The man was let go by the US software company after refusing to keep his laptop webcam on throughout the working day, resulting in a massive payout after a court deemed the dismissal unfair
A company has been made to give an employee more than fifty grand after sacking him for refusing to keep his webcam on throughout the day.
The employee, who is from the Netherlands, was given the boot by US-based software firm Chetu when he refused to share his screen and leave his laptop camera open while on the clock back in 2022, according to a report by Silicon Canal.
The camera shy bloke was told it was either turn on the cam or get the boot, and so that’s exactly what happened. In an email quoted during in court during the case, he wrote to his bosses: “I don’t feel comfortable being monitored for nine hours a day by a camera.
“This is an invasion of my privacy and makes me feel really uncomfortable. that is the reason why my camera is not on. You can already monitor all activities on my laptop and I am sharing my screen.”
The software company reportedly declared that watching their workers remotely was in many ways similar to bosses checking in employees in the office and, despite the man trying to argue his case, Chetu sacked the employee, citing “refusal to work” and “insubordination” as the reasons for letting him go.
According to reports, the court found no clear evidence that the worker had refused to work and there was no justification for watching him via a webcam.
Chetu filed no defence and did not attend the hearing. It was ordered to pay around €75,000 (£65,000). It was ordered to pay its former employee €50,000 (£42,900) for its handling of the dismissal and €8,373.13 (£7,200) for failing to observe the notice period.
The firm was also made to pay €9,501.47 (£8,150) in statutory transition compensation, alongside outstanding pay and holiday entitlements.
This recent firing is just the latest in a series of stories about employees being let go for seemingly harsh reasons. In July, we reported how a healthcare worker had claimed they were sacked during a 47-second phone call on their first day after suffering a panic attack.
The incident allegedly happened on July 23 at a care provider in Stockholm County, Sweden. The worker says they arrived early but could not find the staff changing room and were ignored when they asked colleagues for help.
As their shift approached, they became overwhelmed, stepped into a stairwell and texted their manager to explain. They say the manager called back and dismissed them, despite their offer to start work after five minutes.
The worker claims they had disclosed during their interview that unfamiliar situations could trigger anxiety and that they might need a few minutes to compose themselves. They say the manager had agreed this would be fine.