justlukeyou Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 If you owned a business in which the brand and image was vital and you discovered that one of your employees regularly referred to over employees as a "retard" what would you do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
requinix Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 Tell them to stop it (because I like giving people a chance) or be fired. Pretty cut and dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trq Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 In fact if you don't tell them to stop it you can be liable for prosecution (where I live anyway). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justlukeyou Posted November 16, 2012 Author Share Posted November 16, 2012 In fact if you don't tell them to stop it you can be liable for prosecution (where I live anyway). Hi, I live in the UK. How can I check if that counts over here? I've tried Googling a number of searches to get more information on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidAM Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 Call your lawyer. That's the only way you will get a definitive answer. Gotta love Texas. It's a right-to-work state, which works both ways. So I can fire you because I don't like brown eyes. Oops, I misread trq's response. I thought he was saying you could be prosecuted for not warning them first. Even in Texas, if the person being called a "retard" is aware of it and offended by it, the employer could be liable for allowing a "hostile work environment". Here, I would write up a disciplinary action form and then sit down with them and explain the issue. Tell them if I hear of it once more, they are out. Have them sign the form and put it in their file. Then, the next time it happened, ... bye-bye. Of course, you need to be sure that the person reporting the incident is not just trying to get the guy fired. Is this person referring to someone as stupid, or referring to someone who is mentally handicapped? It would make a difference to me. Being a jerk (calling someone stupid) is one thing; discrimination is quite another thing altogether. Depending on how reliable the information is, I'm not sure I would give the person another chance (in the later case), particularly if it is widely known that the company supports the mentally handicapped by providing employment. I would also circulate a (new) company policy memo about hostility in the work place. Make everyone sign it, including all future employees. Then you already have the warning in writing the next time the issue arises. Which is probably how 90% of all company policies come about. Disclaimer: I don't actually dislike brown eyes. I am actually indifferent to eye color (usually). It is just an example. So please, don't flame me about your beautiful brown eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinM1 Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 1. Reprimand 2. Firing In that order. You need a reprimand and some sort of performance log that shows repeated insubordination/harassment in order to protect yourself from a wrongful termination suit, generally speaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ignace Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 (edited) Go to your employer, tell him he called you names and see what he does. If he does nothing substantial, leave. There are better work environments. If he does, chances are it doesn't stop and he will still harass you but in different ways like bumping your shoulder, and generally not giving you any respect at all. At that point you should consider talking with the other employees and maybe they don't like him either and you can go ALL to your employer and demand he fires him. The important bit here is that you don't let him get to you, or your work will suffer, and you will be fired. I have been in this situation, where I was the new kid on the block among older employees who had their way of programming, which was insecure and hard to maintain, a hacker's paradise: every vulnerability was possible. Telling the employer about this and you are bound to have a few enemies. But me and a colleague didn't give up and after 2 years, now we have a professional setup: Scrum, OOP, QA, .. and I got a 45% raise Edited November 17, 2012 by ignace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefany93 Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 Go to your employer, tell him he called you names and see what he does. If he does nothing substantial, leave. There are better work environments. If he does, chances are it doesn't stop and he will still harass you but in different ways like bumping your shoulder, and generally not giving you any respect at all. At that point you should consider talking with the other employees and maybe they don't like him either and you can go ALL to your employer and demand he fires him. The important bit here is that you don't let him get to you, or your work will suffer, and you will be fired. I have been in this situation, where I was the new kid on the block among older employees who had their way of programming, which was insecure and hard to maintain, a hacker's paradise: every vulnerability was possible. Telling the employer about this and you are bound to have a few enemies. But me and a colleague didn't give up and after 2 years, now we have a professional setup: Scrum, OOP, QA, .. and I got a 45% raise A revolution - I like the idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ignace Posted November 17, 2012 Share Posted November 17, 2012 That's why they nicknamed me 'The Rebel' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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