Boss Says, Bet on Who's Getting Fired...

Just how cold-hearted and miserable a person would you have to be, to ask your employees to bet on who'll be fired next. That's exactly what one Convenience store manager did in Iowa. In response, workers quit rather than play along with him, and asked for unemployment benefits. The convenience store manager challenged the payments but ultimately the workers were awarded their unemployment benefits.

Workers Quit After Boss Starts 'Guess Whom Gets Fired Next' Contest

When 57-year-old William Ernst, the manager of a QC Mart convenience store in Davenport, Iowa, decided to have a little fun with his employees, he didn't quite appreciate the extent to which he was toying with their psyches.

As was first reported by The Des Moines Register, Ernst sent a memo to his employees in March asking them to guess whom the next cashier to be fired would be. The winner would get a prize of $10. Presumably the contest was even open to those on the chopping block.

"To win our game, write on a piece of paper the name of the next cashier you believe will be fired. Write their name [the person who will be fired], today's date, today's time, and your name. Seal it in an envelope and give it to the manager to put in my envelope," Ernst instructed them.
The workers were not amused, and at least two employees sent letters to company managers crying foul over the contest. They proceeded to quit and filed for unemployment benefits. And according to a report by UPI, Ernst was not amused and stepped in to challenge the claim. He argued that those leaving the convenience mart were doing so voluntarily.

The dispute reached Iowa administrative court, where the court ruled in favor of the workers.

"The employer's actions have clearly created a hostile work environment by suggesting its employees turn on each other for a minimal monetary prize," Judge Susan Ackerman said. "This was an intolerable and detrimental work environment."

Full story:http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2011/1...-boss-starts-guess-who-gets-fired-next-conte/

 

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That boss is an asshole, and I hope HE was the next one on the chopping block as a result of his little game.

 

OMFG what an asshat.

 

what a tool

 

Haha I love it!! Good one, BBW!

 

I needed something to accentuate how a boss can be such a dick!

 

It mostly reminded me of DK - you know - DK= DICK. Yeah, kinda like that.
And how he's always calling everyone "kid". Kid = Dick = DK.

Yep, pretty much. :smt020

 

The man's an idiot, but did they really just quit rather than at least taking it to HR first? :/

I read it and it's a passive-aggressive wangsty boss getting pissed off over people not doing their jobs properly. Obnoxious and inappropriate and I'm sure he was an arsehole to work for, but did no-one even attempt to take it higher? How old are these people? I personally wouldn't take it remotely seriously, but then I've been the one doing the crappy job while other people fuck around and I can understand the frustration behind the note...

Don't get me wrong, I've worked for arseholes before and walked out on a job before now too...when I was a teenager(and even then, only when I had enough saved to support myself until I had something else). When I've had problems with bosses as an adult, I followed formal complaint procedures and they should've done too.

I'm all for people not putting up with crap, but these people just quit a job to sign up for unemployment without even trying to resolve the situation? Aww hell naw.

 

I'm not sure if you realize it, but the owner of the company is the person responsible for the memo and the contest. So, who would they complaint to when he is the owner?

It's also at issue whether the employees actually were doing a "poor" job. According to employees, "this was the last straw", suggesting that there had been other incidents of ill treatment.

The laws regarding underemployment here in the states are pretty stringent, and it's very unusual for employees who quit to receive benefits. So, I'm thinking that the administrative board that heard the full story must have really believed that the work environment was hostile.

I'm curious, does the U.K. have a similar kind of benefit for employees? I know from first hand experience how difficult it can be to fire an employee without providing compensation to them, something that's done as a matter of course here.

 

I still think the article is biased, but if he's as high as it goes, then it's more understandable.

We have Jobseekers allowance instead. You have to be actively seeking work and to prove that you are(my friend is currently on jsa and has to prove she has applied for x amount of jobs a week, they apparently follow up with the places you apply to as well) to receive it, but your ex boss doesn't get a say in whether you get it or not. I've never claimed it myself and it's been years since I've even looked into it, but I believe you can't claim if you leave a job without good reason or are fired for gross miscondunct:

(source).

