Leading law firm Irwin Mitchell have released the results of a survey they carried out concerning “quiet firing”.
Quiet firing is a trend that has not yet had the exposure of “quiet quitting” - a term to describe employees only doing the work they’re paid to do and who put no more effort into their jobs than absolutely necessary.
Quiet firing is defined as negative behaviour by an employer that makes an employee feel like they’re no longer wanted, leaving them with no choice but to resign.
Irwin Mitchell’s survey was carried out on over 2,400 respondents and revealed the startling fact that 90% of people don’t know what quiet firing is, additionally awareness differed vastly between different demographic groups. Those with the least awareness being unskilled manual workers (95%), whereas students are most aware of quiet firing (21%).
The survey questioned respondents as to whether they have experienced certain inappropriate workplace behaviours, such as being left out of a meeting and being passed over for promotion. The survey showed that quiet firing is most noticeable amongst women, with 28% stating they had left a job because they were made to feel uncomfortable by someone at work.
Additionally, a quarter of women said that their role had been changed without proper explanation or consultation, creating an unnerving and uncertain working environment, 23% had been actively ignored by their manager and 23% have purposely had information withheld from them, making them want to leave their roles.
Irwin Mitchell point out that the lack of awareness around quiet firing poses questions and raises serious concerns as to whether employees (and employers) are able to identify any unlawful behaviour in the workplace which would give the employee the right to bring an employment claim - such as constructive dismissal.
They have listed examples of behaviour that can form the grounds for constructive dismissal as follows:
- Being made to feel uncomfortable
- Being ignored by your manager
- Stopping internal communication
- A sudden or unexplained change of role or responsibilities
- Being left out of socials
- Being left out of meetings
- Being passed over for promotion
- Lack of feedback
- Having information withheld
- Being undermined in a meeting
Deborah Casale, Partner in Irwin Mitchell’s London employment team, stated:
“The widespread knowledge gap among employees around quiet firing is concerning. This type of behaviour can form grounds for constructive dismissal if it breaches the implied term of trust and confidence in the employment relationship and the employee has more than two years of service.
Employees should be aware of their legal rights in these situations and should take advice at an early stage to protect their position. Likewise, employers need to be aware of the dangers of quiet firing.”
