A startling 72 per cent of workers in the UK admit to stealing from their employer, a survey by an employment law consultancy has shown.

The survey of 2,062 office workers across a variety of industries, conducted by Peninsula, found that around seven in 10 workers admitted to stealing in the workplace on more than one occasion.

However, even more surprising was the finding that 81 per cent of those who stole believed it to be morally wrong.

Peter Done, managing director of Peninsula said: “It is quite shocking that such a high percentage of workers admit to stealing, and this can have grave consequences for the employer. It is also shocking to see that, although 81 per cent of those who stole believe it to be morally wrong, they still went ahead and did it anyway.”

The most common items stolen range from small amounts of stationary, such as post-it notes, pens and paper, to computer programmes and equipment.

“Workers need to realise that they simply cannot continually get away with stealing from their employer,” added Done. “It is an illegal act and criminal prosecutions can be brought against them for doing so. Employers need to make it clear in their employees’ contracts of employment that stealing is unacceptable, whilst also setting out clear punishments for anybody who does so.”