AfterDawn: News

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.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 3 Sep 2010 15:10

• Previous article

• Buffalo Japan releases portable 3D Blu-ray drive

• Next article

• New scam alert: Fake copyright infringement letters

• 15 comments

• Mysttic

  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.

  3.9.2010 17:33 #1

• Tristan_2

  O_O wow...this is a interesting win
  

  3.9.2010 18:03 #2

• iamgq

  shady...
  

  True thug Afterdawn memeber since 05! Shout out to all those old school member still in the ranks of Newbie! Represent!

  3.9.2010 19:21 #3

• KSib

  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.

  3.9.2010 20:47 #4

• cart0181

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

  3.9.2010 22:31 #5

• KillerBug

  ...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!"

  3.9.2010 23:32 #6

• xboxdvl2

  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.
  

  PS2 with 12 games.
  pc-windows 7,intel core quad Q8400,4 Gb ddr2,WD 500 GB hdd,ATI Radeon HD 4550 graphics,AOC 22inch LCD moniter.

  3.9.2010 23:47 #7

• chinpark9

  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.

  4.9.2010 06:54 #8

• ThePastor

  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!"

  4.9.2010 18:21 #9

• blueboy09

  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!
  

  Life is about walking on thin ice, if you make too much drama, youll crack under pressure. - BLUEBOY

  4.9.2010 23:13 #10

• omendata

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

  5.9.2010 19:36 #11

• hooter007

  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...
  

  ALL INFO FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY
  
  HOOTER007

  5.9.2010 19:55 #12

• KillerBug

  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.

  6.9.2010 01:30 #13

• ostros888

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

  7.9.2010 02:13 #14

• champman

  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.

  20.9.2010 17:42 #15