"Think I just hit a cyclist. But I'm late for work so had to drive off lol."

Collie D

The only background I have to this story is this thread and the Newstalk link in OP so the following is just supposition

It's quite possible some of his clients followed or saw his Tweets somehow. Company gets contacted by one or more big clients saying they would like to take their business elsewhere as they don't like their money being invested by someone with a low enough level of wit to think that two scummy crimes like hit and run and rape are funny. Maybe even a client who has been a victim of one of these acts.

Maybe he also has a clause in his contract regarding social media. Something he willingly signed up to. If not I am sure a tribunal would find in his favour.

I initially thought it a bit of an over reaction myself until Plates pointed out the name. As someone else posted I wouldn't let the guy shovel my ****, let alone invest my money.

TLDR: Definitely more background to this whether it be customer complaints, threatening to leave, previous conduct or a social media clause.

Jawgap

An expanded version of the story can be found here

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jan/06/police-bristol-tweets-hit-cyclist-sacked-ray-pew

Collie D

Jawgap wrote: »

An expanded version of the story can be found here

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jan/06/police-bristol-tweets-hit-cyclist-sacked-ray-pew

Laser sounds lol

ScumLord

Jawgap wrote: »

I'd be willing to bet he fell foul of his firm's social media policy.

Probably, I still think it's an invasion of privacy that companies shouldn't be allowed to do. As long as you do your job and haven't broken any laws what you do in your free time is none of your employers business.

the tweet, daft as it was, showed poor judgement - if you are in a business sector where judgement and professionalism are important then tweets like that are a problem or at least his employer thought so.

Judgement and professionalism in your job, absolutely. There's no person on this planet that hasn't said something stupid in their personal life and to expect people to never make a mistake is stupidity.

If he feels hard done by, off to the Industrial Tribunal with him where he can have his rights vindicated.

He should. Although if he signed his life away to a corporation he probably won't get far.

Jawgap

ScumLord wrote: »

Probably, I still think it's an invasion of privacy that companies shouldn't be allowed to do. As long as you do your job and haven't broken any laws what you do in your free time is none of your employers business.

......

Generally I'd agree with you, but if it's a condition of employment that you don't bring your employer into disrepute then it can be a problem if you post something dodgy and it can be clearly linked to you.

Lots of contracts have conditions that place restrictions on your life outside work - some restrict your ability to take on additional work, then there's non-compete clauses, mandatory drug and alcohol testing, residency requirements etc.

ScumLord

Jawgap wrote: »

Generally I'd agree with you, but if it's a condition of employment that you don't bring your employer into disrepute then it can be a problem if you post something dodgy and it can be clearly linked to you.

I'd be fine with that if it was in some way linked to the company. If he shouted it out the window of the company or did it from the companies twitter then fire him. There doesn't seem to be any link with his comments and the company until the company fired him. I don't read comments online and wonder who this guy works for, or make any effort to find out who they work for.

Lots of contracts have conditions that place restrictions on your life outside work - some restrict your ability to take on additional work, then there's non-compete clauses, mandatory drug and alcohol testing, residency requirements etc.

And all should be illegal, we live under the laws of the state, not the employee hand book of some company.

All a company should be able to judge you on is the quality of your work during working hours.

Jawgap

ScumLord wrote: »

I'd be fine with that if it was in some way linked to the company. If he shouted it out the window of the company or did it from the companies twitter then fire him. There doesn't seem to be any link with his comments and the company until the company fired him. I don't read comments online and wonder who this guy works for, or make any effort to find out who they work for.

And all should be illegal, we live under the laws of the state, not the employee hand book of some company.

All a company should be able to judge you on is the quality of your work during working hours.

Not really, for example I've a non-compete clause in my contract because my employer doesn't want me poaching clients when I leave.

Likewise if I accumulate more than 4 penalty points I've to hand the car back, but I keep my job as long as I have a driver's licence.

If you're a Garda, TD etc and you go bankrupt you're gone. Guards can't double job (they do, but if they get caught they'll be in a fairly awkward spot). Likewise if you are solicitor who gets done for shoplifting, you're likely (not always) to get turfed.

Lots of jobs also require mandatory drug testing, which is a significant intrusion on your private life, but essential if your job is a safety critical one.

Desolation Of Smug

I just hope the cyclist he didn't hit is making a speedy recovery and doesn't suffer any long term health implications. Or RIP, depending on how hard he didn't hit them.