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Original poster

Daughter facing disciplinary over social media post

202 replies

user89066511 · 06/08/2021 10:10

My daughter works in retail in a supermarket. During lockdown at the beginning of the year someone posted on her timeline asking how she was and saying how rubbish the year was. She replied life is pretty normal for me working in supermarket but the customers are more annoying than ever.
Someone has reported the post and she now faces disciplinary action. Can anyone give any advice? She thinks that the company are been unreasonable but I know some companies are very strict on social media posts.

OP posts:
RubyGoat · 06/08/2021 10:13

General advice is never to mention work on your social media. I know someone who was sacked due to making a less offensive comment.

Has she deleted it yet? Also, is her page public or private?

freelions · 06/08/2021 10:16

It sounds like a slap on this wrists type offence rather than anything more serious although it does depend on her role

If she's a customer services manager or some such then I imagine they will take it more seriously than if she just works on check out

AlexaShutUp · 06/08/2021 10:16

She needs to delete it, apologise for her mistake and promise not to do it again. Hopefully they'll be lenient if it's a first offence.

No organisation is going to tolerate its staff moaning about customers online.

Sundancerintherain · 06/08/2021 10:20

A staff member who had left the company had a Facebook rant and tagged a fair few of his former colleagues in, me included.
We all got hauled in and bollocked, even though most of us had blocked former colleague as soon as we saw the post. I no longer have my employer details or any colleagues on Facebook.

UnsuitableHat · 06/08/2021 10:22

Hopefully just a slap on the wrist, but a reminder to keep things on SM as private as possible.

ArtfulScreamer · 06/08/2021 10:25

@AlexaShutUp

She needs to delete it, apologise for her mistake and promise not to do it again. Hopefully they'll be lenient if it's a first offence.

No organisation is going to tolerate its staff moaning about customers online.

This I'm sure if she owns it and doesn't try and make excuses she'll get away with a warning.

Valuable lesson though nothing posted online / shared digitally is secret so if you don't want your boss or your gran etc to see it don't post or share it.

LordEmsworth · 06/08/2021 10:26

What does their policy/employee handbook say?
Is it clear which supermarket she was talking about?
I wouldn't expect to stay in my job if I did that, I'm afraid. My employer has a very clear policy on bringing them into disrepute, so unless they genuinely don't have a policy or it's not freely available to her, my advice is be looking for another job now...

Original poster
user89066511 · 06/08/2021 10:27

@LegoCaltrops

General advice is never to mention work on your social media. I know someone who was sacked due to making a less offensive comment.

Has she deleted it yet? Also, is her page public or private?

Yes she has deleted it now. Here page is private but the comment was public as it was on her profile picture I think.
OP posts:
QueenofDestruction · 06/08/2021 10:27

If you work in a customer facing role you can never criticise publicly. My company would terminate for this comment. Never mention work in social media, unless it us part of your job and then of course its all positive.I would make sure its deleted and check the social media privacy notice to make a request for erasure. I would apologise to work ask for training and never do it again.

SeasonFinale · 06/08/2021 10:28

The thing that stands out in your post "she thinks the company are being unreasonable ". She needs to lose that kind of attitude before age attends any disciplinary meeting.

SeasonFinale · 06/08/2021 10:28

*she not age

Dontwatchfootball · 06/08/2021 10:29

Most employers have a policy about saying things about them online. And bad mouthing their customers is really serious. Sounds like she is learning a really hard lesson but I cant see how she is going to be able to keep this job.

Dontwatchfootball · 06/08/2021 10:30

PS- the fact that she thinks the company are being unreasonable to not want her sharing her poor opinion of their customers does not bode well. She really needs a reality check and it sounds like she is getting a hard one.

careerchangeperhaps · 06/08/2021 10:31

It will depend on whether she could publicly be linked to that supermarket or not from her post. Does her profile have her work place in the bio or are there other public posts that would identify her as working there? Is she wearing a uniform in a photo on her page? Did she mention the actual supermarket in the post?
If it was just a co-worker 'friend' that saw it and it was otherwise private, it will be less of an issue than if any of the above apply.

A good reminder to keep your SM profiles private!

Seesawmummadaw · 06/08/2021 10:34

It would be a sackable offence in my role.

They really aren’t being unreasonable are they. She said the customers are annoying, I’m sure they are, I couldn’t work in retail. But she shouldn’t be saying it on social media.

Does her profile say where she works?

Geamhradh · 06/08/2021 10:34

How does she not realize that she can't slag off the company she works for's clients on Facebook!

Marmitemarinaded · 06/08/2021 10:38

Advice?

Apologise and say won’t happen again.

qazxc · 06/08/2021 10:47

All she can do is apologise and not mention like this on social media again.
It depends on what is in her employment contract/ employee code of conduct but where I work, it would be a sackable offence.

ThisIsStartingToBoreMe · 06/08/2021 10:48

Why does she think her employers are being unreasonable?

SellFridges · 06/08/2021 10:50

Make sure she acknowledges the mistake, accepts responsibility, and she’s unlikely to be sacked for it tbh.

I hear cases like this and wouldn’t sack her, probably a warning.

flowery · 06/08/2021 10:50

Why does she think they’re being unreasonable? Would she stand in the store and shout loudly enough for all to hear that customers are annoying? Or put her uniform on and go into the town centre and shout it?

If she’s made a public comment on Facebook that customers are annoying and it’s clear she works for that retailer, it’s the same thing, and the type of comment that can easily go viral and reach hundreds of thousands of people.

5475878237NC · 06/08/2021 10:51

The thing that stands out in your post "she thinks the company are being unreasonable ". She needs to lose that kind of attitude before age attends any disciplinary meeting.

If this comes across she may be sacked (it is a sackable offence and against my media employer's media policy). She needs to be contrite and demonstrate she's learned her lesson! I hope she actually has!

seven201 · 06/08/2021 10:52

I've have a friend who lost their job for a similar thing. She needs to go in full of remorse and ask for training. It could go either way.

BikeRunSki · 06/08/2021 10:52

I’d be sacked for that. Public facing role, high profile public body. If there was a disciplinary hearing, it would be largely a box ticking exercise.

It sounds like she is quite young and naive, and probably of a generation very relaxed about Social media. She needs a bit of a wake up call to this.

She does realise that the annoying customer are essentially the people who pay her wages?

grapewine · 06/08/2021 10:53

She thinks that the company are been unreasonable

Because they don't want her publicly slagging off the customers? She needs a bit of a reality check.