Filling the Gap in HR services: She uses the internet too much. Can we fire her?
But my client hadn’t spoken to the employee at all!
They did have proof (they monitor all their computer and phone activity), but had not had a disciplinary or even an informal chat with the employee.
To complicate matters, she had cancer last year and is still having treatment! Although they feel that her treatments are “too frequent” and she is actually using them as a cover for job interviews. What a mess!
You can dismiss for “too much” internet use, but you will need proof, not “every time I go past, she is surfing!”. Then you would follow the standard disciplinary procedure, i.e. meeting and warnings, with deadlines on when she needs to improve. If she doesn’t, then it would be a fair dismissal.
As regards the alleged job interviews, they just needed to ask for her to provide confirmation from the GP/hospital of the appointments and then the number of treatments mysteriously reduced!
