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TikTok user Pietsch: Sorry, you are fired
Photo: tiktok.com / @brittanypeachhh
At the beginning of this year, Brittany Pietsch looks
concerned into her camera. She works at the US start-up Cloudflare – and is about to be laid off. Because she already suspects what's coming, she films the conversation. It runs remotely, the nine-minute recording shows Pietsch going on the attack; she wants to know why she of all people is being fired. Her interlocutors cannot give her a concrete answer.
Pietsch then posted the video on the social media platform TikTok, the recording went viral, thousands commented, and the video was also shared on other networks such as Instagram. It even became so popular that Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince felt compelled to make a public statement on Twitter.
Wave of layoffs in the USA
Pietsch is not the only one who records her resignation and posts it online. A number of people are currently sharing their terminations on TikTok using the hashtag #layoffs - even if it cannot be precisely verified for some whether they are actually seeing real terminations.
The US tech sector started the new year with a wave of layoffs after companies hired massive amounts of staff during the pandemic. Software giant Microsoft wants to lay off around 1,900 employees in its gaming division, while Snapchat is currently laying off around 10 percent of its global workforce. Companies in Germany are also cutting jobs: Europe's largest software manufacturer SAP wants to lay off staff, as do Bosch and VW. Miele also wants to cut jobs, manager magazin reported exclusively.
Labor lawyer Klaus-Stefan Hohenstatt believes that confidential discussions about dismissals are also recorded in this country and posted online
from the major law firm
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer for possible. »In Germany, only written terminations are effective. What could be recorded, however, are conversations in which the dismissal is communicated and explained. However, this is risky for the ex-employee.
Companies in this country can file criminal charges
Recording and publishing such conversations could have criminal consequences in Germany, says Hohenstatt, who also advises companies on procedures for identifying legal and compliance violations. He refers to Section 201 in the Criminal Code; this makes it a criminal offense to record the word that is not spoken publicly. It is also a criminal offense to place such recordings on the market, i.e. to share them with others. This also applies if only voice recordings and not the accompanying image are shared.
In such a case, companies could file a criminal complaint in Germany. Those affected could then face a fine – and a prison sentence is also possible. In addition, Hohenstatt sees a further, immediate risk for those affected: termination without notice by the employer, because recording and publishing a conversation about termination could constitute a breach of confidentiality. In the event of a dismissal without notice for behavioral reasons, the person affected could even lose severance pay or monetary benefits that would still be possible in the event of a dismissal for operational reasons.
A video like Brittany Pietsch's attracts attention on social media - but can also make it more difficult for the person concerned to find a new job. New employers could be deterred by such an inclusion, says Hohenstatt. Applicants would have to expect that so-called background checks will be carried out to see how someone positions themselves on social media. If companies discover the video, it could have a negative impact on the application: "The behavior shows a certain disloyalty; it shows that you are prepared to make confidential conversations public."
But it is also possible that the video will go viral and people will show solidarity with the person concerned. Then the employer's public image suffers. In Pietsch's video, for example, many users are critical of how Cloudflare communicated the termination to them. One user on LinkedIn commented: "It's obvious that you have the world on your side and Cloudflare has a PR nightmare on its hands."
“Companies can’t communicate enough when it comes to layoffs.”
Hohenstatt also sees the risk of loss of image. When it comes to redundancies for operational reasons, companies cannot communicate enough, according to the labor lawyer. "It's not uncommon for legal disputes to be brought about because the manner in which the termination is given is perceived as hurtful - not because the termination itself is viewed as unlawful." For this reason, too, people who conduct termination discussions should have a connection with the person being dismissed. unlike the Brittany Pietsch case. “Then there is less of a feeling of being treated like a number,” says Hohenstatt.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Pietsch herself is still looking for a job, but has already secured collaborations. She now takes her followers on TikTok with her into her everyday life: for a twelve-kilometer run or for shopping. She now also gives career tips on the social media platform - and refers to critical comments on her video.