It turns out calling your boss a dickhead might not be a fireable offence, at least according to the results of a recent unfair dismissal tribunal in the United Kingdom.
The tribunal in question relates to Kerrie Herbert, an office manager who was sacked on the spot in 2022 for calling her manager and another director dickheads during an office row.
The busybody in me wishes I was in the neighbouring cubicle during this tiff, or at least on the office Slack chat which was likely filled with colleagues’ reactions.
‘DID YOU HEAR THAT? SHE JUST SAID DICKHEAD,’ my message would’ve read, likely followed by a monkey-covering-eyes emoji for no specific reason.
Anyway, Herbert — who worked for a Northampton brickwork company called Main Group Services — proceeded to take the matter to court, with a hearing overseen by employment judge Sonia Boyes.
Per The Guardian, Boyes ruled that Herbert’s comment to her bosses, however fierce or well-deserved, was not sufficient enough grounds to warrant her being fired.
As a result, Main Group Services was ordered to pay Herbert over $61,000 (AUD) in compensation and legal costs after the tribunal ruled she had been unfairly dismissed.
You’re telling me she got paid to cuss her boss out? Have I just unlocked a new side-hustle? Boss, if you’re reading this… no you’re not.
“[Herbert] made a one-off comment to her line manager about him and a director of the business,” Boyes said.
“The comment was made during a heated meeting. This one-off comment did not amount to gross misconduct or misconduct so serious to justify summary dismissal,” she added.
While the hearing was told Herbert could be fired under the terms of her contract relating to “the provocative use of insulting or abusive language”, Boyes ruled that would only apply if she was given a prior warning — which she was not.
“There is no suggestion that she had made such comments previously,” Boyes said.
But before you go drafting which insults to hurl at the boss on Monday, Boyes did concede that Hebert’s “comment was not acceptable”, so it might be best to just hold in those F-bombs until further notice.
The ruling capped off what sounds like an incredibly juicy saga, with the tribunal told that Herbert used the word after discovering documents in her boss’ desk about the costs of employing her, sparking concerns she was about to be let go.
When the boss later raised issues about her performance, Herbert let loose, telling her higher-ups she “would have walked years ago due to the goings-on in the office, but it is only because of you two dickheads that I stayed”.
I imagine she had a microphone to drop at that moment, but I’m just a drama queen.
“Don’t call me a fucking dickhead”, the boss replied, per what the tribunal heard. “That’s it, you’re sacked. Pack your kit and fuck off.”
Turns out Herbert did fuck off, all the way to a tribunal hearing from which she emerged with overflowing pockets.
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