Cyclist crash 'joke' tweeter sacked from stockbrokers

I dunno.

My manager discussed social media with us colleagues only about 3 months ago and concluded "what you do in your own time has nothing to do with work as long as it's legal". I think she has the right attitude, although I'm sure HR's view will differ and will actively look for a reason to sack someone.

Take drunken photos for example. 15 years ago, the photos were developed and ended up in an album that got passed around family and friends. The only difference now is that the photos are digital and uploaded to Facebook, yet it incriminates someone because HR have been snooping in family / friends photo albums.
 
They aren't stockbrokers, they are financial advisors. Anway all sensible companies have a contractual clause about social media issues. Be warned everyone!
 
This sets a dangerous precedent. Did anyone even hear about this in the media until they sacked him? How long before people get sacked for other personal incidents? How about a sex tape of an employee that appears online?
 
AHarvey said:
You represent your place of work 24/7/365 days of the year. Do something stupid and it can look bad on the company
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I disagree. Unless you are the owner/chairman then you represent your employers for the hours of work only.

However, that doesn't mean you can't do something in your spare time that will still have an effect during your working hours.

I'd compare it in a way to alcohol. I'm free to get drunk in my free time, but if I got drunk just before work and turned up mashed I'd expected to get sacked.

So, if I worked for OCUK and I tweeted "OCUK are crap" off shift, that would have an effect which my employer could rightfully discipline when I get to work as the damage is still happening.

But this guy didn't mention his employer and his tweet relates in no way to his work. If he was the Minister for Road Safety and tweeted what he did it would be a different story.

His tweet alone brings no bad publicity to his employer; they've done that themselves by sacking him and thereby making the story public.
 
Rosbif said:
I'm surprised he got sacked by HL. Do they think that because one of their employees posted a joke tweet I'm going to close my SIPP?

On the other hand, maybe he's the person who cannot sort out my multiple direct debit SIPP contributions, in which case, good job.

I personally think it's a bit harsh.
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Maybe it was just the excuse they were looking for, I mean, maybe he had a catalogue of annoyances, why would anyone want a person who thought that was lolworthy working for them?
I know the finance industry has a bad rep, but I'm sure they must have some standards?
 
Acme said:
It doesn't tie it to his employer, it merely confirms that he has a job, like most other people.
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I'm not condoning their response, but he explicitly stated he had to drive off because he was late for work ("But I'm late for work so had to drive off lol") so that was his excuse in the joke. Sure it's not direct, but it's there.

I'd imagine if he'd have said he was late for anything else then nothing would have happened.
 
So apparently the tweet was nonsense, still makes no difference in regards to him, he's probably still inclined to have a dislike towards cyclists and perhaps show this in his driving near cyclists, also points out he's a ******** attention seeker.
 
In the UK today, what is truly tragic is: He would probably get a bigger punishment for his stupid Tweet than he would for actually hitting and killing a Cyclist. :(
 
Shimmyhill said:
Did you miss the case of the young girl who wrote exactly this and ended up in court over it - she never mentioned work but the media were all over it and named the employer etc.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-22636230

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...er-knocking-cyclist-off-his-bike-8949449.html
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Slightly different case there, in that she did actually knock over a cyclist!

If he was trying to make a joke, then he should be punished for crimes against humour, but to get fired for it is ridiculous! Hope he takes them to the cleaners at a tribunal.
 
estebanrey said:
I disagree. Unless you are the owner/chairman then you represent your employers for the hours of work only.

However, that doesn't mean you can't do something in your spare time that will still have an effect during your working hours.

I'd compare it in a way to alcohol. I'm free to get drunk in my free time, but if I got drunk just before work and turned up mashed I'd expected to get sacked.

So, if I worked for OCUK and I tweeted "OCUK are crap" off shift, that would have an effect which my employer could rightfully discipline when I get to work as the damage is still happening.

But this guy didn't mention his employer and his tweet relates in no way to his work. If he was the Minister for Road Safety and tweeted what he did it would be a different story.

His tweet alone brings no bad publicity to his employer; they've done that themselves by sacking him and thereby making the story public.
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Cyclist safety campaign or jobsworth gets hold of the tweet, doesn't see the funny side and starts a mini campaign against it.

Media and social media get involved, next thing you know the guys picture is in the paper and it mentions his place of work. Looks bad on them for employing someone stupid enough to make the comment.

I agree it's **** and I've had similar issues at work when I've said about getting wasted with friends, I had to explain what it meant. Chances are it was a case of the straw that broke the camels back. However, companies, especially ones that can be media targets over silly things take these matters seriously.

it's not like this is a one off either, you see stories like this from time to time and they are just the ones that make the media.
 
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