I read this BBC story about a teenager being fired for a Facebook remark. Apparently she said her job was ‘boring’, her bosses found out and sacked her. Do you feel this is right?

Her bosses state that, as they are a small family firm, they feel “staff [should] work together in harmony”. Well, yes I guess morale should be kept in good order. However, now the rest of the staff may be more afraid (= lower morale) to say anything even slightly disrespectful or critical of the company. Mmmm.

The one thing that struck me was the remark at the end of the article from Brenda Barber (TUC general secretary). She said that “Most employers wouldn’t dream of following their staff down the pub to see if they were sounding off about work to their friends.” True.

I know I used to blow off steam about British Gas when I worked there. Plus, to a 16 year old just starting out on their working life the 9-5 grind can be ‘boring’. I hated the repetitive nature of my work a BG after years of schooling where there were different lessons to be learned all the time.

I feel that there should be some kind of line drawn here.

Firstly - saying a job is ‘boring’ to a group of people should not be a sackable offence. Giving away company secrets or being offensive about co-workers, yes maybe sacking can be justified there, but not in this case.

Secondly - there needs to be a distinction betwen personal and working life. Maybe she shouldn’t have added co-workers to her Facebook, in which case I probably wouldn’t be writing about this. But also, her employers shouldn’t be allowed to act on something that clearly belongs to her personal life - not something like this anyway.

We are a democracy (for the moment) and therefore allowed freedom of speech (supposedly). Saying your job is ‘boring’ is free speech. Would they have sacked her if she’d have said it to a group of friends in a pub? No, I think not. Facebook is like talking to a group of friends in a public place (though probably a larger group than in a pub) therefore should be allowed the same leeway.

If stating a fact or opinion is going to be seen as a sackable offence then we’re all going to have to keep our mouths firmly closed in future. This should not set a precedent.