reveals how many staff steal from their workplace

If you’ve ever left a stapler on your desk, only for it to disappear without trace, never to be seen again, you’re not alone! Employee theft is rife in the UK – new data has revealed that nearly 19 incidents of employee theft per day have been reported to the police since 2019.

The data was compiled by StandOut CV, using Freedom of Information requests submitted to 45 UK police forces. Although nearly 19,000 incidents of employee theft were found to have been reported between 2019 and October 2021, thefts did decrease by 35% between 2019 and 2020, with 5,935 incidents of employee theft reported in 2020 compared to 9,134 in 2019. Comparing the nine months of 2021 to 2020, the data showed that the figure had dropped by a further 37%.

However, this reduction in employee theft can certainly be attributed in no small part to the pandemic, with many more employees working from home during lockdown.
The data found that the worst region in the UK for employee theft is Northamptonshire, where there are 0.11 thefts per employee. London’s financial district, the City of London, recorded the least thefts with just 0.02 per employee.

Previous polling from YouGov shows that as many as 38% of British employees admit to stealing from their employer. And it’s not just a UK-based problem. Research by the California Restaurant Association found that 75% of employees admit to stealing at least once from their employer.