Member Article

Block capitals lead to dismissal

The case of New Zealand office worker Vicki Walker should be taken as an important lesson for anyone who uses email on a regular basis.

According to the Telegraph, Vicki was forced out of her job as an accountant for a healthcare firm after sending emails written in block capitals, which her colleagues complained came across as ‘shouty’ and confrontational.

A tribunal heard that she behaved ‘provocatively’ by highlighting key phrases in bold or red, her employer ProCare Health claimed.

In one office-wide email presented as evidence at her tribunal, she had typed in bold blue letters: “TO ENSURE YOUR STAFF CLAIM IS PROCESSED AND PAID, PLEASE DO FOLLOW THE BELOW CHECK LIST.”

In the end the tribunal found that she had been unfairly dismissed by ProCare. That shouldn’t give her an excuse to continue using block capitals, mind…

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .