Employee fraud is a potential risk for every business, but is especially relevant for tradies. Not only do trades people place a lot of responsibility on their workers, but this trust can often be manipulated by unscrupulous staff members.

In fact, many small businesses are losing 5 per cent of their revenue to employee theft, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

So how can you protect yourself against potential fraud? Here are three tips:

Be selective when you hire

The best time to prevent employee fraud is to weed it out before it begins. When taking on new staff, make sure you investigate their most recent projects and confirm that they have proper references.

Even as Australia sees a residential construction boom, taking these steps will be essential for ensuring your business is protected in any eventuality and potential theft won't leave your business out of pocket or facing big delays.

Reduce the opportunities for fraud

When it comes to fraudulent claims, for workplace injuries for example, your best protection is to prevent these events from occurring in the first place. Maintaining a safe and secure workplace is an easy way to make sure there is no opportunity for these claims to arise.

Monitor your staff's work

Busy tradies will often have too much on their plate to be constantly checking up on their employee's work, however this is essential if you want to prevent workers from behaving incorrectly. When staff are acting illegally, they will often be secretive about their work and will actively try to prevent you from investigating them.

Regular one-on-one meetings and inspections of your staff's work is an easy way to make sure that your employees are not behaving fraudulently. It will also give you a chance to touch base with your workers, in case they have noticed unusual behaviour from their colleagues.