Can a former employer take legal action against me?
Can a former employer take legal action against me if I failed to keep a hardware dispatch file up to date? The file contains release and receipt documentation for hardware sold by the company. Would they be able to lay criminal or civil charges?
Category: Labour and Employment, Employment Relationships
Region: South Africa, North-West
1 Answer
If you failed in your duties as an employee in keeping a hardware dispatch file up to date, then you would either be classified as being negligent in your duties, grossly negligent, or acting with fraudulent intent. If it is either of the first two (i.e. negligent in your duties, grossly negligent) then the company would most certainly have grounds to fire you. But you no longer work for the company. If your failure was part of fraud that you were committing on the company, then the company could still lay criminal charges against you.