An HR advisor was sacked after complaining about the size of his portion of chicken nuggets in the staff canteen, an employment tribunal heard.
The Daily Mail has reported on the bizarre case of Steven Smith, an HR worker at Teleperformance, an outsourced partner contact centre. Smith, who was based in Scotland, was fired after an altercation with a canteen worker over the paltry poultry he was offered for lunch.
Smith, who won a £5,000 pay-out this summer after an employment judge ruled his dismissal was unfair, was reportedly taken aback after ordering chicken nuggets and chips and cheese for £1.99.
The complaining colleague, who served Smith his food, alleged that he questioned the portion size – which was just three nuggets - and was offered an extra three for 99p.
At this point, the tribunal was told, Smith declared he was “not a kid and if he wanted a happy meal he would have gone to McDonalds”. The complainant alleged Smith then “forcefully pushed” the box back at her before “storming off”.
The incident was reported to the HR department and Smith was suspended while an investigation took place, and was subsequently sacked for gross misconduct. However, a Glasgow employment judge later ruled unfair dismissal, after concluding that the evidence presented did not amount to a breach of Smith’s contract, nor that he acted in a violent or aggressive manner.
Although the decision was overturned, the peculiar sacking prompted HR Grapevine to explore some other bizarre reasons why workers have been given their marching orders.
#AndThenIWasFired
Twitter account @HashtageRoundup started up the #AndThenIWasFired hashtag in 2019 after asking social media users to share details of what they did at work that got them fired. But the trend has far from faded, with many still sharing their workplace woes to this day.
'Pizza problems'
One social media user said that they were fired over a food-related incident.
@Notagreatdrumm1 said that they took a picture of themselves eating their duty manager’s leftover food and posted the evidence to social media. They claimed that they were fired after this.
I took a picture of me eating the duty manager's leftover pizza and posted it on Twitter. #AndThenIWasFired pic.twitter.com/sgIa07OKn5
— Notagreatdrummer (@Notagreatdrumm1) September 13, 2020
Not hoovering well enough
In 2020, Twitter user @HarryJBartlett shared the tale of losing their first job as a teenager because they weren’t “hoovering thoroughly enough.”
“My first job when I was 16 was working in a retail shop called 'Bank'. The manager at the end of a shift told me I wasn't hoovering thoroughly enough. I told him the hoover didn't work properly #andtheniwasfired – the day after my friend confirmed that the hoover finally died.
my first job when I was 16 was working in a retail shop called 'Bank'. The manager at the end of a shift told me I wasn't hoovering thoroughly enough. I told him the hoover didn't work properly #andtheniwasfired – the day after my friend confirmed that the hoover finally died
— Harry J Bartlett Bon-Boulash (@HarryJBartlett) September 20, 2020
‘Temper tantrum’
In a post on the viral thread, user @FAB_ULOUS_FABS recalled that their boss had a ‘temper tantrum and sent me home for asking a question’.
At the time, the Twitter user said they were helping a guest who later “roasted” the boss in an online review.
After thinking that the employee wrote the negative review, the boss told others at work. The user claimed that they were later fired.
Work prank gone wrong
Playing a prank on colleagues by covering their desks in Post-It notes or wrapping paper is something that staff have done before.
Yet, in 2019, Twitter user @crushthebigots said that they were fired after wrapping their boss’ office in tin foil.
I wrapped my bosses office in tin foil. #AndthenIwasFired pic.twitter.com/rZe47IpK1v
— Chief Resistance Officer (@crushthebigots) November 11, 2019
