Termination Process
All terminations should follow the processes outlined by corporate Human Resources. It is
not uncommon at hotels for termination to consist of nothing more than payment of final
wages and turning in a uniform.
The terminated employee's personnel file should include a detailed record of all the hotel's
property that has been issued on a permanent basis that should be reclaimed, such as:
-
Uniforms.
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Keys, metal and electronic cards.
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Identification cards and tags.
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Tools.
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Credit cards.
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Any special clothing or equipment.
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Authorized entrance codes or cards.
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Proprietary files and manuals.
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Pagers and cell phones.
Before the terminated employee receives their final payroll check, a locker inspection
should be conducted by the department head or a security representative along with a
member of human resources. All department heads should be advised of a person's
termination date so appropriate action can be taken.
Former employees should not be allowed access via the employee entrance or in any nonpublic
areas. Any safe combinations or other sensitive access codes, such as electronic
lock codes, should be changed.
In some cases, a termination can dramatically affect an employee's mental state.
Management should be aware that an employee can sometimes act irrationally and resort to
physical violence toward the manager, other employees or the property. For this reason the
following is recommended:
-
Terminations should only be conducted by management, human resources or their
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designee. The employee’s supervisor may be excused from this process if it is felt their
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presence would make the termination more difficult.
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If a violent reaction is expected from the employee based on previous history or
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remarks, a security person should be present or available during the termination.
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If the employee has committed physical threats or acts of violence, it is recommended
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that the employee be notified by certified mail or telephone of his termination and barred
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from physically entering the property. A report should also be filed with the local police
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department if such threats or actual violence occurs. In most jurisdictions, it is a
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violation of the law to verbally threaten an individual.
Employee Procedures & Controls
II-8
Care should be taken to ensure that a hotel’s termination process is in compliance with all
applicable laws.
Theft/Employee Misconduct
In the event an employee is terminated for cause, termination should be immediate in lieu
of notice. The terminated employee should not be allowed to return to a sensitive area for
any reason unless accompanied by their department supervisor or a security officer.
Hotel termination procedures should comply with the SCH Human Resources termination
policy.
Employee Procedures & Controls
II-9
Orientation
As outlined in previous sections of this manual, employee training is an ongoing, important
aspect of safety and security for both present and new employees.
Each new employee should be given an orientation that includes:
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A tour of the property so the employee can learn the general layout of the buildings and
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grounds and the location of the various hotel departments.
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The location of all emergency equipment, exits, and alarm systems.
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Training on safety, security and emergency procedures on the first day of work.
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A working knowledge of all emergency procedures and what would be expected of the
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employee during an emergency.
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A discussion of a hotel employee's attitude toward the guest, all house rules, and the
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hotel's standards of conduct.
A sample New Hire Safety and Security Training Checklist is located in the appendix.
Employees can also be a valuable source of information. "Back of the house" employees
are in a much better position to recognize and report "sleepers," undesirables, possible
thieves or troublemakers. In addition, employees may know if another employee is stealing
from the company. Many employees will assist management in the control of internal theft
if they are asked to help. However, most employees will not volunteer such assistance on
their own. Encourage employees to recognize the goal they share with management of
maintaining a safe and secure property by reporting any suspicious activity. This could
include the presence of a firearm at the hotel or unauthorized persons loitering in the hotel
for extended periods of time. All employees hired by the hotel should understand what is
expected and required for his/her job performance.
Training is a continuing process for all employees. The training of employees in the areas
of safety, security, and fire prevention is the responsibility of management.
Employee Procedures & Controls
II-10
Employee Identification
It is important for each hotel employee to be easily identified. Identification can be
accomplished in several ways:
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A distinct uniform worn to identify the employee, such as a room attendant, a bellman,
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a waitress, etc.
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An identification (ID) nametag worn identifying the person by name and by position.
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When this is used, it is suggested that the printing be large enough for anyone to read, and
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that the contrast (background to lettering) be such that the name stands out.
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Picture I.D. card. This is normally a laminated card bearing the picture of the
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individual, the typed name of the individual, his or her department in the hotel (normally
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shown by a background color), and the name of the hotel on the front of the card. The back
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of the card may have more personal information such as height, weight, age, employee ID
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number or fingerprint, if desired. The date of issue and the signature of the employee
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should be on the card also. The cards may be either carried or displayed by the employee.
