Re: Trust
And in that scenario you'll likely find you'll be suspended and then told to find a new job. If the ability for your employer to search you is written into your contract then you'll also likely find it written in that refusing a search is classed as gross misconduct.
Yes, you could challenge that at HR level or even court later on (you'll almost certainly lose, by the way). Or you could just stick your nose (or fingers) up at them and look for another job where you feel all warm and fuzzy because you're trusted. That's fine. Most people will just open their damn bag for a minute because it's really not worth it.
Bottom line is that low paid front line staff (be it factory, distribution or retail) are the most likely to steal physical product or 20 quid out of the till. Though now I work in an office and I notice that if anything ever goes missing the instant (yet hushed) consensus is "it must have been the cleaners" as though the cleaner is some kind of bogeywoman.
To give a fair and balanced view, while this is happening no doubt the fat cats are busy playing golf with a brown envelope stuffed into their caddy, but that's not the point here.
Ex-retail myself and while it had its moments, let's be frank: it's a shit sector to work in, with shit pay, shit customers and lots of temptation. I was in food retail and when you're on 5p an hour above minimum wage (so that they can say they're ethical and pay above minimum wage, natch) that sandwich in the chiller that costs you 20 minutes of work can look mighty tempting. In fact I know someone who was sacked for just that (the good old "I'll pay for it later" routine).
I can see why some people would crack even if they're not normally that way inclined. Let alone the ones that are that way inclined. And correspondingly I can see why companies take measures to prevent it.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
