Apple Fires Employee for Posting Negative Facebook Comments
Blogging negatively about Apple products or posting negative comments about anything sold by the company will get employees fired immediately, according to People Management.
An Apple Store worker from the United Kingdom was recently canned for writing negatively about the technology company and retail chain on Facebook.
The comments were printed by a coworker and shown to management, and the employee, who goes by the name Crisp, was immediately terminated.
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The Apple employee was reportedly fired for “gross misconduct.”
Crisp argued to United Kingdom labor party that the negative comments were not public and posted on a private Facebook profile. However, it still went against Apple’s policy that outlined for each employee before employment.
“Apple made it absolutely plain throughout the induction process that commentary on Apple products, or critical remarks about the brand, were strictly prohibited,” wrote People Management on its Website.
This was a key element to note in the injunction. Any negative commentary posted on social networking site, regarding Apple, would cause hurt the company.
“Apple successfully argued that it was justified and proportionate to limit this right to protect its commercial reputation against potentially damaging posts,” People Management claimed.
Crisp’s Facebook profile was set to private at the time, but the tribunal decided that this was not a valid defense because those who have access to the employee’s page could print out the postings and pass them around.
Therefore, it was still a violation of Apple’s rules. Apple apparently has a zero tolerance for employees who express their opinions about the company.
Other places to share information, including texts, could also be copied and passed around, and despite its private nature, these messages may also get Apple employees fired if they fall into the wrong hands.
