Thoughts and advice pls on trusted cleaner stealing money

Hmm...that's a rather tall story, Gardenman99 but if it's true, of course you did the right thing.

I was nursing for 37 years, one morning an elderly patient was being discharged from our ward as he was walking out with his wife he gave me an envelope and thanked me for the care he had received. When I opened the envelope it was not a thank you card as I thought but a cheque made out to me in my name for a £1000. I told the ward manager she told me I was to take the cheque to the General office so they could send the cheque to the patient thank him in writing and ask him could he rewrite the cheque out to "Ward funds" about a week later the patient telephoned the ward and asked for me to visit him at his home. [not normally the done thing]
I poped in see him on my way home. He told me he was surprised I had told anyone about him giving me the cheque. I explained I was part of a team and it would not be fair for me to have kept the cheque to myself [in any event it was against the rules].
He replied "well none of the other staff said anything" he had given 19 other members of staff £1000 each including the ward manager. I never discussed it with anyone again.

Yes, sadly this could become her reason for working with old or vulnerable people...if it isn't already.

Even if the police don't follow up it might mean if she tries this again it will be taken more seriously next time..

What happens if she gets a job with a not so aware pensioner? How long before she's draining bank accounts? She won't stop. You have to go to the police if you have evidence.

It is a worry isn't it when trusting someone in your home. DD recently discovered that her cleaning lady had lied to her about something really quite trivial but it turned out that she'd told all sorts of porky pies. She had to go as DD just couldn't trust her. She'd also tried to get DD and SiL to guarantee her a loan to buy a car. Not a chance. I think she just had pretty poor judgment if she thought she could get away with the sorts of thing she was doing.
It made me very glad of my hard working and entirely trustworthy Romanian lady who was with my mother and then me for 10 years+.

A few years ago, our neighbour employed a cleaner through an agency. Neighbour was very impressed with the cleaner's thoroughness - she even tidied inside cupboards! We needed a cleaner too so we asked her cleaner to do for us. Shortly after she started, small sums of money started to go missing - a fiver from a child's birthday card, some coins from my husbands cache of pre-decimal shillings. At first we put it down to our own carelessness. One day I had to pop home to get some cash from a small stash that I kept in a drawer in my bedroom. The cleaner was in that day but didn't see me get the money. That evening, I went back to the drawer to return some change and realised that some of my money had disappeared during the day
I went round to speak to the neighbour who said that they had also lost small sums - cash from her children's wage packets and little piles of change left around the house. Again, they couldn't be sure that it was the cleaner. Then, a few days earlier they had returned from their holiday with some spare cash which they were going to use for a meal out that evening, which they left on the sideboard. They went out into the garden to drink some holiday wine and even invited the cleaner to join them. When they went to pick up the cash to go out for their meal, they realised that some of it was missing. Together, we were sure that the cleaner was responsible but rather than setting up a trap, and neither of us wanting her in the house again, the neighbour reported her to the agency and got both our house keys back.
Some time later, we saw that the cleaner had been in court for pinching people's pools money which she had been collecting.

Once someone has lost your trust its almost impossible to keep going with that person. Elegran is right. You could sack this woman who could then go on and steal from others -potentially vulnerable older people. If the family have proof then they should report it to the police. Who knows? She may already have a police record and, if she doesn't, its time she did. Its not OK to steal money.

It's hard to know what the police would actually do isn't it? A caution? Would the web cam evidence be acceptable? I'd tell her that she was lucky I wasn't going to the police - that might change her behaviour. I think I'd like to know if there was any reason she'd needed the money. Give her a chance

But putting it in the hands of the police might stop her stealing money from anyone else. Telling her you don't need her any more without taking action to call a halt just sends her on to the next victim.

But why? It's unlike.y the money will be returned

Definitely use a webcam. Even if they're sure it's her they can't prove it. If they can get her on film then they can put it in the hands of the police.

I honestly don't think I could set up the web cam and involve the police.. I'd just sack her and warn my friends. BTW the original sum of money probably wouldn't have been covered by insurance if someone had broken in. I'm nit remotely victim blaming but I'd never have that sum of money in my house and certainly not for several weeks

No one else in house, no teenagers, just small children at nursery.

They really need proof before accusing her , web cam is a good idea . I would never accuse anyone unless I had absolute proof first , is there anyone else in the house ie teenagers and their friends? . They could never be really sure unless they had web cam proof , I have heard of a family member taking money after they had developed a `problem` and blaming it on the cleaner .

Get your proof and then confront her.

If daughter in law popped out there were others in the house?

Thanks at North , I do keep some in my purse and most in a tin somewhere

aggie, could you have some money ready, if you are going to need it for the GCs? Or keep a smaller amount handy to dip into, and most of it somewhere else?

It's not much help but my Nana used to keep money in her, extremely large, bra. Or under the carpet - different corners for different things eg gas, rates, electicity etc.

I couldn't have her in the house again so I would be tempted to tell her that she is no longer needed and tell the friends to whom they recommended her what has been going on.

There is little to be gained from involving the police - it would be huge amounts of aggro and with no money back. If they sack her so suddenly, she will realise they are on to her. And, of course no references would be forthcoming.

I never Kept money in the house , bar a few notes in my purse , but now that I don't get out as much I have to have some cash handy , the GC do "messages" for me and I need it for them . The big bugbear is where to keep it ! Said GC now know where it is and I have to find somewhere else , no point in leaving temptation there for anyone

ps as to what to do, I agree with Flossieturner - tell her she's not needed any more.

We once had a cleaner who took some money out of husband's jacket pocket, which was hanging in the hall. Just drawn from the bank to pay a builder.
At least , we think it was her, she never came back after that.
Since then we never have cash in the house, unless it's on our person somewhere.
"Don't put a stumbling block in front of a blind man."

My parents had a similar situation with their gardener a few years ago. The odd £20 missing from Mum's purse after he'd been ... luckily she didn't keep a lot of cash in the house. He had done the garden for quite some time before the cash started going missing.

Again, they didn't want the police involved, but my brother did call them out as the chap no doubt did many more gardens around the town.
Turns out he was know to the police for previous thefts, so he was just reverting to type.

It's an awkward situation but for the sake of her other employers I think the police should be involved.

The back of a drawer is not like leaving it in a handbag on the table , she must have been rummaging

Better get proof and get her stopped rather than dismiss her to do the same to other trusting people !