Earlier this year, the story of a male spectator at a Toronto FC soccer match making obscene on-air comments to a female journalist created a media firestorm in both traditional and social media. It was quickly discovered that he was a well-paid Hydro One employee. The employee was fired and there was lots of public support for Hydro One taking a stand against this type of behaviour.
Well, last month, it was reported that the employee had been rehired by Hydro One, after an arbitration process. The employee was a member of a union and the union commented in a statement that “the arbitrator found that the penalty of discharge was unjust and ordered [the employee] to be reinstated.”
Being rehired is a possible result for unionized employees who are fired, but is an unlikely one for a non-unionized employee. While the BC Human Rights Tribunal does have the ability to order that an employee be rehired where it finds that a termination was because of discrimination under the BC Human Rights Code, it is a slim possibility that this will occur.
Whether you agree or disagree with the Hydro One employee being rehired, this case does highlight some actions companies should take to protect themselves:
- Make sure you have a company policy in place that details expectations for appropriate behaviour and the consequences for violating those expectations (e.g. discipline, dismissal).
- Be very clear in your policy that any off-duty behaviour that has a negative impact on the workplace can be cause for discipline or termination. Also, be sure to highlight in the policy that this applies to online behaviour as well (e.g. social media, blogs, etc.)
- Have a public relations and social media strategy in place to handle negative press and be prepared to put it into action. News travels quickly in the age of social media. Incidents such as these can happen to any employer at any time. Know how you will respond. Case in point, you don’t want to be the next international media pariah that Vestra Inet became recently as a result of their poor job posting and subsequent response.
- As referenced in a previous article, make sure you have termination provisions in your employment contracts that clearly state what will happen in the event of a termination with cause and a termination without cause. Specify the amount of notice or pay in lieu of notice that will be provided if you terminate without cause, ensuring that it meets or exceeds the requirements set by your relevant employment standards legislation. Then, if faced with an employee behaving badly and you don’t know if you have just cause for termination, you can still terminate without cause by providing the pre-determined amount of notice or pay in lieu of notice.
If an employee, on their own time, does something clearly inappropriate, and the employer is drawn into the conversation, what impact might the employee’s continued employment or rehiring have on your corporate reputation with clients, suppliers and employees alike?
When faced with these types of situations, companies can be put in a very difficult position. When determining what action to take, consider all the factors so you don’t end up with a bigger problem on your hands. For assistance with employee relations matters for your small business, especially as it relates to an employee being fired or rehired, please contact Vancouver-based Clear HR Consulting.
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