The decision to let someone go is never taken lightly, whether it’s a redundancy or a sacking. In the context of security impacts, even retirements are relevant to our concerns. There’s so much to think about in terms of paperwork, HR requirements and hiring a replacement, that some security matters get overlooked. We’ll lay out the vital measures to take to ensure that outgoing employees don’t pose a threat to your business.
Access
Remembering to get keys back, if the employee was a keyholder, is the primary concern and this is hardly ever overlooked. There are concerns around the safety of physical keys; if the employee is untrustworthy or disgruntled will they have made copies of your keys? Should you change the locks? This consideration is one of the best arguments for access control systems there is.
An access control system with RFID fob, key card or fingerprint access enables each employee’s account to be disabled centrally and instantly. If someone leaves and takes their card or fob with them it doesn’t matter from a security point of view, as once it’s disabled it is useless. When these items are returned they can be reset for a new employee and reused, which is cheaper than having to cut new keys or change locks.
Tampering
This is a fairly extreme example, but someone who has been fired and wants revenge may decide to vandalise or steal from your business. They may move CCTV cameras to create blind spots, mess with doors to stop them from locking properly or tamper with your intruder alarm to make a robbery or criminal damage spree untraceable. It is worth checking on someone’s last day that all your security products are working as they should.
Theft
Any disgruntled employee is a theft risk, but someone who’s leaving is even more so. They may use a notice period to amass stock, cash or sensitive data. Pay careful attention to the movements and any changed habits of employees on the way out; CCTV can be useful for capturing evidence of theft.
Check the IT access logs for any unusual activity by outgoing employees, including unusual printing habits that could be evidence of them printing client lists or confidential documents. Check also for email activity, or the transfer of files to a flash drive. A study by Verizon found that 83% of data breaches were conducted or assisted by internal sources, while 95% of these were financially motivated. Someone who has lost their job therefore presents a high risk of data theft.
Physical Threat
This is a huge concern in the USA where firearm ownership laws mean that disgruntled employees (even those who haven’t actually been sacked) pose a risk to staff and customers. In the UK this is not a matter of particular concern; however, there may be a physical risk of assault to the person responsible for firing an employee.
Firing and redundancy meetings should be conducted with witnesses, never by a single employee. If there is the potential for escalation and violence, more than one extra employee should be present. The majority of people do not pose an assault risk in the workplace, but it is best to be prepared for this unlikely eventuality, than caught unawares. CCTV cameras should be present in the room where the firing is taking place to provide evidence, if necessary.
Our security services, whether it’s an access system, CCTV or monitored intruder alarm, can all help protect your business from the security impacts of redundancy and sackings.