M & S Give whistleblower the sack

Princess · 03-09-08, 15:03

A Marks & Spencer employee who blew the whistle on the retail giant's proposals to shrink its redundancy package has been sacked.

The man faced a three-hour disciplinary hearing on Monday and was told to return today to hear the outcome.

The GMB union, which represented the worker, said he was told he was being dismissed for "gross misconduct".

A spokesman for M&S confirmed the man had been dismissed.

The employee, based at the firm's London head office, sparked fears of imminent job losses when he contacted the media over proposals to reduce payouts by up to 25%.

Maria Ludkin, the GMB's legal officer, said: "The disappointing part of today's decision is that M&S head of global HR, John Wareham, stated that the 25-year long service of this employee is totally irrelevant to the decision to sack him.

"M&S have shown that they are more concerned about maintaining a repressive regime for their staff than about promoting open discussion about the direction of the company and the way that the staff are treated."

But the company spokesman said the retailer did not regard the case as "whistleblowing" because it did not believe it was doing anything wrong.

"(The former employee) broke the company's rules and regulations and deliberately leaked internal company information and made derogatory and speculative comments to the media, despite a variety of internal routes available to address any concerns," he said.

The spokesman added that M&S could not be confident that the worker would not repeat his actions if he remained in the job.

The firm changed its original proposals following consultations with staff but has still reduced redundancy payouts.

An employee will now receive a maximum of 62 weeks' pay rather than the previous 70, although this is more than the original proposal of 52 weeks.

Source: Sky News

Black Flag · 03-09-08, 16:27

As is the case when a country starts to head towards being a police state, telling the truth is not enough, now unless that truth agrees with the message people want to hear you can be prosecuted for it.
George Orwell was right just 25 years out with his dates.

Hopper · 03-09-08, 19:49

Sorry but IMO he deserved it, obviously he was in a position to have access to commercially sensitive information, he chose to give that information to the press.

His position was untenable once he had breached the companies confidentiality standards.

Whether he was morally right or wrong is (IMO) not an issue, if he wanted to 'publish and be dammed' he should have done so from outside to companies employment.

Surely employers are allowed to expect some sort of loyalty for the salaries they pay?

Black Flag · 04-09-08, 16:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hopper

Sorry but IMO he deserved it, obviously he was in a position to have access to commercially sensitive information, he chose to give that information to the press.

His position was untenable once he had breached the companies confidentiality standards.

Whether he was morally right or wrong is (IMO) not an issue, if he wanted to 'publish and be dammed' he should have done so from outside to companies employment.

Surely employers are allowed to expect some sort of loyalty for the salaries they pay?

Sadly I believe this was the excuse used by a lot of Nazis in WW2, I don't believe in loyalty to a dubious cause, it delivers far too much power into the hands of those unfit to use it.

Briz · 04-09-08, 16:30

It is bad ton not to leave before blowing the whistle

Hopper · 04-09-08, 16:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black Flag

Sadly I believe this was the excuse used by a lot of Nazis in WW2, I don't believe in loyalty to a dubious cause, it delivers far too much power into the hands of those unfit to use it.

So leave the company and then go to the press. Sorry but this was a person working in an area of trust and confidentiality who breached that confidentiality. How can they expect their employer to carry on employing them?

As for the Nazi reference, I don't think that comparing M&S and someones employment with them to the extermination of millions of Jews is of any use to anyone - sorry.

Black Flag · 06-09-08, 16:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hopper

So leave the company and then go to the press. Sorry but this was a person working in an area of trust and confidentiality who breached that confidentiality. How can they expect their employer to carry on employing them?

As for the Nazi reference, I don't think that comparing M&S and someones employment with them to the extermination of millions of Jews is of any use to anyone - sorry.

I belive that loyalty has to be earned and treating people like serfs is hardly likely to engender any loyalty whatsoever, what you are saying is loyalty can be bought, history tells us otherwise.
For a company to behave like landed gentry Victorian mill owners does not give them any "rights" whatsoever to my mind, I actually think the person concerned did right and applaud his /her actions. I think its a pity more people are not prepared to stand up for what they believe instead of doffing their caps to bosses who are clearly unfit to manage staff. If they did the UK would not be in the state it now is.