Probably not the best way to fire someone

January 12, 2009 by
Filed under: Communication, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views 

The Internet has certainly changed the way employees and managers communicate. And not always for the better.

Crystal Bell, of British Columbia, Canada, worked at a spa for two weeks — until she woke up one morning to find a message from her boss sent via Facebook.

The news: She was fired for missing a staff meeting during her day off.

Bell thought the boss was joking, so she got dressed and went to work anyway. But it turned out the manager was dead serious.

Why fire someone through a social networking site? The manager explained she tried to call Bell, but couldn’t get a hold of her. And she didn’t want to have to fire her in person, “when other people were around.”

Have you ever heard of a manager firing an employee through an electronic pink slip? Is it ever appropriate to do something like that? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

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Comments

4 Comments on Probably not the best way to fire someone

  1. Jeanette on Tue, 13th Jan 2009 2:06 pm

    2. I hope they fired the manager! She has no business being one.

  2. william on Tue, 13th Jan 2009 3:08 pm

    3. I agree. This manager needs some sensitivity training. Requiring someone to attend a meeting on their day off? I hope she was planning on paying her.

  3. Gary Lindberg on Tue, 13th Jan 2009 3:33 pm

    4. I think the manager lacks any understanding how to perform as a manager. Trying to call her or “couldn’t get a hold of her” or “when other people are around” are no excuses for the manager’s totally unprofessional behavior. Since the manager had the authority and responsiblity to hire her, she also had the responsibility to fire her for just cause and in person–face to face.

    This termination was wrong for several reasons. First, the employee had no responsibility to attend a meeting when the company scheduled the employee off. That was the company’s–and the boss’s–fault for the employee missing the meeting. If she wanted her at the meeting, the boss should not have scheduled her off. The boss had the right and the authority to change the work schedule. The issue should not have proceeded past this point.

    Secondly, if the employee HAD done something wrong, it was the responsibility of the boss to warn her of her poor behavior–either a verbal or written warning would have sufficed.

    Finally, if the boss chose to fire her employee, then she should have called that employee into her office perhaps with another supervisor or at least another employee as a witness and explained what company policy the employee violated and what action she (the boss) was taking. That step should be done in private–not when other employees are around” in the room with them. If a manager or supervisor will treat their employees with respect, the employees will respect and follow the manager or supervisor more willingly. If not, the manager or supervisor will earn a reputation as a “bad” boss.

    So, in summary, there was no violation of company policy. There was no communication of any company policy. And the termination was absolutely unjustified. In short, it was totally unprofessional.

  4. Ray on Tue, 13th Jan 2009 3:43 pm

    5. No, but another scenario is that an employee at a restaurant that worked extremely hard for the company she worked for had a tiff with the manager. The manager said her company shirt was not appropriate and she agreed to purchase a new shirt from the company. After her shirt was changed, the manager said it was too wrinkled and told her that he would spray it down with a spray water bottle to free the wrinkles. She was very adamant in saying, “No!” 20 minutes later he sent her home with 5 day’s suspension. The next day, the employee’s boyfriend checked the schedule at the company since they both worked there. The employee had not been on the week’s schedule. The boyfriend asked the manager about it and the manager said, “She’s not here anymore.” The manager never contacted the employee to inform her that she was terminated. This is a wrongful discharge State so the employee is filing with the State over that and a harrassment charge.