hmm
Sounds like an excuse to let her go without having to make her redundant!
A teenager from the international financial powerhouse that is Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, was given her marching orders after bosses discovered she'd described her office administrator's post as "boring" on Facebook. Kimberley Swann, 16, was dragged before the powers that be on Monday morning and summarily dismissed from her job …
I really thing she should public fight this, at the end of the most people don't like their job, they do it because they need a wage. To dismiss someone because they said their job was boring without even mentioning the company name smacks of a company just looking for an excuse to sack someone.
How many people in the UK have thought their job was boring at one point or another? Also comments someone makes on facebook on their profile is something on their own time. So long as they arn't slandering or particularly naming companies its all just personal opinion which she's damned right entitled to.
As far as im concerned im paid to do my job, so long as I do my job to the best of my ability that's all my employer can ever ask. They have no right to anything more. Least of all the right to try and control my thoughts and view that I choose to express among friends.
I rather suspect that, if she'd been there for over 12 months, then she could easily win a case for unfair dismissal as she didn't actually name (and thereby defame) the company in question.
However: a) she's only 16, so probably hasn't been there long enough; and b) if she was bright enough to take them to an employment tribunal then she'd have been savvy enough to fix the privacy settings on her Facebook account in the first place.
http://www.ivell.com/inter.html:
"Labour Standards, norms and rules that govern working conditions and industrial relations are regarded as basic labour rights. As such, they are considered inviolable and universally applicable. They form together with the core Conventions of the Internal Labour Organisation (ILO), an agency of the United Nations, the basis of our corporate responsibility and are manifested in a Social Accountability Code of Conduct. It is a requirement that our factory partners display a copy in a factory area which is freely accessibly to the workforce."
The term "hypocritical to$$ers" comes to mind.
isn't this invasion of privacy?
what this girl does with her own personal time, in her own personal social networking circles is her own private life.
so what if she thinks her job is boring? i'll bet there are millions who feel this way.
she never named her employers in her comment so this could not cause bad press for said company... unless of course they fire her unjustly like they did.
she should get a decent lawyer and sue the hell out of them. she will win.
Revenge is the only option i feel. Kimberley Swann needs to take some dodgy pictures of Stephen Ivell while on a drunk night out (although she can't drink of course). Then post them on Facebook and tag them while he is on holiday (and not checking his account). A whole week of his friend's seeing him in a compromising position with a 16 year old (wait, do i hear sirens?).
If it was done on company time then they have every right to dismiss her for inappropriate usage of company resources. If they had said as such this wouldn't be news. However since they gave the reasoning of the facebook comment then a wrongful dismissal doesnt sound out of the question.
Unfair dismissal or what?!
What an absolute disgrace. Let's hope they crash and burn as noone can contact them to give them any more business. Absolute tossers, and as someone else noted - what on earth was her boss doing sniffing around young girls profiles on FB?!
Story and links to website propogated accordingly... Ah the power of the internet ;) Best of luck Kimberley - you may be a bit stoopid for even using Facebook, but Ivell are even more stoopider...for sure...
To be fair, posting a work rant on Facebook is prety stupid, even if you make no reference to your companies name on your profile. If they catch you on Facebook (and I suspect this is what has happened - given that Facebook is a staple of those who are bored at work) they might just do some digging around. And if they find negative comments about the company they're going to be understandably upset.
Okay firing her was a bit harsh, but with scores of applicants for every job vacancy in this country I'm not going to shed a tear for the people in work who don't appreciate it. And now she's learned a valuable life leason; in todays world banter is best left to the pub where no one's watching you... yet.
"IVELL Sourcing Corporate Responsibility and the Global Market
In recognition of our accountability for the social impact of our operations, the need to systematically address the issue of potential labour abuses and to safeguard our clients interests, we have developed a comprehensive social accountability programme as part of corporate governance."
I guess the social accountability charter doesnt extend from the sweatshops of the far east to the chav sink hole that is Clacton.
Paris, to her the words "social accountability" and "corporate governance" are just that, words!
Swann described herself as "shocked" at the perfunctory nature of her ejection as a result of the comment "on her personal site"
"Personal site" in a publicly viewable space... Wake up. Ignorance used to be bliss, these days it's a bit like wearing a target. Yes, I know she is only sixteen. At least this will be a lesson on where to place trust, and it only cost her a job.
Stephen Ivell, owner of Ivell Marketing & Logistics, insisted the "global product development and sourcing company" had done everything "by the book". He defended: "It is just a shame that it did not work out because she is a lovely girl. For a small company, when a decision is made, one thinks long and hard about it."
The man I feel is, in the politest words I can muster, disingenuous. I wonder if a profit making incentive would get dismissed as quickly if it didn't go "by the book".
Staff is unhappy.... oh hum.
Do I like them?
Are they good at what they do?
Are they so good that it overrides my animosity?
If the answer is no to all those questions... Find excuse to get rid on the cheap.
If the answer is yes to any of those questions... Have a chat and find out what can be done to improve the work experience.
Maybe she was disliked and just not good enough at her job. Maybe she refused to perform certain tasks, after office hours, that she felt were outside of her job description.
Whatever the case her dismissal was unfair. We have a right to feel any way we like about our job, and employer for that matter, providing it doesn't affect our ability to do the job in a proper and professional manner.
it really is her fault. facebook is publicly available so theres always a chance that she would get found out that she is not happy at her job.
you can't compare it to people chatting in the pub as you do not record everything you say in the pub whereas writing stuff on facebook means its saved and is there for everyone to see.
also I wonder if she left her profile open to everyone to see. That would be the biggest mistake.
As an employer I'd rather not have someone who is bored with their job as this reduces productivity, and there will definitely be a lack of focus which will obviously lead to mistakes.
...but I rather like it that way.
It pays the bills. Interesting stuff is what evenings and weekends are for.
When I took the job my boss told me I probably wouldn't want to keep doing it for more than 6 months before I left to accept a better offer. Here I am 11 months later.
Boring or not, it has perks - good working environment, great manager, I can live outside of Sydney/Melbourne and walk to work (no exorbitant rent or car-ownership costs). In bad weather I can take a bus from the end of my street to work's front door. Hours are flexible within certain margins (mainly as long as I get the job done). I love my often-boring job.
...the employer for sacking someone who finds work boring: don't we all? at least part of the time? I for one can think of a million better things to do with my time involving olive oil and strawberry jam... remove that restriction and I am sure I can come up with billions more.
OR
the daft young girl who posted comments about work on her facebook profile when she has it set as publicly accessible.
Verdict? Both f*ckwits, methinks.
IANAL, but the company appears to have disregarded the Employment Act (2002) and this sort of action is liable to land them in all sorts of hot water. The company should have followed Statutory Disciplinary and Dismissal Procedures.
Whilst with less than 12 months continuous service she would not normally be able to bring an unfair dismissal case to the EAT there are certain "automatically unfair" dismissals. Also, if she were able to prove discrimination she would be exempt from the 12 month requirement.
I'm not making any comment as to whether she falls into either of those two categories, merely that if she did she would have a case.
...I just mouth off in the office about how shit it is. And here of course.
The little tyke needs to learn to make herself at least mildly indisposable, so that perhaps they'll give it some thought before sticking in the boot.
But now it's done... yes, she could do the whole photo on a night out thing to get him back, and if that doesn't work finish him off with a shovel.
Administrator = does some filing and makes sure the tea is piping hot for those of us who do the *real* work.
Still stinks a bit, mind - not a nice experience to be sacked from a job, at 16 that is likely to be one of her first, bet that won't exactly enamour her to get back into the job market pronto....
Steven R