A full liability agreement

A new storekeeper has been hired. On the first day he is handed the keys; on the second, HR passes him a one-page agreement: "Sign here, it's about financial liability." Many storekeepers sign without reading, and many managers think the signed paper will settle any shortage by itself. Both are wrong. A full liability agreement is a two-way arrangement between employer and employee, and its strength lies not in the paper but in the routine behind it.

What the agreement is and who signs it

Normally an employee answers for damage caused to the employer within a limited range. Under a full liability agreement he undertakes to compensate the entire damage for the valuables entrusted to him. This is a heavy obligation, which is why the law does not allow such an agreement with just any employee.

It is usually concluded with staff who directly receive, store and issue valuables: a storekeeper, a warehouse manager, a cashier, a salesperson. Which positions and types of work qualify, as well as the employee's age and other conditions, are set by legislation, so check with HR or a lawyer before signing. The agreement is made in writing; a verbal arrangement does not count.

What goes into it

• the parties: employer and employee, with his position;
• the subject: which valuables, warehouse or zones are entrusted to the employee;
• the employee's duties: to keep valuables with care, to report a threat at once, to process documents on time, to take part in revisions;
• the employer's duties: to create storage conditions, keep records and carry out revisions on time;
• the extent of liability and the cases that exclude it: force majeure, ordinary business risk, conditions the employer did not provide;
• the procedure and frequency of revisions;
• the handover procedure;
• the term and conditions of termination;
• the date and signatures.

What the employer must do

This is the second half of the agreement, and many forget it. If conditions for keeping the valuables safe have not been created, it is very hard to demand full liability from the employee. In practice you need the following:

• the warehouse is locked and a list of keys is kept;
• racks, scales and measuring instruments work;
• records are kept and documents are processed on time;
• entry is restricted: only authorised people go into the warehouse;
• the employee has been given the internal rules and has signed for them;
• revisions are held regularly.

If five people hold keys to the warehouse, the storekeeper cannot be the "sole person responsible".

Handover: the opening count

On the day the agreement is signed, before the new employee starts work, a joint count must be held. The previous responsible person or a committee counts the goods together with the new storekeeper, a statement is drawn up and both sides sign it.

A hypothetical example. A storekeeper joined a building-materials depot in March. The agreement was signed, but no handover count was done. A revision in October found a shortage of 14,000,000 so'm. Now nobody can say whether it arose under the new storekeeper or before him. There is an agreement, but it cannot be used. With an opening count it would be clear which period the shortage belongs to.

The same kind of count is needed when an employee leaves or goes on a long holiday. For a temporary replacement there is a shortcut: the 30 most expensive positions are counted in full, the rest are spot-checked, and the handover is formalised with a signature in any case.

Typical mistakes and a check before signing

Employers often make these mistakes:

• the agreement does not match the positions allowed by law;
• the same agreement is signed with everyone, even people with no link to the warehouse;
• no opening count is held;
• revisions are not held for years, and differences pile up;
• the area of responsibility is not defined.

Before signing, an employee should read the whole agreement, ask directly which valuables he answers for, take part in the opening count himself and check the statement before signing it, and get his signed copy. This helps the employer too: there are fewer disputes later with someone who signed knowingly.

Conclusion

A full liability agreement works not on paper but through routine: clear limits, conditions provided, an opening count and regular revisions. The Reviziya team can help formalise the terms of the agreement and the handover impartially.