Employer's liability for stolen property

Questioner

My son, 22, works as a grocery delivery person at a chain of stores in Rotterdam. They have lockers available for personal belongings. My son cannot use these because the working hours of grocery delivery are outside the store closing times. The function of grocery delivery person does fall under 'store personnel'. He comes home from school one afternoon and goes to work: loads the bus with groceries. He puts the bag with laptop, among other things, in the bus, out of sight. During loading, son is standing in the back of the bus, the loading ramp is open. The doors of the bus (cabin) are closed but not locked, they cannot be locked separately. Then the backpack with laptop (2 weeks old) is stolen from the cabin. A report has been filed with the police. On camera you can see my son walking to the bus with backpack. There is no camera set up on the bus itself. Is it possible to hold the retail chain liable here, because (private) property is stolen during working hours. Lockers cannot be used.

Lawyer

The employer has a duty of care and in this case must in principle compensate your son for personal injury during working hours if the employer is insured for this injury. If this is not the case, your son will have to bear the damage himself. You must also demonstrate that the injury occurred during working hours. The camera images can support this, but do not always mean that this is actually the case.