Getting yourself fired

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

I’m sure there was a thread somewhere about imaginitive ways of getting yourself fired, but I can’t find it.

My boyfriend has been offered a much better paid job than he has now, but they want him 1 months time, but he a three month agreement on his contract. Basically if the company won’t let him go in 1 month, he wants get himself fired, preferably as imaginative way as possible. He already has a friend there to act as reference, in fact it was his idea to get himself fired in the first place.

Any ideas?

#2

First he should discuss the situation with the company making the offier - he needs to make sure getting fired from his current position won’t cause the new position to evaporate.

#3

They know about it, the idea is to sign the contract before getting fired. They may not give him the job if they have to wait 3 months…

#4

Well, whatever happens, at least they will know exactly what to expect from your boyfriend if another still-better job should come along while he’s working for this new company. Has he thought about that?

#5

Could you explain the context of this job “contract” in greater detail. In the US most lower and mid-lower level jobs are “at will” meaning employer or employee can terminate the relationship. Contracts are generally used with professionals and define a specific task to be completed. Possibly UK and US job hiring is quite different, but if he’s at a level where they are “contracting” with him, and he wants out, an attorney/soliciter might be the best first stop before getting too creative.

#6

He’s asked the management for a pay rise for ages and they have refused, that’s why he wants to quit, the new company know this. His new job will pay him 25% more for essentally the same job. Dunno about job contracts here as I’ve only had a short term jobs/temping myself. :o
the word I was looking for is notice period :smack: he’s asked the management to waiver the 3 months to one month (like most other places) and they’ve offered him 10% more (come october) and no waiver. He just doesn’t want to walk after a month as he doesn’t want to be taken to court (I think it’s unlikely as the company is very tight and taking him to court will cost money) Also he knows the company some time in the future is planning to get rid of all the programmers (like him). Basically he wants them to get rid of him after a month!

#7

How much leave does he have left? He can deduct that from his notice period for a start. After that, he can just walk away but he probably wouldn’t expect to be able to use them as a referee in the future.

Some UK corporate lawyer will come along shortly no doubt and give you the ins and outs of this…

#8

Walking out on three month notice = bad reference, no holiday benefits etc, getting a reputation as unreliable.

Getting fired = bad reference, no holiday benefits etc, getting a reputation as unreliable.

The best option would therefore be to not turn up to work, as this will achieve both of the above, simultaneously, with zero effort. Any other efforts to get fired would be pointless. Unless, of course, he really wanted to get a reputation as unreliable and a jerk. But I can’t imagine why anyone would set out on purpose to do this.

You might want to consider how your boyfriend’s new employer might look upon it. Will they be happy knowing that they’re the next one’s to get imaginatively shafted should the circumstances arise again? And is your boyfriend going to remove his current job in his CV forever, just in case a future employer phones them up for a reference? Is his friend going to be always there to cover for him? Is his friend sure that his job is safe if their employer ever finds out about their scheme? Do you think their employer is stupid and won’t work out that he’s done this deliberately? What’s more likely to get him taken to court; walking out early or intentionaly screwing things up?

Sorry to be the killjoy, but I don’t see how messing up on his job to get fired, and probably harming his present employer in the process, is in anyone’s interests.

#9

He HAS a reference from his previous employer! It’s his references idea to get himself fired :smack: He will give him a good reference regardless. There’s no reason for his new company to know he got fired, nor anyone else! Yes he’ll lose his holidays, but he’s leaving anyway!

#10

Depends how you get yourself fired. His only idea would be to format the C drive, but that might have repercussions, has the need for imagination! I’m sure there was a thread somewhere…

#11

Well, in that case, insisting that at all times he should be addressed as “Mister Pookypants” (including referring to himself as the same when he answers the phone and ignoring his real name and refusing any interaction until the other party uses his new “proper” name) should go a long way toward his goal.

#12

Is this the kind of thread you were looking for in the OP? I really hated my job and wanted to get fired. None of the suggestions worked, however, and I ended up just standing up and walking out about an hour and a half into my shift one day.

#13

I don’t understand. You said in a previous post, “They know about it, the idea is to sign the contract before getting fired. They may not give him the job if they have to wait 3 months…” - if “they” isn’t the new employer, then who is it?

I took the previous post to mean the new employer knows he has 3 months left on his contract and they know he wants to sign a contract with them, which will start before the old contract is done. So they would know he somehow got out of his previous obligation. Did you just mean they would know he’s reneged on his contract but they wouldn’t know why?

I personally would never hire someone who I knew screwed over their former employer, because I figure they would do it to me too. Others might feel differently, of course.

#14

That would indeed be the thread I was looking for!

#15

His new employer thinks he has one month, although the agency he got the job through know about the problem.

#16

Hmm, lying when you apply for the job - always a great start…

#17

Tis true, but saying he had 3 months notice period didn’t get him any interviews.

#18

Fair point - but if this backfires on him it just may not have been worth it. OTOH, if the new company don’t find out, all’s well and good.

Best plan is, I reckon, to tell his current company he’s off in a month, regardless.

#19

That’s the current plan…

#20

Color me confused. Does he have a written or oral contract with his current employer specifying that he must give three months notice? Is he under a contract that runs to a particular date? Or is this three month period just a courtesy to the current employer so the employer knows to start looking for another employee?

If it’s 1 or 3, and assuming no penalties apply to breaking the contract in 1, then he should let the current employer know what his last date is going to be even if it’s less than three months out. If it’s 2 then he should perhaps speak to a lawyer or barrister or solicitor or whatever you call it in England to review the contract and see if the benefits of breaking it outweigh the costs.

IANAL and I am especially NALoBoSoWYCIiE.