Understaffed Night Audit and a Cash Handling Discrepancy
A 45-room motel runs a night audit shift from 11:00 pm to 7:00 am with a single staff member. The night auditor is a casual employee in her third week, has not completed cash-handling training, and is alone on the property. At 2:00 am, the till reconciliation shows a shortage of 180 dollars against the expected takings. The auditor is also dealing with a guest who is intoxicated and demanding a room upgrade, and the phone is ringing with a booking enquiry. The motel's policy says two staff must be on site after midnight, but the second staff member called in sick and the duty manager did not arrange cover. The safe is in the back office, which is unlocked, and the key is kept in the top drawer of the front desk.
1. Identify the WHS and security risks in this scenario and explain what the night auditor should do right now.
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The scenario has several overlapping risks:
- Working alone: a single casual employee on site overnight breaches the motel's own two-person policy. Under WHS law, the employer must manage the risk of violence, aggression, and fatigue, especially for lone workers.
- Intoxicated guest: the guest is demanding and may become aggressive. The auditor has no backup.
- Cash discrepancy: a 180 dollar shortage may indicate error, theft, or a prior shift issue. The auditor is untrained in cash handling.
- Unsecured safe and key: the safe is unlocked and the key is in an accessible drawer, creating a serious theft risk.
- Fatigue and inexperience: a third-week casual working alone overnight is at high risk of error.
Immediate actions for the auditor:
- Do not confront the intoxicated guest alone. Speak calmly, keep a counter between them, and offer a simple solution or ask them to return in the morning. If they become aggressive, withdraw to a secure area and call police.
- Stop handling the till and do not attempt to "fix" the shortage. Count the till again with a witness if one can be reached, and record the count.
- Lock the safe, secure the key, and lock the back office.
- Call the duty manager to report the lone-worker breach, the guest issue, and the cash discrepancy.
- Record everything in the shift log with times.
2. Recommend the controls the motel should implement to prevent a repeat, covering staffing, cash handling, and security.
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Staffing and WHS:
- Enforce the two-person rule after midnight; if cover cannot be found, the duty manager must attend or the shift must be restructured.
- Complete a lone-worker risk assessment and provide a duress alarm or phone check-in schedule.
- Train casual staff before their first solo shift, including cash handling, conflict de-escalation, and emergency procedures.
- Record training and competency sign-off.
Cash handling:
- Train all front-desk staff on till reconciliation, float counts, and variance reporting.
- Require dual counts at shift change and a signed cash log.
- Set a variance threshold; any shortage above it must be reported to the manager the same shift.
- Investigate the 180 dollar shortage through till rolls, transaction logs, and CCTV rather than assuming theft.
Security:
- Keep the safe locked at all times and restrict key access to authorised staff; use a combination or key register.
- Lock the back office and install access control or CCTV.
- Review the key storage so keys are not left in an accessible drawer.
- Add a nightly security checklist covering safe, office, doors, and cash.
Management follow-up:
- The duty manager's failure to arrange cover should be addressed through the performance process.
- The incident should be recorded and reviewed to confirm controls are working.