It has come to attention that a former employee of my family company has been posting online comments critical of our decision to let him go. I find this sad and unfortunate. I have always made time to meet or communicate with him directly about any concerns he has. Instead, he has decided not to engage in respectful and civil dialogue and has gone another route. I have no interest in making a media circus out of this issue but I want to make sure that I publicly state a few facts of the situation:
1) This person was let go according to the contract he signed.
2) He was given more notice than legally required and a $1000 severance payment (there was no stipulation in his contract for such a payment). I gave him a personal loan so he could get the $1000 earlier as he said he needed money for a new damage deposit, etc.
3) We tried to help him find a new job.
4) We initially made an error filling out his Record Of Employment which we have corrected. (We have never had to fill out a Record of Employment before)
5) This person has been invited to discuss his issues and concerns, but has refused (or been reluctant) to do so Instead, he prefers to protest and post online comments with a stated intention of "getting me off council".
As I said, this is not something I intend to push. I simply wanted to publicly state these facts. I still have concern and regard for my former employee. He feels aggrieved. I get that. I think my family acted fairly, ethically, and kindly. As I said, I am more than willing to sit down to discuss anything with him. I will not, however, be allowing comments on this blog post or answering any further questions at this time.
