back to article Teen sacked for 'boring' job Facebook comment

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 …

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  1. Tom

    hmm

    Sounds like an excuse to let her go without having to make her redundant!

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    simple really...

    She's 16, has virtually no legal leg to stand on (not employed long enough), they need to make cut back. Oh look, easy target.

    Maybe she should start a Mytwitterbook campaign slagging them off.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    trust me

    being an office administrator never gets more interesting.

    But it should be a march into boses office, get sack, march into unfair dismissal court.

  4. Alan W. Rateliff, II
    Paris Hilton

    ODB

    So, what dirty old man was browsing a 16 year old girls Facebook profile???

    Paris, just because.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    hahahahaha

    Ahhh...social networking metrosexual morons....

    Lose your pricacy, lose your partner, lose your bank details, lose your job... then you will have time to rebuild your facebook virus ridden pc.

    All beacuse you think people really care about you and what you think.

  6. Joe K
    Dead Vulture

    Yawn

    With all of our jobs collapsing around our ears we're hardly gonna weep for a 16 yr old.

    16! At that age they are nothing more than a breathing tea machine, you can't trust them with anything more.

    I guess she made shitty tea.

  7. Aortic Aneurysm

    I hope

    she takes them the whol way and sues them for everything they have

  8. Aaron

    Possible case of unfair dismissal?

    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.

  9. Psmiffy

    Bash

    It's probably a good thing that most of the people on bash.org (irc) don't use their real names

  10. Paolo
    Black Helicopters

    Unfair/wrongful dismissal surely?

    Sacked on the grounds of a Facebook comment? There must be more to this or I'd be wheeling in the industrial tribunal.

  11. Jimmy Floyd

    Employment tribunal

    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.

  12. Aaron

    Investing in people

    LOL http://www.ivell.com/investor.html apparently they invest in people, then sack them for finding work to be lest enjoyable as their own social time.

  13. Ian McNee
    Flame

    Street-corner bullshitters and shysters more like!

    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.

  14. Sillyfellow

    privacy?

    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.

  15. Maverick
    Black Helicopters

    Black mail

    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?).

  16. Deckard
    Stop

    @debaser

    "...All beacuse you think people really care about you and what you think."

    Do you see the irony of posting your thoughts on the matter in a public forum? Hmmm...do you?

  17. foo_bar_baz
    Flame

    Let them go

    All employers let go all people who consider their job boring and you'd be looking at 70% national unemployment.

  18. Pete Silver badge

    on the bright side

    ... she won't be bored anymore

    I wonder if she'll show the foresight and intelligence to remove that comment, before going for her next interview

  19. Sarah Bee (Written by Reg staff)

    Re: Let them go

    My job is never boring. After all, I moderate the comments on The Register.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    Huh?

    You mean I've got to /enjoy/ my job as well as do it?

    I suppose I'd better clear my desk...

  21. Galaxy Bob

    Invasion of privacy?

    Err, it's facebook. She allowed her profile to be viewed by all and sundry, how is it invasion of privacy?

  22. Tim
    Alien

    IF it was

    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.

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @Tom

    But why not just make her redundant - she's 16 so she's not entitled to any money.

    They've made a real problem for themselves if she decides to take it to unfair dismal courts.

  24. Frank Thomas
    Stop

    Never tell your PC who you are

    and the Internet... never never never tell the Internet who you are. it's a recipe for disaster.

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    Ehhhhh ... ?

    She's 16 AND and an "Administrator"? WTF?

    HOW?

  26. Dan Mullen
    Happy

    Don't contact us

    I guess they've had enough of people contacting them about this...

    http://www.ivell.com/contact.html

  27. Dale Morgan

    Ivell isn't a proper job

    Looking at their website reminds me of the first office job I had, working in a small office trying to sell outsourcing to large companies, normally those businesses are a front for something else.

  28. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The Ivell Bastards...

    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...

  29. Dale Morgan

    Sexual harrasment?

    She could turn this around and claim she was being sexually harrassed by her employer, someone browsing 16 year old girl profiles on facebook is a borderline peado.

  30. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    @Maverick

    AFAIK, In the UK, 16 != sirens

  31. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Not surprised

    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.

  32. fluffy
    Happy

    @Greg Fleming

    "Office administrator" is modern parlance for "secretary," now that secretaries almost never actually do any secretarial duties and mostly deal with administering aspects of the office itself (supplies, mostly).

  33. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Wrong reaction

    Seeing as she didn't mention the company name, she should've said the job she was talking about was the household chores her mother made her do, then take the wankers to court for jumping to conclusions and make even bigger fat arsed fools of them.

  34. Pete Silver badge

    @Greg Fleming

    administrator, manager, DBA ... it's only a job title. In real life it means nothing - what you actually produce is what counts.

  35. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Armchair lawyering

    1) There is probably more to this than meets the eye.

    2) How many of the people throwing up "unfair dismissal" tribunals are solicitors? (I'd wager none)

    3) Google "Bringing company into disrepute"

  36. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    priceless!

    "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!

  37. Jason
    Thumb Up

    Depends...

    If she posted that during work than there is grounds for dismissal. And how can anyone claim that Facebook is private? Everyone knows the Internet in general is about as public as you can get.

    Enjoy searching for a new job to post about!

  38. Steen Hive
    Thumb Down

    Employment Tribunal?

    More deserving of a swift kick in the nuts, the mendacious little wanker.

  39. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Soppy tart

    Fancy leaving her FB open for all to read. Next we'll be reading about her marrying a Nigerian and giving him all of daddy's money. Some people really do get all they deserve.

    Paris - cos she's been a soppy tart before too.

  40. adnim
    Go

    kids and learning curves

    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.

  41. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @ Dan

    But the power of google compels you:

    http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:BjcHUyQbfoMJ:www.ivell.com/contact.html+http://www.ivell.com/contact.html&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=uk

  42. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    hmmm....

    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.

  43. Tea-800
    Pirate

    @Greg

    "Office administrator" is just buzzword-ridden jobsearch terminology for "Coffee machine with some rudimentary typing skills"

    The black flag because....Eh....Yarrrr?

  44. LaeMi Qian
    Happy

    My job is often boring...

    ...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.

  45. gribbler
    Flame

    Not sure who's the biggest f*ckwit in this...

    ...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.

  46. David Jones
    Stop

    Dangerous

    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.

  47. Glenn Amspaugh
    Go

    How?

    "She's 16 AND and an "Administrator"?

    HOW?"

    I guess she does make good tea.

  48. Dark Ian

    Screw Facebook...

    ...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.

  49. Paul Taylor

    Not the first time.

    My company has Fired employees many times for comments made on Facebook or Bebo.

    About 11 so far i think.

    Its actually policy for our HR departments staff to regularly check the Personal websites of staff.

  50. Steven Raith

    @greg fleming

    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

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