Ethics/Legality of cash register till not balancing.

May 23, 2021 9:44 AM

I question the way the trainer at my new job reconciled an unbalanced cash register till.

I recently took a part-time job as a cashier at sports facility for something to do and because it gives me unlimited free access to the facility. At the end of the shift, the person training me showed me how to balance the cash register till. It came up $20 short, so she took $20 out of her purse, put it in the till, and said to me, "Don't tell anyone." Is it legal to do this? It made me uncomfortable, and I don't like knowing that she did this. I have worked with tills in the past, and when they came up short or over, I just noted it on the balance sheet. (Unlike the person training me, when I am in charge of the cash register I will note a discrepancy on the balance sheet.)

posted by SageTrail to Work & Money (17 answers total)

That's definitely wierd. It would be illegal for her to take money, but put money in? Wierd. Unless she was covering for an earlier (illegal) draw she did on her shift before your training.

I wouldn't rat her out because you don't really know what's going on, but I also would not take over her till/tray without her balancing it first. You should all have your own trays you are responsible for, of course, but you didn't mention that is how it is working there.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:59 AM on May 23, 2021 [11 favorites]

It might be an artifact of the process at your particular store? The one time I worked a cash register, ages ago, any discrepancy meant staying long after the shift was over, because a manager had to get everything else done first and then recount your tray, and that could turn into an hour or more. I remember an incident where I was $30 over and I knew exactly what had happened because there was a fifty in the drawer I didn’t remember taking in — I must have thought it was a twenty and shortchanged the customer, and they didn’t notice either. But it was really tempting to just pocket the $30, not because I wanted the money, but because I wanted the drawer to come out even so I could go home. (I did not.)

If the place you’re working has that kind of process, it would be very tempting to fix small errors rather than go through it.
posted by LizardBreath at 10:24 AM on May 23, 2021 [11 favorites]

The problem is less likely that this individual is doing something unethical and needs her ethics improved and more likely that there's some bad process or manager which makes her think it's easier to take $20 out of her pocket than deal with it. Or maybe she was just never told that you can just make a note of the imbalance and it's not her problem.
posted by bleep at 11:02 AM on May 23, 2021 [20 favorites]

It's not what is supposed to happen but presumably she fears being fired and would rather make up the mistake than be without a job.

Or maybe (if you weren't there the entire time with her) there was some reason she took a $20 out intending to replace it and forgot to do so before showing you how to do the balancing. If it was precisely $20, that could make sense.
posted by Candleman at 11:12 AM on May 23, 2021 [10 favorites]

Ethical? Without knowing exactly why she did this, it's hard to say. Sometimes this sort of thing may be allowed at places with less rigid procedures. They may be using the drawer as an informal source of petty cash/loans. At one place I worked (admittedly not a place with a standard till) the manager regularly borrowed 10 to buy herself lunch and returned it the next day. Perhaps it was something like that.
posted by Crystal Fox at 11:21 AM on May 23, 2021 [2 favorites]

I worked somewhere in the late 90s that fired someone over a single missing bill (a $20 or $50 or $100, I forget) that turned up a few months later crammed in the back of the register behind the cash drawer.
posted by aniola at 12:17 PM on May 23, 2021 [8 favorites]

I don't think it's unethical to do that, but I think it's a warning sign that YOU might be expected to do that.
posted by slidell at 12:51 PM on May 23, 2021 [15 favorites]

That's a red flag to me.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 1:36 PM on May 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

From what I've heard of retail, very bad things can happen if the count doesn't match. I'd rather pitch in my own $20 than lose my job, especially if it's not safe to be honest there.
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:53 PM on May 23, 2021 [5 favorites]

In my work experience, "fixing the till" by adding cash to balance it, is falsifying financial records, which is a big deal. Like, a firing-level offense. I don't know if I have just worked in really punitive places, but I would really hesitate before fixing the till like that.
posted by Gray Duck at 2:13 PM on May 23, 2021 [2 favorites]

> but I think it's a warning sign that YOU might be expected to do that.

Yes, this was my major concern. She was training you. Did she explain that this was what you should be doing? You want to be sure that you understand the policies (both on paper, and in practice) around balancing the till. You should probably seek clarity on what the policy is. If you don't want to tell anyone about what your trainer did, you can say that since the till balanced perfectly, you forgot to ask what to do if the till doesn't balance.

