3 ms·

He makes it sound as if you can just fire people at will.

romanhn 5y ago
Presumably he is US-based, in which case you can. I did find the verbiage of "discontinuing" people rather unsettling, but otherwise it's a thoughtful piece that resonated with my experience.
- wreath 5y ago
  I see he is based in Berlin, Germany (according to his LinkedIn) where it's extremely hard to fire people (especially for reasons he mentioned in the post) once they are past the 6 months probation period. This smells like he is giving advice that he didn't do himself. Firing people is a pain for all parties involved.
  - tjungblut 5y ago
    You'd be surprised how many folks (many people on bluecard visas) take such severance "offer" without any legal consultation. Many tech immigrants in Germany do not know of their worker rights.
    - wreath 5y ago
      Yes! The difference between how German employees who got laid off deal with the situation compared to bluecard visa holders, is stark, but not surprising.
- makach 5y ago
  I also noticed the language. I have been thoroughly downvoted as a consequence. I am however glad to see that there are multiple other in this thread also commenting on the same.
mrweasel 5y ago
Well, can't you? Sure it depends on country, but the problem normally seems to be that companies want to fire people and not compensate them. I think most countries allows you to fire people pretty much when even, it's just that it can be rather expensive. You can't fire pregnant women, that's almost impossible, you can't fire because of skin color, religion, handicaps (unless it prevents you from doing your job), but other than that you can normally just fire people if they aren't a good fit, in terms of both skills and personality.
- xupybd 5y ago
  Yeah I worked with a company that had a very incompetent employee. They almost had enough warnings to fire the employee, then the employee came out as trans. No one was phased by that, however it made them impossible to fire. They couldn't do it without it appearing that it was due to that employee being trans. So they hired an extra person to make sure the job got done.
  - mrweasel 5y ago
    Well, not impossible. My wife's boss actually manage to fire a pregnant employee, due to incompetency, but it made much easier by the fact that reviews and complaints had come in earlier. I understand why a company wouldn't fire a trans person, the shitstorm would be unbelievable, and you're rarely in a position where you can point out that the person is incompetent.

Presumably he is US-based, in which case you can. I did find the verbiage of "discontinuing" people rather unsettling, but otherwise it's a thoughtful piece that resonated with my experience.

wreath 5y ago
I see he is based in Berlin, Germany (according to his LinkedIn) where it's extremely hard to fire people (especially for reasons he mentioned in the post) once they are past the 6 months probation period. This smells like he is giving advice that he didn't do himself. Firing people is a pain for all parties involved.
- tjungblut 5y ago
  You'd be surprised how many folks (many people on bluecard visas) take such severance "offer" without any legal consultation. Many tech immigrants in Germany do not know of their worker rights.
  - wreath 5y ago
    Yes! The difference between how German employees who got laid off deal with the situation compared to bluecard visa holders, is stark, but not surprising.
makach 5y ago
I also noticed the language. I have been thoroughly downvoted as a consequence. I am however glad to see that there are multiple other in this thread also commenting on the same.

mrweasel 5y ago

Well, can't you? Sure it depends on country, but the problem normally seems to be that companies want to fire people and not compensate them. I think most countries allows you to fire people pretty much when even, it's just that it can be rather expensive. You can't fire pregnant women, that's almost impossible, you can't fire because of skin color, religion, handicaps (unless it prevents you from doing your job), but other than that you can normally just fire people if they aren't a good fit, in terms of both skills and personality.

xupybd 5y ago
Yeah I worked with a company that had a very incompetent employee. They almost had enough warnings to fire the employee, then the employee came out as trans. No one was phased by that, however it made them impossible to fire. They couldn't do it without it appearing that it was due to that employee being trans. So they hired an extra person to make sure the job got done.
- mrweasel 5y ago
  Well, not impossible. My wife's boss actually manage to fire a pregnant employee, due to incompetency, but it made much easier by the fact that reviews and complaints had come in earlier. I understand why a company wouldn't fire a trans person, the shitstorm would be unbelievable, and you're rarely in a position where you can point out that the person is incompetent.