You are fired! That tweet can cost you a big deal

It started as a light-hearted ‘tweet’ last Friday where he and other users were debating about date rape. The conversation swayed to whether an invitation to a house party should be interpreted as a date that could develop into ‘other things.’

Emotions flared, words were exchanged and users took positions. A small Twitter storm was brewing. In the fury, Obadiah threw in some non-palatable words, his stand being that if a woman goes to a man’s house willingly, she should be ready for consequences.

In no time, what started as a Twitter debate escalated into something he had not anticipated. Some users found his utterances appalling and demeaning. They demanded an apology and called him names. He stood by his tweets.

Outrage

There was outrage with hashtags demanding for him to withdraw his words. Amid the tags and arguments with twitterati, his boss at the Youth Enterprise Development Fund in Nairobi got mentioned. Obadiah was fired immediately – through a tweet.

“Fired! Not because he is a rapist but coz of his att (sic) and jocular handling of the sensitive issue. @YouthFund_Ke is not tolerant to such,” read the tweet that Fund chairman Ronald Osumba put on his timeline.

Mr Osumba defended why he fired Obadiah, saying he was appalled at how he was casually handling a sensitive issue on a public platform.

“When you are a public servant with a personal account that is public, then you should weigh everything you post,” Osumba told Saturday Standard, adding that he has no regrets.

Obadiah, while acknowledging that he was fired through a tweet, said he was not available to talk on the matter.

Social media users however had mixed reactions on whether Osumba did the right thing. Some users accused him of overreacting and acting immaturely by handling a work issue on social media.

“That was unprofessional. Social media is personal, and should not be used to fire an employee,” said Ronald Njuguna who claims to have watched the debate unfold online.

Others hailed Osumba, saying people have continually used social media irresponsibly, and it was about time someone cracked the whip.

And Obadiah was not the first to be fired for online talk. Early this year, the Nurses Council of Kenya (NCK) suspended nurses who took to Facebook to reveal how they “deal with” patients they consider a bother.

Through a Facebook group, the nurses discussed how they could even kill stubborn patients. In a shocking thread, they talked at length of possible ways they could make patients regret why they bothered nurses.

Kenyans on social media expressed shock and disgust under hashtag #Nursesfromhell, forcing the council to react both on social and mainstream media.

NCK registrar Tallam Kimaiyo said what the nurses had written were serious and damaging.

Apology

A few years ago, an American, Justine Sacco, the senior director of corporate communications at InterActiveCorp (IAC), while travelling from New York to South Africa tweeted: “Going to Africa, hope I don’t get AIDS. Kidding, I am white.”

The tweet brought down her career. By the time the plane touched down, the uproar was so huge that her name became one of the most searched items online in less than two hours.

The ripples hit, with almost all countries in Africa, including Kenya, talking about her conduct and the implications of the tweet. She was fired, despite her penning an apology on how thoughtless and hurtful her tweet was.

Court

Teddy Okello, a lawyer in Nairobi, says social media users should think through everything they post online, as the law recognises electronic media and the posts can be used as evidence in court.

He however says employers should act within the law before punishing employees for what they post on social media.

“The law provides for freedom of speech and conscience. So long as you are not infringing on the rights of other people, you should be able to post your opinion, even if other people don’t like it,” says Okello.

He explains that every company should have a solid social media policy to avoid litigation that might arise due to unfair dismissal.

Osumba says the tweet that led to Obadiah’s sacking has pushed the organisation to train its employees on how they should conduct themselves on social media platforms.

“The conversation on what one should be doing on social media should be had by all institutions,” he says.

Okello says, “It is important to look at the social media rules your company provides to avoid getting into trouble.”

He cautions employers from arbitrarily firing people without proof that what they have posted is against the company policy.