It is a lot harder to get fired here, but from what I've seen, it is a lot easier to get benefits in the US if you're out of work than in the UK.

 

I mentioned having first hand experience because I once recommended the firing of an executive in the U.K.. He was a guy who drank a lot and even customers complained of smelling alcohol on his breath in meetings with him. If that happened here in the states, he could have been summarily dismissed without any compensation. However, I was advised that laws in the U.K. favored some compensation for him, even though he had no contract. I was told that he should be offered two years compensation, which I thought was crazy.

The only benefits that you receive here are unemployment benefits, and then, typically, ONLY IF, you, didn't voluntarily quit, weren't fired for cause, weren't part of a labor dispute.

 

Mmm, well I say that because my American ex was on unemployment(after getting fired) for 11 months, sat on his bum, trekked around Asia for three months(courtesy of mum&dad, the lucky sod) and then finally got a job. Oh and paying his rent with the unemployment money all the while, and it was backdated to when he was fired. I believe he has a few grand banked from totalling his old car a year or two ago as well. All while receiving benefits.

Versus my friend here who has to prove she's actively applying for jobs, check-in in-person every two weeks at the job centre and adhere to all the job centre's requirements. She has maybe 2 grand in long-term investments she can't access and her benefits were reduced for those, she could barely feed herself off the amount she's getting, let alone pay rent. She's lucky her family are able to give her house room.
(Not suggesting he's undeserving, btw, he was 'let go' and pretty crappily too, I just think Americans get a much better deal).

For the drunk guy, it's a little shady, but technically, I believe they would have to treat it as an addiction rather than gross misconduct :/ It's not always the case, but if he was coming in that way everyday it seems like alcoholism rather than random misbehaviour. A guy I worked with got fired for doing coke at work and another guy regularly came in high/drunk from the previous night, but was covered by his friends and got away with it.

It is hard to get fired here and we also have more chances to appeal and take legal action if fired unfairly(don't think this is as often an option there). I think we also have stricter laws protecting people with disabilities in the workplace? The only personal example I have is a job where I was perceived to be five minutes or so late for every shift(manager wanted everyone in the building 15 minutes prior to the start of their shift which was stupid and pointless), no-one said a word, wasn't given any formal warnings, etc. until one day the manager decided to call me in the office and tell me he had considered firing me but my immediate boss had argued in my favour(manager was relatively new). I can honestly say, I wasn't concerned for a second. I was at work on time and more importantly, I hadn't received a single verbal or written warning for lateness in the three years I worked there. If he fired me, I would've been able to sue(successfully!) for unfair dismissal. failsource, but it's correct afaik: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unfair_dismissal_in_the_United_Kingdom Oh, also worked with a guy who got fired for stealing food, his live-in girlfriend did not get fired simply because there was no evidence of her stealing at the time. She damn well ate/helped sell the food and no doubt she was involved, she just didn't have anything on her the day he got caught. Also: http://www.totaljobs.com/careers-advice/money-and-legal/references

So even in a reference for your next job, they aren't even really allowed to say anything negative beyond clear and present facts.

Oh, in case you're wondering, I gave in and started going to work "on time" by his standards and ended up working an extra 15 minutes per shift as a result, but it just wasn't worth the hassle and I wanted a good reference.

Hmm, maybe the benefits issue is partly tax-related? I know you pay less there(in general), but ours pays for the NHS among other things, maybe there's just more tax funds to spend on other resources there?

tl;dr: If you're hiring live in America, if you're being hired live in the UK.

 

Hahahah, you use Dick for DK? Wow! I would think you'd be rougher on the edges!

 

I thought this thread was about, a manager and the way he fired people...

Unprovoked badhig, duly noted.