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At large hotels, this system assists the security force in identifying employees.
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If the picture I.D. system is used, all attempts should be made to recover and then destroy
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the card when an employee leaves the hotel. Records should be maintained in the
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employee's personnel file to indicate that he or she has lost an I.D. badge and that another
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was issued.
Employee Procedures & Controls
II-11
Employee Entrance Control
It is preferable to restrict employees to the use of certain entrances. When this is required,
the employees should be told during their orientation which entrance to use to come to and
from their jobs. This entrance can then be controlled, and is a good point at which to check
packages coming into and leaving the hotel. It is also a good place to have the employees'
time clock.
The employee entrance can be most effective when:
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Requiring all employees to wear name badges.
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Providing identification cards with a photo of the employee.
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Controlling what belongings employees may bring to work.
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Conducting parcel and bag checks.
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Confirming and clearing all visitors, vendors and contractors at the employee entrance.
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Color code identification badges and/or cards are used to indicate the department assigned.
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All employees arrive and depart by the employee entrance, displaying identification on
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both occasions.
-
A specified entrance for employees and contractors is useful in preventing theft and
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restricting unauthorized removal of hotel assets.
Employee Procedures & Controls
II-12
Employee Parking
The assignment of specific entrances also allows management to assign specific parking
areas to employees. These spaces should be away from the building making it difficult for
an employee to take hotel property to a vehicle without being seen. A major component of
theft is opportunity and the presumption of a risk-free environment.
The assignment of parking areas and entrances can also control employee movement within
the property. General Managers should take special note of the fact that many employees
are required to go to their cars very late at night. The safety of employees should always be
of foremost concern to the hotel. The following suggestions should be considered:
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Establish as an informal policy that, after dark, employees should go to their cars in
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groups of two or three people. If an employee is leaving alone, another on-duty
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employee may walk to the parking lot with that person. The departing employee can
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then drive the on-duty employee back to the main entrance of the hotel.
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Allow employees to request a member of the security department to escort them to their
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cars.
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Appropriate lighting levels should be maintained to help ensure a safe environment.
Employee Procedures & Controls
II-13
Employee Time Cards
Each hotel should have specific instructions as to how time cards are to be handled by
employees. The following considerations are suggested for developing a time card
program:
-
Utilization of a PC-based time card system in order to run detailed reports of which
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employees are on property.
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With manual systems, have two racks, one for employees who are "on the clock" and
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one for employees who are off duty. This way you can determine immediately which
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employees are working in the hotel.
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No employee should be allowed to “punch” another employee's time card. In cases
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where intent to defraud the company can be proven, the employee should be subject to
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disciplinary action up to and including termination.
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An employee who has “clocked out” should leave the property. No employee should be
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permitted to remain on the premises when off duty unless authorized by management.
-
The department supervisor should review time cards daily to ensure the cards are being
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filled out properly.
-
The employee and the supervisor should initial all corrections made on time cards.
Employee Procedures & Controls
II-14
Employee Packages/Purses
Management should put into practice a policy to control packages and purses that are
brought into or removed from the hotel. As part of this policy, a package/purse search
procedure should be implemented. Employees should be notified of the hotel’s
package/pass policy during orientation.
Package Searches
Before implementing a package/purse search procedure, notices should be posted in an area
that will be seen by all employees. The notices should describe the procedure, specify when
it will go into effect, and clearly identify the employee exit that is to be used by all
employees without exception.
A member of management or a designated representative, such as a security officer, should
ask employees leaving the building with packages to produce package passes and open the
packages to verify the listed contents. Only the employee to whom the pass was issued
should open the package and remove the contents for inspection.
In the event of a discrepancy with the package contents and the contents listed on the pass,
the employee's supervisor or department head should be contacted. The General Manager
should be notified if any hotel employee refuses to cooperate with the package search
procedures.
Package Passes
Employees should be required to obtain written permission from a member of management
before taking packages from the hotel. The pass can simply state the name of the employee
to whom the pass was issued, the type of item the employee is removing, the date the pass
was issued, and the person who issued the pass.
However, when the property being removed is not normally found in the department in
which the individual is employed (for example, a room attendant removing a kitchen item),
the signatures of both the employee's supervisor and the department head of the area from
which the item came should be required. A sample pass is available in this manual.
This system helps to prevent the unauthorized removal of property belonging to the hotel.
