Copyright dailyrecord
Christmas shopping is a ritual for most people that never changes and we all know someone who leaves it until the last minute on December 24. However, a poll from YouGov shows that most shoppers start a lot earlier, with 42 per cent of the population making a big dent on their Christmas shopping list by mid-November. Balancing parcel deliveries with working hours can be tricky and security experts are now highlighting the risks of having goods delivered to your workplace, and for good reason. Adam Bennett, security expert at Digital ID , shares three reasons why getting Christmas presents delivered to the office isn’t ideal, explaining how it can pose a risk for you and your employer. Adam said that generally, it’s much better to get your personal parcels delivered either to a safe space, a neighbour or a secure parcel locker if it is unlikely you are going to be home. Personal parcels can pose a huge risk of liability for both the employer and the employee, and also lead to some awkward conversations if something goes wrong. The first issue is if the parcel becomes lost or damaged, with the employee potentially in a position where they have to find who’s at fault between the courier and the business they work for. There’s also the issue of the employee being responsible if the parcel were to cause harm. If, for example, you have liquids in the package and they leak and damage property in the business, then liability could lie with the employee. Potential problems could also arise with stolen parcels, as it may be hard for a company with large footfall to pinpoint who has taken a parcel, particularly if access to a company's mail room is not restricted. Your company will most likely be used to receiving postal deliveries, depending on what business you work in. However, the delivery of personal items increases the risk of security breaches, especially during busier periods. This is because it will add more couriers and admin for your business, requiring them to increase access to the site and making it more difficult to manage security. It also allows higher volumes of people onto the site, which increases the risk of issues like tailgating to access unauthorised areas. It could also pose further risks down the line, as revealing security details to more members of the public can allow attackers to exploit delivery systems to gain access to the building. Small and medium-sized enterprises often have limited capacity and infrastructure to manage parcels efficiently. Unlike larger organisations that may have dedicated staff and parcel management technology like mobile computers, many SMEs handle deliveries manually. And while this may work well for business-related packages, the addition of personal deliveries can quickly overwhelm internal processes. Without digital tracking tools or clear accountability, parcels could easily be misplaced. This can create frustration among employees, and beyond this, mishandled parcels can also expose businesses to privacy and data protection concerns if personal or confidential information is involved.
