Employee Fraud

The majority of corporate fraud involves employees. Although fraud has traditionally been regarded as hard to prove, the Fraud Act 2006 provisions made it easier to obtain a conviction.

Employee Fraud is one of the largest growing areas of concern for any employer

Employee fraud can take on many different forms; at one end of the spectrum we have small scale fraud where employees add on a few more miles to their expenses claim forms at the end of the month. At the other end of the scale employees have been known to inadvertently engineer the downfall of their employer; in 1995 Nick Leeson contributed to the collapse of the UK’s oldest merchant bank, Barings.

A great deal of employee fraud goes unnoticed and unreported. Many businesses simply do not have sufficiently rigorous or robust systems in place to prevent losses.

The Rogers and Norton employment law team have wide ranging knowledge and expertise in cases relating to fraud, bribery and dishonesty in the workplace. The team are well placed to advise and support employers in connection with investigations into suspected fraudulent or corrupt activities. We recognise the importance of managing and protecting our clients’ financial and reputational interests and can advise you on the appropriate action to take.

Under the Fraud Act 2006, fraud offences are defined as:

• Fraud by false representation – this is committed when a false representation is made. The person making it knew was, or might be, false and which was made with the intent to make a gain or cause loss
• Fraud by failing to disclose information – this is committed when the perpetrator fails to disclose information which they under a legal duty to disclose and which is withheld with the intent of making a gain or causing a loss
• Fraud by abuse of position – This is committed when the perpetrator is in a position of trust and acts dishonestly with the intention of making a gain or causing a loss
• Fraud by obtaining services dishonestly – this involves obtaining services for which payment is due and failing to pay, in whole or in part, where this is done with the intent that payment will be avoided