The Fair Work Commission has provided clear warnings to businesses which terminate employees by way of an email, text or phone call. Even if you have a valid reason to terminate an employee, this needs to be done by way of a face to face meeting, otherwise the termination will be deemed unfair.
Can I be fired by a text message? The simple answer is Yes. While it is unprofessional and rude, unless you have an employment contract or the real reason for the termination is an illegal reason, as discussed below, firing via text message is perfectly legal.
Generally, an employer must not terminate an employee's employment unless they have given the employee written notice of the last day of employment. An employer can either let the employee work through their notice period, or pay it out to them (also known as pay in lieu of notice).
An office gossip can have their employment terminated for various reasons, including breach of confidentiality, bullying, lying, or deliberately causing trouble.
Serious misconduct includes theft, fraud, assault, sexual harassment, intoxication at work and the refusal to carry out lawful and reasonable instructions consistent with the employment contract.[14] Where serious misconduct is alleged the test for a valid reason for dismissal does not change.
If the gossip is detrimental, have their manager or a member of your HR team speak to the individual. Malicious Gossip. If the employee is purposefully sharing false information, it could be considered harassment, discrimination, retaliation, slander, or defamation.
For example, the employer may: fire an employee with or without warning for their behaviour. fire an employee because they are not performing their job to the level required. tell the employee their position is redundant now or on a future date.
Notice pay
In most cases, the person who's been dismissed is entitled to the same pay they'd normally get if they work their notice period. The employee's final pay may be different from their usual monthly or weekly pay because of things like: how much holiday they've taken.
Median compensation for unfair dismissal
') that we can order an employer to pay. The maximum we can order is the lower of these 2 amounts: half of the employee's annual wage OR. the compensation cap, which is $79,250 for 2021-22 and changes on 1 July each year.
There is no definitive answer to this question as it will depend on the severity of the employee's behaviour or conduct and how many times they have been warned before. However, if the offences are not too severe, you should usually aim to give your employees at least two written warnings before dismissing them.
Texts are an informal method of communicating, making it more vulnerable to harassment, jokes and comments that cross the line, and other unprofessional conduct.
Most managers disapprove of employees texting them in contexts that fall outside of casual communication. For example, only a third of the managers Vejby interviewed found it acceptable for staff to report in sick by text.
It feels unprofessional
Texting is a casual and quick form of communication. This may be great for personal life, but in business it can be perceived as unprofessional. It's easy to send a text on a whim or full of grammatical or spelling mistakes (hitting send too soon!).
There are five statutory fair reasons for dismissing an employee: capability; conduct; redundancy; illegality, where continued employment would result in a breach of a statutory restriction; or some other substantial reason (SOSR).
While employers don't legally need to give employees three warnings before dismissing them, it is important to give employees a chance to fix any performance or conduct issues. Therefore, giving employees at least one warning in writing before ending their employment is a good idea.
the dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable. the dismissal was not a case of genuine redundancy. where the employer is a small business, the dismissal was not consistent with the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code.
What Is Quiet Firing? Quiet firing occurs when a manager fails to provide adequate training, support and career development to an employee, causing that employee to leave the organization.
“I recently learned about this term called quiet quitting, where you're not outright quitting your job but you're quitting the idea of going above and beyond,” Khan says. “You're still performing your duties, but you're no longer subscribing to the hustle-culture mentality that work has to be your life.
Both refer to how we judge someone and what we say behind their backs. However, 'gossip' is not something serious and it is just spreading some information about someone, but 'slander' is used when someone intentionally wants to ruin another person's reputation.
Consider addressing the instigator in private to express your displeasure. Approach your gossiping coworker in a non-confrontational way and politely but firmly ask them to not talk any further about you or whoever is the target of their gossip.
However, employers should also maintain strict confidentiality concerning employee status, pay, performance and medical related information to the extent possible. With few exceptions, employers shouldn't engage in discussions about other employees or disclosures concerning employees with their coworkers.