Calling Boss a Dickhead Was Not a Sackable Offense, Tribunal Rules

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Managers and supervisors brace yourselves: calling the boss a dickhead is not necessarily a sackable offense, a tribunal has ruled. The ruling came in the case of an office manager who was sacked on the spot when -- during a row -- she called her manager and another director dickheads. Kerrie Herbert has been awarded almost 30,000 pounds in compensation and legal costs after an employment tribunal found she had been unfairly dismissed.

The employment judge Sonia Boyes ruled that the scaffolding and brickwork company she worked for had not 'acted reasonably in all the circumstances in treating [her] conduct as a sufficient reason to dismiss her.' 'She made a one-off comment to her line manager about him and a director of the business,' Boyes said. 'The comment was made during a heated meeting. 'Whilst her comment was not acceptable, there is no suggestion that she had made such comments previously. Further... this one-off comment did not amount to gross misconduct or misconduct so serious to justify summary dismissal.'

Boyes found that Herbert was summarily fired because of her use of the word 'dickheads' and ruled that the company had failed to follow proper disciplinary procedures. She concluded that calling her bosses dickheads was not sufficient to fire Herbert and ordered the firm to pay 15,042.81 pounds in compensation. In her latest judgment she also ruled it had to pay 14,087 pounds towards her legal fees. 'If it was anyone else in this position they would have walked years ago due to the goings-on in the office, but it is only because of you two dickheads that I stayed,' said Herbert.

Swannell retorted: 'Don't call me a fucking dickhead or my wife. That's it, you're sacked. Pack your kit and fuck off.'

Read more of this story at Slashdot.