The legality will depend on your location. It's my understanding that in the US, under federal law, the employer may require you to make up the shortage or deduct it from your pay, so long as you still make the federal minimum wage. Some states prohibit the employer recovering the shortage without the consent of the employee (or prohibit it altogether), but generally employees can be fired for any reason, including a till shortage, so depending on the policy, making up the shortage might be in your best interest even if not strictly legal.

Making up the shortage on the sly could end up worse than making it up through the formal process, though. In the age of video surveillance, I would be very cautious about opening my personal wallet anywhere near the till--especially while counting it out. I suppose with higher quality video nowadays, they might be able to determine that you weren't pocketing the change, but when I last worked a till many years ago, I chose to never handle personal cash near a till except in the presence of another employee who was explicitly aware what I was doing, so that there was never any question.

And if the till is communal instead of personal, then of course you should not be expected to make up any shortages just because you were the one to count it out at the end of the day.
posted by yuwtze at 2:26 PM on May 23, 2021 [5 favorites]

When I worked retail many years ago, an older cashier insisted on putting her own money into the till if it was short, even if it was just a few pennies. This was not company policy and no one was asked to do it (in fact, this was discouraged), but she felt ethically obligated to and, I imagine, didn't want anyone to question whether she had stolen the money. Perhaps this is your coworker's thinking as well?
posted by kitty teeth at 4:46 PM on May 23, 2021 [2 favorites]

I agree with bleep, it sounds like someone higher up will throw an absolute shitfit if the till is off, and rather than get fired or deal with the drama, it's worth $20 to keep the peace. I've worked in places like that and would not do so again.
posted by The otter lady at 7:13 PM on May 23, 2021 [4 favorites]

...but I think it's a warning sign that YOU might be expected to do that.

That was my thought, too. I have often heard of retailers making employees make up any shortage in the till, which, legality aside, could be pretty costly to you if someone were regularly dipping on the sly.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:22 PM on May 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

It's my understanding that in the US, under federal law, the employer may require you to make up the shortage or deduct it from your pay, so long as you still make the federal minimum wage. Some states prohibit the employer recovering the shortage without the consent of the employee (or prohibit it altogether), but generally employees can be fired for any reason, including a till shortage, so depending on the policy, making up the shortage might be in your best interest even if not strictly legal.

Every so often something like this pops up and I feel the need to "de-normalize" it. This is very not okay and completely illegal in many countries. If you work somewhere like this, you're being treated appallingly.

Note that the Australian Fair Work Ombudsman hasa page about this and interestingly, a $20 shortfall in the till is a specific example:

Example: Deducting money for till shortages

Jenny works as a bar attendant in a tavern and is covered by the Hospitality Industry (General) Award.

At the end of her shift her manager, Robert, counts the money for the day. He notices that the till is $20 short. Robert usually takes money out of the bar attendant’s wages to make up for the shortfall.

Even though the till is $20 short, Robert can’t deduct this money from Jenny’s wages. This is because the award does not allow it, the deduction would not benefit Jenny and it would be unreasonable in the circumstances.

This cost will need to be met by Robert as the employer.

Obviously, if you work somewhere that doesn't believe in unfair dismissal, there's not a lot to work with, but just remember that it's not how things should be.
posted by krisjohn at 1:25 AM on May 24, 2021 [3 favorites]

Discrepancies should be noted on the balance sheet because it's possible for the reason for the discrepancy to be picked up on a different shift.

Possibilities:
* $20 ended up stuck behind or under the cash drawer
* An extra $20 accidentally ended up in the float which was put aside earlier in the day
* A customer got incorrect change and might mention it (that's unlikely, I guess)
posted by kinddieserzeit at 5:12 AM on May 24, 2021 [3 favorites]

I worked at a place considered to be one of the happiest on earth.

All credit card transactions printed a receipt for the guest, and one for the drawer. These were counted along with the cash.

One time I was missing one, and a few days later I was written up for it. At no time was I told this was the consequence. It meant I was not able to leave that section of the park for a full year. So no chance on snagging a better location or more shifts.

I didn’t stay long.

Your trainer may be afraid of an outsize reaction like this.
posted by Monday at 7:39 AM on May 24, 2021 [2 favorites]