The employment tribunal held that the claimant was unfairly dismissed for comments on Facebook about his workplace, although his compensation was reduced by 50%.
The employment tribunal held that the claimant was fairly dismissed after making threats on Facebook to a colleague who had reported him to the employer for his frequent references to his workplace as "Dante's Inferno".
A Northern Ireland industrial tribunal has provided a useful example for employers of circumstances in which it can be fair to dismiss an employee for offensive comments made about a work colleague on Facebook.
An increasing number of tribunal cases involve employees making work-related comments on Facebook. This case shows that derogatory comments will by no means always justify dismissal.
This case involves an employer that, rather than deal with problems with an employee's behaviour and attitude by giving him a series of warnings, used them as an excuse to dismiss him.