AITA For Firing An Employee After His Parents Died?

The VP of Sales at a software firm had a 22-year-old employee whose parents were killed in a car crash in early April. Although the company gave him a month of paid time off, his work has suffered since he came back.

His prior promise notwithstanding, his disinterest and inability to live up to standards prompted the leadership to let him go. The employee responded with rage, telling them to “go fuck themselves,” a move the poster considers inappropriate.

The poster’s significant other disapproved of the choice, branding it as cruel. The poster is now questioning whether their dismissal of the employee was unjustified given the situation.

‘ AITA For Firing An Employee After His Parents Died?’

I’m the Sales VP at a software firm. A sales development representative we employ experienced the unfortunate loss of their parents in early April, a tragic car accident that claimed both their lives. The employee we’re talking about is a young man of 22, and he’s been part of our company for around 10 months.

He is an excellent worker, and we had plans to consider him for advancement opportunities within the next half year. His compensation is substantial for someone recently out of school, approximately $90,000 with both commission and salary, so our expectations for this role are significant.

Following the incident, we granted him a month-long paid sabbatical. He came back to work a few weeks back, but his output is significantly diminished. He is showing a real lack of drive; he hasn’t been making cold calls or sufficiently contacting potential clients for the last two to three weeks since his return.

Our entire management staff has observed this pattern, leading to the decision to terminate his employment. We believe it would take him many months to regain his productivity, a timeframe that doesn’t align with our current needs.

We summoned him to a meeting Friday afternoon to deliver the unfortunate update, and he reacted with composed disdain. He told us to engage in sexual acts with ourselves, stood up, retrieved his minimal belongings from his workstation, and departed.

I found this behavior incredibly unprofessional and deeply offensive. When I recounted the events to my boyfriend, he responded by calling me and my management team heartless jerks and unpleasant people. Am I in the wrong?

Check out how the community responded:

milee30 −  YTA for firing him without first going through the steps of describing his issues to him and giving him a chance to improve. He’s been back for only 2-3 weeks.

It’s not a question of “being kind”; it’s a matter of making a poor business choice that hurts both of you. It would be far more intelligent to collaborate with this individual to assist them in recovering from a brief difficulty, rather than firing them and having to locate and train a replacement. Unintelligent.

queencuntpunt −  YTA, generally people receive a warning about their performance before they get fired. You gave him bereavement leave and then fired him immediately after because he wasn’t performing.

Shortandsweet33 −  YTA. Surely this is a shitpost.

gratespeller −  Yup, congrats YTA. If this is isn’t a shitpost well done, you pulled a poor mourning kid’s remaining stability and livelihood out from under him. 4 weeks after his parents passed away. Hope the rest of the team’s moral stays high after this one.

damlamelody −  YTA. Without a doubt. You gave him 2-3 weeks after he came back before you fired him? That’s not enough time to start underperforming and be fired for someone who DIDN’T experience such a tragedy.

If you were truly invested or a respectable organization, you would assign him a guide, perhaps begin to privately advise and train him, discover methods to address the difficulties while ensuring it benefits both parties for a few months at minimum. Amazing.

PennyPopPop −  This is a bs story. 1) You’re the VP of sales and are firing inside sales reps? Huh, ok… 2) you gave him a month paid leave? Your company is so small you personally fired him, but large enough it can pay a full month of leave?

Even major corporations don’t provide that.

3) Nearly every sales department uses a performance improvement plan (PIP). Underperforming sales staff are placed on a PIP that outlines specific metrics for advancement.

If an employee doesn’t show progress in the given timeframe, termination is the course of action. But who would consider a few weeks of subpar work cause for dismissal? Either this narrative is false, or this company is poorly managed.

blackmetalwarlock −  You are absolutely the a**hole. 100% YTA. D**th is incredibly serious and takes time to heal from. He is a human being, I am so appauled that you made the decision to do that. The stress of losing people you hold close is completely unimaginable.

I struggle to grasp the full extent of the situation, especially with the added pressure of immediate income loss. Honestly, I’m appalled by this decision, particularly given that he was a valuable team member with perceived potential for advancement within the organization.

HardBoiledLibrary −  YTA- There were better options than just straight up firing him. Maybe have a meeting about his job performance? See if he needs counseling? This dude is clearly in the depths of despair, firing him was immature.

Pukit −  YTA. I’ve been a manager for a fair while and this is a horrid way of dealing with it. Id be surprised if he doesn’t take your company to an onbudsman for an unfair dismissal. Where was the caution, warnings, written letters? Hopefully he’ll have your company and you over a barrel.

Edit:
Thanks for the silver! Wow, I’m shocked at how archaic the legal system is in the US. I can’t believe you’re barred from suing your boss for wrongful termination! I’m so happy I don’t reside there.

RelevantLeg −  YTA, you didn’t even give him a few weeks slack after he lost not one, but BOTH of his parents! Instead of firimg him you could have made a plan to help him get back on track, show him you cared (which you obviously don’t, but still) .. yeah, major dickmove!

Was the company justified in terminating the employee’s contract, or should they have been more lenient given the unfortunate circumstances he was facing? If you were in charge, how would you have handled the situation?