AIBU about being grassed up

[Milliepede]

Not so much of an AIBU but am posting for traffic.
A so called friend has gone to my boss because I said something negative about work on FB. Where I work takes that sort of thing VERY seriously. I don't think what I said was that bad, I expressed I didn't like my job or the team I work with (some of them are ok). I didn't say anything bad about the organisation itself but when asked, I stupidly said where I worked and have "damaged the organisation's reputation".
I am more pissed off that a "friend" has said something and actually screenshotted the post to show my boss.
Just a friendly reminder to be careful who you trust and becareful what you post on social media.

OP, if they sack you or threaten to sack you for this, you would have a good case for unfair dismissal. Make sure you speak to ACAS and a union rep if you have one before meeting with them. Take someone with you to the meeting. Yes, it's not great to spill your complaints all over facebook, but there is case law saying that the employer is not acting proportionately if they fire you for it.

As for the 'friend' who did this- they are obviously no friend at all. It makes it easier to prove who said what when it's on facebook, but how would you all feel if a friend e.g. recorded a conversation where you slagged off your employer and then sent it to your boss? Social media is of course less private, but technically, if you cannot vent to friends online, you shouldn't be able to vent in conversation, unless you are in a totally private place where nobody could overhear you. This person obviously has a strong dislike for you, which is why she has done this. The best thing is to cut her out of your life for good. Who needs idiots like that?

Why on earth would she do this? What would she gain?
I'd be cutting ties with the bitch.

Yes, you were a bit of a muppet posting what you did but your ‘friend’ is a shit (unless she is under some professional obligation to report)

You shouldn't have posted, but I would never do what your colleague did. The most I would do would be to suggest you take your post down.

Your friend is pathetic. To the people saying what you did wasn't wise, yes that's obvious but that doesn't mean her so called friend isn't in the wrong for being a jobsworth.

At least you have learnt two very valuable lessons.
Trust no-one
Never ever ever say or do anything defamatory where it can be written down or recorded in any way shape or form.
In short, cover your arse at all times. It doesn't matter what you say or to whom but the minute there is any undeniable evidence you're screwed.
If someone else is covering their arse and scapegoating you, write everything down in minute detail to prove it can't possibly have been you.
The joys of office working and the bullshit that goes with it.

You really wouldn't have a good case for unfair dismissal. There is a lot of precident on this.

A woman I work with likes to 'collect' information and gossip about staff and use it against them - I've had a couple of run-ins with her and she's the devil.

People like this aren't friends. They might charm the life out of you but if they shit on you once they'll do it again.

Theyprobablywill you’re wrong on this. There is case law saying that dismissal is inappropriate in these circumstances. I have helped someone through a similar thing and the case law predominantly would favour the OP here.

Citation?

www.personneltoday.com/hr/sainsburys-employee-dismissed-for-facebook-post-wins-case/

Here is one

You were foolish to write it online, OP, but your 'friend' has been very treacherous to get you into trouble about it.

I agree with PP that I am uncomfortable about corporates trying to own their employees thoughts and deeds outside of work. That level of encroaching on boundaries is very unhealthy, and encourages hostile behaviour such as that perpetrated by your 'friend'. I hope you retain your job. But then I would start looking for another, better, one ASAP.

I never mention work on FB. I still got spoken to after saying on I didn't want to work until I dropped as apparently it looked negative...

I get why PPs are criticising OP for being indiscreet but honestly, who is such an officious busybody that they report someone for something like that when they don't even work there? What a dick.

But these companies must know their employees are still saying negative things about them? It’s jusr a lot harder to enforce moaning about your company down the pub on a Friday night!

Posters on here are always discussing their employers on here - anonymously.

Funky

That particular case wouldn't really support the argument that it would be unfair dismissal - the finding on your link states:

"Although the employment tribunal found that the Facebook post was a potentially fair reason for dismissal, its issue lied [sic] in the way the investigation was conducted and the way in which the store manager approached the case."

If you look at the details, there are issues such as the notes not being correctly passed on - the employee was reported as saying he would do it again, when in fact, he'd said he wouldn't do it again.

The substance of the issue is also different. That employee hadn't criticised Sainsbury's, he'd criticised a (possible) customer of Sainsbury's.

Did your friend do this knowing full well you'd find out it was her?
How long between the rant being posted and you getting pulled up on it?
Has she done anything like this before? (To you or anyone else?)

You obviously shouldn't have done it but the damage is done now. Apologise and move on. If you're normally hard-working and this is a one off then let this be a lesson. If it's one thing in a long line of ways you keep fucking up then you need to buck up your ideas. You should be leaving jobs because you have gotten all you can out of it or you are moving on to better things. Not because some snipy two faced bitch of a frenemy is nipping at your heels waiting for you to fail and throw her a big juicy morsel to use against you. Learn from this. Don't add future colleagues or bosses on FB. Rant in private to your family or actual friend. Save FB for figuring out what kind of unicorn you are.

Dear gods the OP doesn't need a bunch of willy waving "managers" or holy joes to tell her she should be on the naughty step. She already knows that.

But this is MN and AIBU for that matter. There's nothing some posters like better than to make OPs feel like naughty schoolgirls.

I think what you did was very foolish, OP, but this 'friend' is definitely a piece of work.

Funky, if anything that supports what I said.

I wonder where the law stands if you say something critical of your employer on MN and your manager has an inkling it’s you from your previous posts - but can’t prove it and you haven’t mentioned the company by name? They can’t make MN give them your IP address and trace it to you can they?

I’m curious as to how far employers can go in this crazy Big Brother world!

Polarbearflavour, of course they couldn't do that and it wouldn't be legally enforceable.

But people have got to get out of their heads that anything posted on SM is private.

You couldn't take a megaphone outside your works and badmouth everyone and still expect to work there.

That's what you are doing by posting on SM.

A few questions:
if you are completely private and lets say your friends wouldn't ever grass would there be any way then that ur work could find something?
also...what if you put "horrid day of work today"is that still considered banned?
not trying to be an idiot if I sound it.i genuinely don't know and If I should then sorry :/

When I started work in one particular hospital I was warned never to enter anything into a record that I wouldn't want to see projected in letters 2 feet high in a courtroom.

However I think your "friend" could have just contacted you and told you to take your post down immediately, and warned you she would have to report it if you didn't. The fact that she did not tells you

a) she has more respect for the organisation you work for than you do

b) she is not your friend (you had guessed this)

c) your team probably dislike you as much as you dislike them

I wouldn’t post anything on social media about work and nor do I put where I work. I have occasionally put a comment on my (private) profile like “back to work after the long Christmas break sad face” but I hardly think that’s bringing an employer into disrepute.

I do know of a case where an NHS worker with a coat on over her uniform was talking to her partner on the phone after work. She said something like “oh the usual crap, I hate this place” to partner. That was it. No patient confidentiality was breached. A member of the public wrote into complain about that and staff were told in an email that they were still representating the hospital outside of work and could say nothing negative at all. I believe if the employer had gushed about the amazing NHS working conditions that would have been fine.

its hard isn't it because on fb conversations start as if your right there with them.so I can see how it could start with work and an innocent comment and then spiral in the replys to everyday complaints of work we can all make to a friend after a hard day