No joke, I read this while reading the news on my laptop this morning. This happened to a 21 year old female in London. According to her side of the story, she called in sick because she had a migraine. Here in the States, people call in quite often. Her boss said that he attempted to reach her several times but was unsuccessful. His last resort was to text msg her. He defended himself by saying, "Since this is a youth culture and oriented type of job, using text msg, in this case is acceptable." (Paraphrase.) My thoughts? This smells totally illegal! He should have waited until she came to work, pulled her aside in his office and the talked to her. It's called professional courtesy. If this happened in the United States I'm sure she'd have a case. What do you think?
2006-08-05 02:41:13 · 10 answers · asked by Kooties 5 in Business & Finance ➔ Careers & Employment
I absolutely agree with you. Furthermore it smells like discrimination to me to fire someone for being sick. Her boss should have waited on several things. First he should see how many days she took off. If more than three, then she would be required to bring a doctor's certificate. However, for just one day there should be no consequence unless this person made these "migraines" a habit. Being a migraine sufferer myself, I can tell you that a severe migraine can put you out of commission for days, because even after the pain goes away you are left dizzy and disoriented.
2006-08-05 02:51:39 · answer #1 · answered by bluetatoo 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good question but I dont think she would have much of a case. I cant remember the term used but in jobs where the employee can quit without notice and the employer can fire without notice, the only thing she might have a case against it not being notified in a proper way and I think she would have a hard time get an attorney to represent her and a judge to hear her case. Is it unethical and a poor reflection on the company? certainly, but I've heard of a case where an employee was fired by a message on her answering machine and it wasn't even persued in court. Regarding the text message, the employer maybe gets slapped with a fine and told to change their practices but I don't think the court would reverse her being fired. I could be wrong, but I think its more unethical then illegal...and of course, we have shrewd, unethical businessmen all over corporate America who don't necessarily pay for it in court but after a while, their reputations do suffer. So, in her story making it to the news, maybe thats how she can get "revenge"...
added later: I think the same also applies to email, is it unethical? yes, a crime committed in the eyes of the court? no.
2006-08-05 03:36:01 · answer #2 · answered by dshcpa 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends. I got the impression from the article that this girl had a "migraine" and was probably "out sick" a lot. Plus there's no excuse for not being available by phone, even when you're out sick. How can you remain incommunicado in this day and age, especially a 21-year-old working in "youth culture" in London? If they couldn't reach her even after repeated attempts, it was probably the straw that broke the camel's back.
2006-08-05 02:48:36 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I hope I never get fired from a job, but i think i would rather be fired over the phone so i could cry without anyone seeing me. There might be more underlying issues as well, maybe she was out A Lot, maybe she wasnt performing as should have been, there can many other reasons, most bosses would be more worried if they couldnt contact an employe, so there has to be more to this story.
2006-08-05 02:46:22 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
in the states, anything is a case.
if a text msg is not recognised as a legal instrument in the Labour law, then she has a case.
did she hv a letter of appointment while joining the organisation.
It sounds like a mikey mouse company so they'll adopt mickey mouse strategies.
anyhow, she can still be re-instated via a txt msg.
2006-08-05 02:50:27 · answer #5 · answered by lifejourney 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I read it too. I think the boss is a chicken shi*.
She was out with a killer headache and I'm sure she turned her house phone off. I do when I have a killer headache.(that's why he couldn't reach her I guess). If you did that in the states you would be a laughing stock. Don't know about the UK but here it would never fly.
2006-08-05 02:47:57 · answer #6 · answered by jymsis 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I disagree. I'd rather be fired at home by txt message that having to get up, get ready for work, drive there and then be told IM FIRED! I'd be happy with a phone call early so I could just say **** it and go to the beach.
2006-08-05 02:46:30 · answer #7 · answered by Thumbs Up Fairy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is a digusting and cowardly way to fire someone. She should definitely take some kind of action against her employer and get compensation. UIt way be a youth culture but we also have a 'rights' culture and a 'respect' culture.
2006-08-05 02:58:23 · answer #8 · answered by malcy 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Law suit yup. But why did she not answer his calls? Was she realy sick with a migraine
2006-08-05 02:46:07 · answer #9 · answered by armiki66 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
HAHA COOL
2006-08-05 02:44:45 · answer #10 · answered by Fowl Language 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