HR Horror Stories

It’s spooky season and no one is safe, not even the world of HR.
Kate Palmer, HR Advice and Consultancy Director at Peninsula, highlights some of the hair-raising horror stories our advisors have encountered this year and offers advice on how to handle them. Be warned – they’re not for the faint-hearted…..
The case of the green-eyed monster
An estate agent was subjected to a horrifying attack by his colleague’s jealous partner. An employee’s boyfriend was very unhappy that his girlfriend shared a desk with a male colleague and persuaded her to set up a fake viewing, which her colleague would attend. When he arrived at the viewing, the boyfriend pulled up alongside and viciously attacked him with a baton. The female employee immediately went off sick, but searches conducted on her work computer as part of the investigation showed the part she had played in setting up the attack.
Advice: Everyone has a right to be safe at work, and it should go without saying that violence can amount to gross misconduct and, often, legal proceedings. However, it’s important to carry out a full and fair disciplinary process before taking any action. This includes conducting a full investigation, listening to everyone involved and taking witness statements, with reasonable explanations taken into consideration.
The recruiter from hell
One employer got a real fright after discovering an employee had been asking job applicants for nude photos. After one candidate sent an image, the employee then decided to circulate it amongst colleagues, bringing the sordid case to light. The employee was immediately dismissed for gross misconduct, only for the employer to get a further shock when they asked them to provide a reference!
Advice: It goes without saying that sharing inappropriate materials is a disciplinary matter, however, there is also potential for the person whose image was shared to file a sexual harassment claim.
When safety goes up in smoke…
Everyone likes a joke but it’s important to remember that safety must always come first, especially in the workplace. Two warehouse workers would do well to remember that after their prank went way too far…
The two men were cleaning up at the end of their shift, when one decided to douse the other in cleaning fluid and set it ablaze. Luckily only the man’s hi-vis jacket went up in flames and he managed to remove it before receiving any serious injuries. Strangest of all, both employees found this hilarious and were laughing hysterically after the blaze had been fully put out.
Advice: Whilst the perpetrators of this perilous prank found it funny, and it’s fortunate that no serious harm was caused, employers must prioritise the health & safety of their staff. This incident should be treated as a disciplinary matter with safeguarding measures implemented to prevent similar situations from occurring.
The mysterious case of the disappearing biscuits
Don’t you just hate going to get yourself a snack and finding out that someone else has eaten them all? Although it’s irritating, there’s not much you can do. Or is there….? One employer decided they’d had enough and tried to treat this as gross misconduct. However they had to accept, while this behaviour certainly does take the biscuit, it does not actually constitute gross misconduct, and decided to invest in their own packet instead.
Advice: Situations like this should be managed through an informal chat sooner rather than later. Allowing the frustration to snowball and resentment build could lead to employee relations going stale….something no employer wants.
Horrifying apparitions
When colleagues become friends, goodbyes can be hard. This was the case in our final example. An employee decided the best way to make his colleague’s last day truly unforgettable, running through the workplace in nothing but his boots, with a sock covering his unmentionables. Although it certainly made the day a memorable one – for all the wrong reasons – we’re sure it was a frightful sight for everyone else!
Advice: Breaking the company dress code in this way means disciplinary action would be on the cards. But it’s also important to consider the impact such a sight would have on other colleagues and innocent onlookers….there are some things you just don’t want to see! This case exposed people to more than they bargained for, opening the employer up to the potential for a sexual harassment claim.