AfterDawn: Tech news

Court rules in favor of German man fired over using 2 cents worth of electricity

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 03 Sep 2010 3:10 User comments (15)

Court rules in favor of German man fired over using 2 cents worth of electricity Last May, network administrator Oliver Beel was fired from his job after he charged his Segway vehicle using the firm's power source for 90 minutes.
It was revealed that Beel had used 1.8 euro cents worth of electricity and he was fired two days later.

This week, a court has ruled that the firm had no grounds to fire Beel, dismissing the firm's appeal against his reinstatement, says Reuters.

The court says the firing was not appropriate given Beel's offense.

"Minimal electricity cost involved, the plaintiff's 19-year employment by the company and the fact other employees charged mobile phones and digital photo frames at the firm's expense without punishment," were all cited as reasons for the dismissal.

Previous Next  

15 user comments

13.9.2010 17:33

Good,

It's amazing what companies tried to pull on their employees, just because they don't want to pay man that's been there that long his wages VS the new hires.

23.9.2010 18:03

O_O wow...this is a interesting win

33.9.2010 19:21

shady...

43.9.2010 20:47

Couldn't have just docked him your trivial loss from his pay or told him not to do it again, huh? Goodness. All of this over 1.8 euro cents. It surely wasn't the principle of the matter seeing as how people are charging their cell phones and whatnot inside of the building.

53.9.2010 22:31

In related news: Police officer chooses to look the other way when he sees a man not wearing his seat belt.

63.9.2010 23:32

...From the mind of the corporate idiot who is responsible for all of this...

"Don't forget that 1.8 euro cents is over 2.3 cents USD...and what if he charged it every day for a year...and that he worked 5 days a week, regardless of holidays...he would have used almost $6 USD worth of power! And all just to save the planet...the thieving bastard! My egg salad sandwich is missing from the fridge...I bet that power stealer took it!"

73.9.2010 23:47

they probably wanted to fire him for a while just need an excuse to fire him.Don't people in companys use a computer and a phone all day and charge there cell phones.not to mention they should have to pay the electricity costs everytime they boil the kettle LOL.

84.9.2010 06:54
chinpark9
Inactive

Everyone has an agenda. Company bosses have a duty to cut costs, even if it means getting rid of employees who command seniority payments in favour of junior ones without. Janitors, to get by with as little cleaning as is possible. Colleagues, to get one or more over on everybody else and thus gain credits with the bosses. I had one, and only one, which was to reach retiring age without incurring anyones' wrath. Actually, not an agenda, but I was interested in one particular colleague removing the knife that he kept stabbing me in the back with, as he would no doubt want to use it on the guy who replaced me.

94.9.2010 18:21

Hmmm... Maybe it was more along the lines of this?

Supervisor: "Hey dude, don't charge that PIECE of CRAP here at work. We don't want it here."

Man: "Eff You!"

Donald Trump: "You're Fired!"

Man: "Awww, the world hates me. I think I'll get a gun and kill a bunch of innocent bystanders!"

104.9.2010 23:13

LOL! Just 2 cents? My God, it's official people, never charge your Segway, cell phone, or any other damned thing that has a battery or even consumes electricity. You will lose your job all for just 2 cents! Wow! Never did I think that I would see something this idiotic in my lifetime, but wonder never cease!

115.9.2010 19:36

Disgraceful way to disguise forced redundancy without a payout!
I bet this isnt the only one now or in the future.

125.9.2010 19:55

Now how much is the final cost to the firm going to be?
It started with 1.8c, Now with court costs, If a claim is going to be made on wrongful dismissal, ect..ect...

136.9.2010 01:30

Yup...they are going to have to fire someone else to get rid of that redundancy, and then they will have to fire 5 more people to pay for the lawyers...and then they will fire 2 more people just to prove that firing this guy really was a good idea...then they idiot that tried to fire him will get a promotion for his great work...better fire three more people to cover the raise he deserves...not that he is getting a raise.

147.9.2010 02:13

its cool :)
I know that I would look smth this loosers etc

1520.9.2010 17:42

My friend got sacked for using a work mobile phone for small personal use. Even though no-one told him not to, he never got his job back despite appealing. They all lied to cover their own backsides, not on and they lost their top employer, same goes here.

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Latest news

VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads (16 Mar 2024 4:31)
VLC Media Player, the versatile video-software powerhouse, has achieved a remarkable feat: it has been downloaded over 5 billion times.
2 user comments
Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit (19 Dec 2023 11:09)
Google settled its lawsuit in September 2023, and one of the settlement terms was that the way applications are installed on Android from outside the Google Play Store must become simpler. In the future, installing APK files will be easier.
8 user comments
Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets (06 Jun 2023 9:19)
Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.
Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations (02 May 2023 3:38)
Neato Robotics has ceased its operations. American robot vacuum pioneer founded in 2005 has finally called it quits and company will cease its operations and sales. Only a skeleton crew will remain who will keep the servers running until 2028.
5 user comments
How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp (20 Mar 2023 1:25)
The world's most popular messaging platform, Meta-owned WhatsApp has enabled sending messages to yourself. While at first, this might seem like an odd feature, it can be very useful in a lot of situations. ....
18 user comments

News archive