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Sad..
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Two weeks ago, I could not believe what I was doing. It was the first time that I hated being in HR.
We had an employee who worked for 28 years in our organization. He was fired because of misuse
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Forums » Topic Forums » General Forum » Sad..
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Sad..
posted at 1/26/2010 4:42 PM EST
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Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006 Last: 9/14/2011 |
One other note is that if the company does nothing about it, it could be brought up in a sexual harassment complaint if other employees were at all impacted (by seeing it open, be receiving it, etc).
There is some liability in the employer not taking it very seriously. |
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Sad..
posted at 2/9/2010 4:14 AM EST
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Posts: 2
First: 2/9/2010 Last: 6/1/2010 |
Unfortunately, you need to support management. It may have been difficult for you at that time, but the type of behavior is totally unacceptable. You hate to think bad thoughts, but what if this employee had been doing this for the 28 years he was there? How do you know if he was a pedophile using company equipment to communicate with his friends? This is not a moral statement, but there could have been liability for the organization.
The right decision was made. |
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Sad..
posted at 2/9/2010 5:05 AM EST
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Posts: 1
First: 2/9/2010 Last: 2/9/2010 |
The difficulty with being in HR is that we are people too and fall off that tall, slim fence that we are all asked to walk all the time. While we need to be objective, we get to know some people better than others and then when we have to take action with them 'professionally' it hurts.
But, in this situation it is clear, improper use of a computer especially for something as serious as porn is something you cannot ignore as to do so sends a completely wrong message. Having said that I would have pushed management to provide some sort of support for counseling / intervention to assist him even though he was rightfully fired. |
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Sad..
posted at 2/9/2010 7:19 AM EST
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Posts: 1
First: 2/9/2010 Last: 2/9/2010 |
You have already received numerous thoughtful, reasoned comments. Mine likely won't add a lot.
As HRPros, your role and mine is to be a consultant/adviser to members of the leadership team and to bring our own particular expertise to that role. In so doing, I believe that no sin is committed if our values & even our prefernces or recommendations creep into play, so long as it is not done in a strident or combative way. One perspective is that perhaps the proper thing for you or I to have done in this situation is to offer the decision maker reasonable options. Termination of employment is one of those options. We would probably add comments about pertinent rules & policy, past practice in similar situations, downside consequence to both the employer and the employee, etc. We might talk about transition support or the conseling that one of your contributors mentioned; all perfectly appropriate. In this situation, and considering how strongly you feel, I think we would have had an obligation (and hopefully an opportunity) to offer the option of a lesser discipline, along with our input as to what that might be, how it might be framed [e.g., the appropriate discipline for this offense...it is only because of your 28 years blah-blah-blah...the company has elected to impose a (suspension, reprimand, etc.)level of discipline short of what would be appropriate], and the likely consequences to everyone. I think it is appropriate for an HRPro/internal consultant to offer these options and even to say why, from his perspective, one might be preferable. Once we've done that, we have done the core piece of our job. You should be proud that your counsel is sought and comfortable that the 'end game' for an HRPro is to be a counselor/adviser who is seriously solicited and considered. Sometimes our advice will carry the day and sometimes it will not. We are being valued and respected by being solicited and seriously listened to. Whether we continue to have that respect will hinge on how we react & behave, especially when the decision maker makes a decision that was not what we wanted or recommended. The executive who made the discharge decision deserves your unqualified support in exchange for being solicited. You did not "lose;" don't think or act like you did. You can offer the departing employee condolences on a personal level, and even the types of support and assistance others have identified....and you should. |
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Sad..
posted at 2/9/2010 7:33 AM EST
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Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006 Last: 9/14/2011 |
I would be very very careful about following the following advice "You can offer the departing employee condolences on a personal level, and even the types of support and assistance others have identified....and you should."
Depending on your position, your personal thoughts should NOT come into play. Your knowledge and professional opinions, yes, but your personal opinions, no. If you can't separate personal and professional, then maybe HR is not the field for you. Because something personally said by an HR/company representative can and has been used against them in employment law cases. At this point, you ARE a representative of your employer. It's not wise to forget that! Because that could be a very career-limiting-move. |
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posted at 2/9/2010 7:39 AM EST
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Posts: 562
First: 11/12/2009 Last: 9/14/2011 |
I'm going with rrupert on this one. Up to the point at which the decision is made, we do counsel and advise management. After the decision is made, we need to execute it dispassionately as a representative of the management team. And beware the need to offer condolences or sympathies - they can get played back to you in a court of law.
For those that advise helping the employee, please note that the OP, Jassia, works in a school. Distribution of sexual content in such an environment is especially egregious since this is not a normal workplace. Assuming that the policies regarding such activities were well publicized, termination of employment was warranted. |
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