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Company Fires “Easily Replaceable” Employee, Ends Up Losing Biggest Client To Them
Being fired from a job is never great. Especially when you feel it wasn’t justified. In a perfect world, where companies follow procedure and labor law properly, everyone would get a fair chance to state their case and a thorough investigation would be conducted before an employee is unceremoniously given their marching orders. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.
One guy recently shared how he was accused of harassment and fired without any evidence being presented. HR simply let him know that he was easily replaceable and that the company would be moving on without him. What they didn’t know was just how irreplaceable he was. It didn’t take long for them to find out though, and the lesson ended up costing them a cool $60,000 a month.
RELATED:
If you’re planning to fire the person who handles your biggest client, you should probably have a solid backup plan in place
Image credits: Agustin Farias / unsplash (not the actual photo)
When an arrogant HR manager went ahead and let go of a crucial team member, it backfired in spectacular fashion
Image credits: Mohamed hamdi / unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: BeaconIcon
Harassment in the workplace is a serious offense that requires a thorough investigation before termination
Harassment can take on many shapes and forms. Whether it’s bullying, racial discrimination, or verbal or physical misconduct, harassment is basically unacceptable behavior.
The Cornell Law School website defines harassment as “words or behavior that threatens, intimidates, or demeans a person,” adding that it is “unwanted, uninvited, and unwelcome and causes nuisance, alarm, or substantial emotional distress without any legitimate purpose.”
Cornell notes that in employment law, harassment is defined as “offensive, unwelcome conduct based on a victim’s protected characteristic, that is so severe or pervasive that it affects the terms and conditions of the victim’s employment.”
A 2021 study conducted by AllVoices found that 44% of employees polled had experienced harassment at work. It ranged from personal harassment and bullying to discriminatory harassment and bias, and online harassment and cyberbullying.
53% of respondents said their workplace immediately addresses harassment. But 12% reported seeing no action whatsoever. Just over half of those who had filed harassment complaints had had their issues fully resolved.
Harassment is a serious offense that can result in someone not only being fired but in some cases, having criminal charges laid against them. There are certain steps that companies are meant to take before firing someone for harassment. Suspicion is not enough.
The Lacy Employment Law Firm warns that terminating an employee for harassment is a serious disciplinary action. “[It] typically involves the employer conducting a thorough investigation into the allegations,” notes the firm’s site. “In many cases, an employer must also issue a written reprimand or warning before terminating the employee for harassment.”
While the former employee decided not to take the matter further after being fired, there are steps he could follow. The Lacy Employment Firm advises those fired for harassment to seek expert legal advice, and to find out whether there is an internal process to appeal against the decision.
The firm says it’s also important to check your employment contract. There might be a clause that could help you dispute your termination or seek financial compensation.
Image credits: Austin Distel / unsplash (not the actual photo)
The former employee gave some more info in the comments
“Instant corporate karma”: netizens congratulated the former employee
“Without me… it collapsed”: a surprising number of people had similar stories to share
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What do you think ?
Ron Man 1 month ago
Everybody's replaceable. I've heard so many people say something like, this place will fall apart without me, when they get fired. It's never happened.
BlackestDawn 1 month ago
While technically true that everyone is replaceable it's more an inference to how easy or hard it is to replace you. As in how easy it is to find and employ someone with a good enough skill set and how fast they get up to speed on the tasks that position had.
Load More Replies...
Bruce Baker 1 month ago
A corollary to this is the tired phrase that management likes to trot out when they can't hire someone with the desired skills - "skills shortage". I was in a conference where that was spoken by the person presenting. An acquaintance leaned over to me and softly said "No such thing. There is just a lack of will to pay people enough to acquire the required skills.". Smart guy. If companies really need a particular skill set, enough money will make it appear. It may just take time, as people will undertake the required training when they see an adequate reward for their efforts
CBolt 1 month ago (edited)
In reply to a post by somebody on Reddit OP said he had not signed a non-compete. When the company my husband worked for wanted to downsize, instead of starting with massive layoffs they offered extremely attractive salary & benefits packages to entice voluntary leaving (+, even tho it was voluntary, those who left with all those bennies & continuation of salary, could also collect unemployment because it was implied that if not enough people left voluntarily, layoffs were coming next, & without all the unbelievable benefits). So after my husband left - & had been required to sign a non-compete - he was asked by a former client to do a small job for him. He contacted his former employer's in-house attorneys to see if there would be any problem & was told that they were almost impossible to enforce so cases were rare & the plaintiffs usually lost. But I suppose it does put the fear of God into a lot of people. Plus this is a right to work state - pretty much hire & fire at will.
Lisa Barbeau 4 weeks ago (edited)
My office was shutting down because a partner bought out the company and was moving everything two states away. As I was running our office and had great relationships with employees and clients, my boss was asked to have me sign a non-compete. We were both laughing our arses off because it was the final two weeks of operation. He told me do it or not and oh BTW, it’s not enforceable. Told him to tear it up and send it back with or without an FU from me. New owner also tried to fire me while I was tasked with winding up everything in preparation for the move. My severance could not be revoked and I already had another job ready to have me start ASAP.
Load More Replies... Ron Man 1 month ago
Everybody's replaceable. I've heard so many people say something like, this place will fall apart without me, when they get fired. It's never happened.
BlackestDawn 1 month ago
While technically true that everyone is replaceable it's more an inference to how easy or hard it is to replace you. As in how easy it is to find and employ someone with a good enough skill set and how fast they get up to speed on the tasks that position had.
Load More Replies... Bruce Baker 1 month ago
A corollary to this is the tired phrase that management likes to trot out when they can't hire someone with the desired skills - "skills shortage". I was in a conference where that was spoken by the person presenting. An acquaintance leaned over to me and softly said "No such thing. There is just a lack of will to pay people enough to acquire the required skills.". Smart guy. If companies really need a particular skill set, enough money will make it appear. It may just take time, as people will undertake the required training when they see an adequate reward for their efforts
CBolt 1 month ago (edited)
In reply to a post by somebody on Reddit OP said he had not signed a non-compete. When the company my husband worked for wanted to downsize, instead of starting with massive layoffs they offered extremely attractive salary & benefits packages to entice voluntary leaving (+, even tho it was voluntary, those who left with all those bennies & continuation of salary, could also collect unemployment because it was implied that if not enough people left voluntarily, layoffs were coming next, & without all the unbelievable benefits). So after my husband left - & had been required to sign a non-compete - he was asked by a former client to do a small job for him. He contacted his former employer's in-house attorneys to see if there would be any problem & was told that they were almost impossible to enforce so cases were rare & the plaintiffs usually lost. But I suppose it does put the fear of God into a lot of people. Plus this is a right to work state - pretty much hire & fire at will.
Lisa Barbeau 4 weeks ago (edited)
My office was shutting down because a partner bought out the company and was moving everything two states away. As I was running our office and had great relationships with employees and clients, my boss was asked to have me sign a non-compete. We were both laughing our arses off because it was the final two weeks of operation. He told me do it or not and oh BTW, it’s not enforceable. Told him to tear it up and send it back with or without an FU from me. New owner also tried to fire me while I was tasked with winding up everything in preparation for the move. My severance could not be revoked and I already had another job ready to have me start ASAP.
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