Should You Be Sacked for an Email Slip-up? A Cautionary Tale

I recently read about a worker who was fired for accidentally forwarding an email to a client, calling them a rather offensive term. As someone who deals with email all day, I understand how easily this kind of situation can arise—and the repercussions can be far more severe than you might realise.

Worker sacked after calling customer ‘t***’ in email mix-up awarded £5k

Meliesha Jones, an administrator at a curtain and blinds company, accidentally forwarded an email calling a customer a twat to that customer instead of a colleague.

SkyNiamh Lynch

Let’s be honest; we’ve all had those moments when we’ve muttered unkind words about a customer, either in an email or a messaging app, especially after a particularly frustrating day at work. But this worker ended up losing their job because of their email blunder. The question is: was that the right decision?

From a professional standpoint, it’s clear that using derogatory language to describe anyone, especially someone who contributes to your livelihood, is completely inappropriate. The problem is that we often don't think about the consequences when it comes to emails. It's all too easy to hit "forward," start typing a name, and let the email client’s auto-fill feature work its magic—sometimes with disastrous results.

I’ve experienced this myself. For three weeks, I was emailing the wrong person before realising my mistake. Thankfully, the content wasn’t private or sensitive, but it serves as a reminder of how easily errors can happen.

So, back to the original question: should the worker have been fired?

If they were working for me, I would have had a serious conversation with them about the importance of maintaining professionalism and the dangers of treating work email as casually as a personal Gmail account. Email etiquette is crucial in the workplace, even when you’re just communicating with colleagues.

But how would I handle an unhappy customer who received such an inappropriate email?

I don’t believe in the idea that “the customer is always right,” and my response would vary depending on the context—whether I owned the business or was working in a government role, for example. When I ran my own company, I didn’t hesitate to tell problematic customers that perhaps our services weren’t the right fit for them. I always stood by my employees and wouldn’t tolerate a customer being rude, even if we were at fault.

However, in this situation, no matter how difficult the customer was, they didn’t deserve to receive an offensive email. I would apologise sincerely and offer some form of compensation to make amends. But I wouldn’t fire the employee. Nor would I inform the customer of any internal disciplinary action.

The takeaway? Always be mindful of what you say—whether in an email, a messaging app, or even in casual conversation. You never know when a slip-up might cost you more than just a bit of embarrassment.