Beware the CAPS LOCK police
The New Zealand Herald reports that an accountant in Auckland has won her case for unfair dismissal after being sacked for sending emails with words in red, in bold, and in capital letters.
Vicki Walker, who had worked as a financial controller with ProCare Health for two years, claimed unfair dismissal after she was sacked in December 2007. ProCare said her emails to colleagues were confrontational and "shouty" but cited just one example as evidence. That email included the line:
"TO ENSURE YOUR STAFF CLAIM IS PROCESSED AND PAID, PLEASE DO FOLLOW THE BELOW CHECK LIST."
Walker said she was given no warnings, and ProCare did not have a style or etiquette guide for employees using email. She won her claim and has awarded $17,000 in compensation.
Cases like this illustrate that email is still a relatively new technology. At school we were given lessons in how to write business letters, but who gets taught how to communicate using email, and do today's teachers have the skills or life experience to tackle that subject? How many organisations give their staff email facilities but no training on how to write appropriate responses or how to communicate clearly? And as for complaining about "shouty" emails written in capitals, organisations which complain about that should be wary of dual standards. They should first look at their own job application forms to see if that says "Please complete using BLOCK CAPITALS".
29th September 2009