Package Pass Procedure
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Parcels given to an employee by a guest should be accompanied by a note from the
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guest stating the employee's name, a description of the contents, and the guest’s
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signature.
-
Management should determine whether or not the guest is registered and, if so, every
-
effort should be made to verify the information.
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On other occasions when employees attempt to leave the hotel with packages, they
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should possess valid parcel passes signed by the department head.
Employee Procedures & Controls
II-15
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Management should keep a current list of individuals who are authorized to sign passes.
-
All blank passes should be kept in a safe place.
-
All passes should be collected and forwarded to the person responsible for the
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procedure.
If an employee is removing something on a loan basis, the pass should clearly indicate that
fact, plus the date it is to be returned. As a general rule this practice should be discouraged.
A sample package pass is included in the appendix.
Employee Procedures & Controls
II-16
Use of Personal Vehicle for Company Business
On occasion, it may be necessary to ask an employee to use their personal vehicle for
company business. By adhering to the following guidelines, you can prevent any
confusion or misunderstanding in the event of an incident.
-
Management should request that the employee show proof of insurance and a valid
-
driver’s license prior to utilizing their personal vehicle for company business.
-
An employee has the right to refuse to use their personal vehicle for company
-
business. An exception exists if the employee's job description states that they may,
-
on occasion, be requested to drive their personal vehicle for company business.
-
An employee should understand, in the event of an accident, any damage to their
-
vehicle, other vehicles, claims of bodily injury to others, and/or any insurance
-
deductibles resulting from the accident will be their responsibility.
-
All employees requested to drive their personal vehicle on company business should
-
be reimbursed for actual mileage at the current IRS rate. This rate does not apply if
-
the employee receives a car allowance.
-
If an employee utilizes their personal vehicle for company business, they should
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complete a Use of Personal Vehicle for Company Business Waiver form. A sample
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form is located in the appendix. This form should be maintained in the employee's
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file.
Employee Procedures & Controls
II-17
Personal Belongings
Rules should be established specifying the type of property employees are allowed to bring
to work. When lockers are not provided, a "safe area" should be made available where employees'
belongings can be secured. Each major department (housekeeping, maintenance, kitchen,
etc.) should have this type of area and the department head should control the key. The area
should be locked except when property is being placed into or being removed from it.
Employees found to be storing or transporting stolen material, alcoholic beverages, illegal
drugs, or weapons should be disciplined according to company policy, up to and including
termination.
Employee Procedures & Controls
II-18
Locker Rooms/Lockers
Employee lockers can present a two-fold problem. If not of suitable quality and adequately
protected, they may be broken into. This could have a negative impact on morale. On the
other hand, lockers could become places for concealment of hotel or guest property.
The following actions should be taken to address this problem:
-
Advise all employees of the type of belongings they may bring to work, with the
-
explanation that the hotel is limited in its ability to provide property protection.
-
Provide sturdy lockers with either padlocks or those with safe-type changeable
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combination locks. Employees should make their own combination selection.
-
Advise all employees that management reserves the right to inspect lockers.
-
Employee lockers should only be inspected in the presence of a representative from
-
both the security and the human resources departments. In the absence of a security
-
person, an assistant manager or department head should be present. Union collective
-
bargaining agreements should be consulted where applicable.
-
Thoroughly instruct employees with regard to parcel passes and inspection for parcels
-
being taken out of the hotel.
-
To maintain high morale among hotel employees, it is imperative that measures be
-
taken to secure the personal belongings of each individual.
When locker rooms are provided for employees, these rooms should be separate from the
normal work area and limited to employee use. A number should be assigned to the
individual lockers for each employee who wishes to use one.
A sign should be posted in the locker room stating that lockers are subject to inspection by
hotel management. The following is a sample statement for this purpose:
“The management of this hotel reserves the right to inspect any locker furnished by the
hotel to the employee, and to inspect any packages that employees may have in their
possession upon leaving the premises.”
When a large proportion of the hotel's employees can be expected to speak a language other
than English, the signs should be displayed in both English and the predominant other
language.
Employees should be instructed that valuable merchandise, money, or illegal/prohibited
goods (stolen goods, alcoholic beverages, illegal drugs or weapons) cannot be stored in the
locker, and that violation of this rule could result in disciplinary action up to and including
termination.
