HOW TO GET A COWORKER FIRED: 5 WAYS TO GET RID OF A BAD COWORKER

Some examples of legitimate reasons to get a coworker fired include but are not limited to; they have issues with punctuality which interferes with your work and the work of your other coworkers, they slack off and never do their job leaving you to cover and do their job for them, they steal from the company – this could be physical assets or nontangible assets such as office time, they have created a hostile work environment for you and they have made it unsafe for you, or another coworker, to be and work in the office, they have sexually, physically, or verbally harassed you or another coworker and you have proof of the incident.

There may be plenty more other valid reasons that you should consider before handing someone over to the authorities to terminate their job. Always make sure that there is proof and you are sure of what you are talking about (do not go on hearsay or mere office rumors as these can be very misleading – make sure you follow up on all the rumors and verify with your sources before taking any action against the person).

When you are sure that you have enough evidence, then you can proceed to go and get started with the process of getting your coworker terminated on the basis that you have done your research and you are sure of your decision to get a coworker fired.

PS: If you are someone who struggles with being likable at work, read our article about how to get people to like you at work to get some pointers on how to avoid being targeted for unfair dismisals on the ground on unlikeability.

2. HAVE PEOPLE WHO CAN BACK YOU UP

An easy way on how to get a person fired is to have people around you who can back you (and your story) up. This does not mean that you should gang up on someone simply because they are unlikable or you feel that they do not fit into the office well. The reason why getting more people to vouch for your story is that it makes it more valid and believable and therefore gives it more weight and influence to those who are in charge of getting your coworker fired.

3. HAVE EVIDENCE STACKED AGAINST THEM

The best way to ensure how to get your coworker fired is to keep tabs on them because by doing so, you will have evidence stacked against them. This evidence is important because it builds your case against them should you report them and should your manager or immediate supervisor require further evidence.

Your evidence should be properly labeled with the exact date(s), time(s), and place(s) of events and state clearly what happened. You may even want to collect and list your witnesses in the evidence to be more thorough.

Remember that you are gathering evidence that supports a serious discretion that a coworker has committed, do not spend your time gathering evidence against a coworker just because you do not like them and you are waiting for them to make a mistake so you can find an opportunity to get them fired.

Side note: If you are launching an investigation against a coworker, make sure you do it in your own time and that you are not wasting company time or you may be the one unfortunate enough to find yourself out of a job!

4. TALK TO THE PERSON

Before you decide to go ahead and get someone fired at work, the first (honorable, and honestly, best) thing you should do is to talk to them about the problem that you have noticed. The thing is we are all human and sometimes we go through things that disturb us and disparage and disturb our work-life even against our better judgment. Life happens to the best of us and it is the humane thing to check with the person if everything is okay before you decide to blow up their life and leave them jobless. This, of course, only applies in certain circumstances and not in others. For example, if you see your coworker struggling with deadlines, and coming into work late, and being visibly distracted during work hours, then you should approach them on a personal level to check if they are okay and let them know that people are noticing that they are slacking and explain to them how this might affect their job. As opposed to, on the other hand, a coworker who is accused of sexual misconduct – you do not need to check in with them to verify if what the victim or victims are saying is the truth. Pick and choose what circumstances require your approach and which ones should go straight to reporting.

5. MAKE A FORMAL COMPLAINT WITH YOUR IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR

And that leads us to the final point on how to get someone fired legally, the first step to ensuring that this actually happens is to make a formal complaint with your immediate supervisor. This is after you have collected your evidence, have your witnesses, and your story all tied up together. Making a formal complaint, however, does not guarantee that your coworker is going to get fired. It simply means that the company will be made aware of whatever misconduct you have noticed in your coworker and they will move forward how they see fit.

The company may punish your coworker how they see fit in relation to the problem and concern that has been brought forward to them. They may choose to suspend your coworker for a given period with no pay, send them to a disciplinarian with HR and other company representatives, and so on. There are many routes that the company may take before considering firing them so this is something you should be prepared for when you are launching your complaint – the fact that it might not go the way that you want it to.

When making a formal complaint, you need to be prepared. First things first, you need to set up a meeting with your immediate supervisor, try to meet them in person if possible so that your conversation happens in real-time and nothing gets lost in translation.

Treat this like any other important presentation in your life, and therefore prepare your speech. What are you going to say? How are you going to say it? Set your intentions and your tone straight before you get into that meeting.

After you have presented the matter to your immediate supervisor, it is off your hands and into theirs. It is now up to them to move the complaint up the chain of command and see the way forward in how to deal with the coworker you have just complained about. Only in rare circumstances can you go over your immediate supervisor’s head and to someone higher up in the hierarchy – this is especially when you know (due to past experiences) that your immediate supervisor will not do anything about the matter and will most likely side with the bad coworker.

However, this can put you at risk of getting on bad terms with your immediate supervisor so we would suggest lodging a complaint against your immediate supervisor anonymously so that it does not trace back to you.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. How can I get someone fired?

There are many ways in which you can get a coworker fired, both by using moral methods and immoral methods. This article has generally discussed moral and ethical ways to get someone fired, and for the sake of this question – to play the devil’s advocate, we are going to answer it from the non-ethical point of view.

You can get someone fired by lodging a false complaint about them. If they are unpopular with your other coworkers, you can team up with them and work against the coworker that you want to get rid of. Alternatively, you can have fake customers or fake clients call your place of work and complain about your coworker’s work ethic, attitude, or service.

You can also plant evidence on the coworker that you want to get rid of such as drugs or illicit materials (or really anything that will guarantee permanent and immediate dismissal).

The upside of getting someone fired in a non-ethical manner is that there are no rules and you can do anything – even some illegal stuff – to get rid of a coworker that you do not like. However, on the other hand, the downside to using these methods is that when the lies have been unraveled, they will inevitably all lead back to you and therefore you too will soon find yourself jobless – and maybe far worse off because you will have a record of ruining other people’s lives and no one wants to work with someone so vindictive.

Remember that whatever it is that you do, eventually it will catch up to you. Make sure you are ready to face the consequences when this happens. Either that or you believe that you are very very good at keeping your tracks hidden.

Related Article: Signs your Coworker’s Don’t Like You.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, this article has shown you ways to get someone fired when you have good reason to get them fired. You need to have a good reason to want to report someone to higher authorities, have people behind you who can back you up on your claims (these are people who have noticed or experienced the same things you have with this one particular coworker whom you are trying to get rid of), gather enough evidence to back up your claims, maybe consider talking to them before proceeding to report them to your immediate supervisor (depending on the circumstances surrounding the offense), and lastly, report them to your immediate supervisor so as not to upset the corporate hierarchy.

On the other hand, the article has also touched on how to get an employee fired using unethical ways such as lying and manipulation. Although these may seem like sure ways of getting someone you do not like working with, setting someone up always catches up with you in ways that cost you. Do not attempt to do any of it.

If you are successful and your coworker does get fired, you may want to have a farewell for your coworker who is leaving.