Man sacked by SMS sues for unfair dismissal

An Australian man is suing his former bosses after being sacked by SMS.

The 86-character message read: "It's official, you no longer work for JNI Traffic Control and you have forfeited any arrangements made."

The understandably aggrieved man sought legal counsel and his lawyer, Tom Earls, told the New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission: "There was no justification. The lack of procedural fairness culminated in the undignified process of being terminated via an SMS."

However, according to a report on Ananova, JNI Traffic Control is claiming former traffic warden John Eid actually resigned and the SMS was sent merely as confirmation that his resignation had been accepted.

Furthermore JNI's lawyer told Ananova that Eid's resignation had been verbal and was delivered with a volley of "colourful language" - painting a picture of a man who "swore at length" before walking out saying he would never "work for JNI ever again".

As such it appears the company had no qualms terminating Eid's employment in the manner they chose.

Do you use SMS as the cowardly alternative of face-to-face confrontation? Have you ever been sacked by SMS? Or perhaps you've broken up with a partner via the medium of text message. Maybe you've been turned down for a job by SMS or just use it to pull out of social engagements before switching off your phone and lying low for a while. Email your SMS stories to editorial@silicon.com.