Employee Procedures & Controls
II-19
Internal Theft
Motivations for Employee Theft
In order to develop the policies and procedures that will protect corporate assets from
internal theft, it is necessary to understand what often motivates an employee to steal.
You will generally find three fundamental factors contributing to an employee's decision
to steal:
-
Financial Need: This could include credit card debt, gambling debt, chemical
-
dependency, etc.
-
The Ability to Rationalize: Some employees may not consider the taking of hotel
-
funds/property to be a theft. To them, the theft is a "loan" or it is "owed" to them for
-
their hard work. They might minimize the offensiveness of their misconduct by
-
assuming that if they are caught, the worst thing that will happen is that they will
-
have to pay for what they took.
-
Perception of a Risk Free Opportunity to Steal: More than anything else, the belief
-
that the theft will go undetected or that management will make no effort to identify
-
the perpetrator will drive an employee over the line to larceny.
Preventing Employee Theft
Losses due to employee theft can be significantly reduced by implementing policies and
procedures which:
-
Eliminate or reduce the opportunity for employees to steal.
-
Create an element of risk concerning the theft of corporate property.
-
Identify potential high risk employees.
Policies
Some proven policies include, but are not limited to, the following:
-
Have a written policy which notifies your staff that you will investigate all allegations
-
of employee theft in a timely and thorough manner.
-
Let your staff know that if money or property is missing, you are going to
-
consistently respond with a thorough investigation. Knowing that you will always
-
attempt to identify the perpetrator is a powerful deterrent.
-
Limit the amount of cash on property.
-
Keep only the necessary minimum amount of cash in banks and tills. In so doing, you
-
reduce the amount of cash exposed to embezzlement and robbery.
-
All bank deposits should be made no later than the next business day.
-
“Borrowing” cash from deposits or banks.
-
Employee Handbag/Package/Container Search Policy should be posted. The policy
-
should indicate that management reserves the right to inspect all handbags, packages,
-
containers, etc. coming onto or leaving the property.
Employee Procedures & Controls
II-20
-
Designated Employee Parking Area: Require that all employees park their personal
-
vehicles in a designated location away from the employee entrance/loading
-
dock/kitchen doors.
-
Designated Employee Entrance/Exit: Require that all employees use one designated
-
entrance when entering and exiting the property.
-
Limit Employee “Wandering”: Prohibit employees from wandering about the hotel in
-
areas where they have no business.
-
Key Control: Prohibit employees from taking keys off property.
-
Prohibit housekeepers from using their keys to open guestrooms for anyone.
-
Provide a clear policy concerning the issuing of additional room keys.
-
Implement and enforce strict policies concerning key control and accountability.
-
Conduct routine audits of the Electronic Card Key System.
-
Limit key making authorization.
-
Zero Tolerance for Cash Management Discrepancies: If your staff knows that you
-
will tolerate a $10.00 cash shortage then you can expect to routinely lose $10.00 a
-
day in cash shortages. You will get what you demand concerning cash management.
-
Implement a policy that requires written corrective action reports concerning cash
-
shortages or overages.
-
Implement "dual controls" and establish an audit trail for all financial transfers. If at
-
all possible, require that all internal transfer of funds be documented and verified by
-
at least two employees. Attempt to deny any one person total control over money or
-
property.
-
Prohibit front desk staff from working out of each other's till.
-
Require detailed "backup" or support documentation verifying receipt and acceptance
-
of any invoice item.
-
Do not allow employees to cash their personal checks out of hotel funds.
-
Limit employee access to only those areas in the hotel where they are assigned or
-
have a legitimate need to visit in the course of their duties. Prohibit "visitors" from
-
coming onto the property for the purpose of meeting with employees.
-
Require competitive bidding all goods and services. Develop a form that will enable
-
staff to document bid requests obtained over the phone.
-
Require that all guest restaurant/bar checks be written in ink.
-
Require that all liquor bottles be marked for identification. Prohibit more than one
-
open bottle of any one brand of liquor in the bar.
-
Require that guestroom locks be immediately interrogated following any reported
-
incident of theft from a guestroom.
Employee Procedures & Controls
II-21
-
Require that all combinations or computer passwords be changed whenever an
-
employee having knowledge of a combination or password is terminated.
-
During renovation, require the contractor to inventory all old and new equipment and
-
handle the disposition of all out-going hotel property.
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