Far Out Friday: Axed for offensive receipt

In a customer service business, it is generally not a good idea to call customers offensive names.

A Kuala Lumpur Nando’s employee has been shown the door after keying-in the Hokein expletive “cibai” on a customer’s receipt.

The employee’s manager apologised to the customer in question following last Sunday’s incident at the IOI City Mall branch of Nando’s in Sepang Utara.

“Hi Shing CY, our manager on duty at the time of incident apologised to the customer in the restaurant,” Nando’s said on its Facebook page.

“As of today, the staff in question has been officially terminated from employment. We thank all of you for your support and we apologise on behalf of our staff for any offence he may have caused anyone else.”

Facebook users then demanded proof of the employee’s termination, but one social media user came to Nando’s defence, saying: “All the keyboard warriors … Do you want Nando’s to post the picture of said employee with the termination letter, then only you guys satisfied ka?

“They already said that they have done action, customer accepted apology, case closed. Seriously la this generation of FB warriors [sic].”]

So how would this employee fare in Singapore?

Employer initiated termination falls under the scope of the Employment Act.

According to the Act, the employer can only terminate in the following situations: unsatisfactory probation, breach of contract by employee, employee dismissal on grounds of misconduct, employee dismissal on grounds other than misconduct, employee transfer, employee retirement and employee retrenchment.

With regards to unsatisfactory probation, most employees will commence employment with a probationary period – of say three to six months – and during this time the employer is entitled to terminate the employment by providing notice.

An employer may also choose to terminate the employment contract if the contract has been breached by his employee, or where the employee has been found to be guilty of misconduct.

Acts that amount to misconduct are often stipulated in the employment contract, although also include situations such as abusive or insubordinate behaviour.