Fired on Facebook?! Can you do that?
January 8, 2009 by Shane BorerPosted in: "Seemed like a good idea at the time", "Would you want this person in Finance?", Special report, Tech failure
Sure, social networking sites make it easier to connect with your employees or co-workers when you’re not in the office. That doesn’t mean a virtual pink slip is the best way to let someone go.
Crystal Bell, former esthetician at Faces Cosmetics & European Day Spa in Kelowna, British Columbia, was shocked to log-on to her social networking profile and discover that she’d been terminated from her job.
As she was getting ready for work one morning, Bell looked at her Facebook account and saw a message from her boss at Faces. Instead of a friendly hello, the message said Bell had been terminated from her position at the spa and that she shouldn’t bother coming in for work. Thinking it was a crude joke, the employee still went into work that day to discover her boss, Susanne Woehie, was completely serious.
Bell, who had only worked at the day spa for two weeks, admits that she found the employment opportunity through Facebook, but that being “cyber sacked” is the coward’s way of terminating.
Company execs and lawyers are debating whether online firings are just the modern version of a letter of termination. Two years ago, electronics company Radio Shack informed nearly 400 employees via e-mail that they were being let go.
Bell’s boss defended her actions by saying she tried to contact Bell via telephone but was unable to reach her. “I just wanted to have it dealt with that evening,” said Woerhie. “I didn’t want to deal with it at the shop when other people were around.”
Bell reportedly contacted a lawyer about seeking damages, but was told it was unlikely because of her short employment time with the business. Also, because Woerhie sent the notice as a private Facebook message that Bell’s online friends could not see, the termination wasn’t made in “bad faith.”
Is “cyber sacking” an acceptable alternative to terminating employment in person? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
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Tags: Cyber sacking, Facebook, Pink slip, terminations
January 8th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Poor Managers generally make poor choices. An employee deserves to know why they are being terminated. If it is for cause, then their personnel file should reflect this and the employee should be notified. How will they ever know what their weaknesses are and what to do and not do in their future employment. If it is not for cause, then they deserve to hear that too! The employee just lost their job and maybe they could use a reference. Terminating someone over facebook or in an email is just an invitation for a lawsuit.
January 9th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Seek another attorney’s advice. No one can be fired without just cause. Was the time period that she was working considered probationary period for being permanently hired?
January 9th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
When are we going to finally realize that a maker of widgets (or in this case a cutter of hair), does not mean that a person is qualified to be a manager of widget makers, or, as in htis case a manager of hair cutters?
Wake up people!!!
January 9th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Tell her to get over it and get another job.
January 9th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Our society has become much to impersonal. I believe it is a courtesy to be told in person, that way the employee can ask why, how they could have changed or possible defend themselves in case it is a matter of wrong information. Employeers/Managers should be able to do the bad jobs with the good and not use the most impersonal ways available to them to avoid them.
January 9th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
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Actually, in any state with ‘employment-at-will’, a staff member can be terminated for cause or for no cause. This story is in British Columbia, and I don’t know what the employment laws are like up there.
Either way, I think Facebook is a cheesy cop-out of a medium to terminate someone. I always make a point of at least sitting down with the employee and doing it face-to-face. You do have to be careful about what you say or put in writing, however, as THAT is a stuff that lawsuits are made of.
January 9th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
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Actually, in any state with ‘employment-at-will’, a staff member can be terminated for cause or for no cause. This story is in British Columbia, and I don’t know what the employment laws are like up there.
Either way, I think Facebook is a cheesy cop-out of a medium to terminate someone. I always make a point of at least sitting down with the employee and doing it face-to-face. You do have to be careful about what you say or put in writing, however, as THAT is the stuff that lawsuits are made of.
January 9th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
I am not sure of the laws in British Columbia, but here (USA) you can be fired without just cause. In fact, some states are “Employment at Will” states which means you can be fired at any time with or without a reason; however, if an employer acts in an illegal manner regarding the termination, legal action can still be pursued.
I think Crystal Bell should be glad she found out in two weeks what type of company she was working for as opposed to having been there quite a while only to find out that the person managing the place would be so cowardly as to terminate someone electronically.
January 9th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Debra’s comments may or may not be true. There is no such thing as permanent employment as the thousands of people in recent lay-offs can tell you. I work in an at-will state. The company doesn’t have to give a reason for letting you go. They cannot let you go for an illegal reason such as age/race descrimination.
January 9th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
I agree, the manager was not a strong manager. Part of being a manager is confronting people head on to resolve & to make changes. I feel that the manager that sent the Facebook message should be written up or terminated for lack of doing their job and grossly effecting the employee negatively.
January 9th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Different things need to be considered here as, employment at will, if there was a contract, etc… I don’t think that for 2 weeks anything would happen. Does an employer (by law) have to have a reason to fire an employee?
January 9th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
It should have been handled in a professional manner, in person, at the salon- not by use of a public online social networking tool. This is clearly an example of cowardice in a manager, who is probably not equipped to manage. Being fired over the phone is also pretty cowardly.
February 27th, 2009 at 11:47 am
OK — Even though most states (including mine) are basically “at will” employment states, there needs to be a limit on the way employers are allowed to deal with employees.
It should NEVER be acceptable, either ethically OR legally, to deal with any employee via e-mail or social network messaging services when it comes to any disciplinary action. This is not a professional way to handle this kind of business matter, and reflects VERY negatively on any company whose managers are allowed to do so.
Employers — “Man up” to your obligations. This behaviour definitely shows the world a lack of common decency and ethical standards. In today’s floundering economy, is it worth the negative impact on company image?