If you had knowledge that someone would be fired, would you tell them?....

If you tell them, you are violating your companies trust in you. This is unethical and immoral. It may not be against the law, but, where do you as a person, draw your own moral law. No I would not tell the person. If I found out about a possible job loss outside of the line of work, then I could ethically tell the person, but not in this case. You could and should lose your job for telling this person in advance that their job was ending. Whether or not you signed a written contract not to do so when you went to work, you made a "gentleman's agreement" not to divulge information. Shalom~Adoniah

Well, if you work in a field that you are privvy to confidential information, it is up to you to keep it privileged. I was a payroll adminstrator once, and I knew about all terminations before they happened, it was my job to do whatever paperwork was needed and keep my mouth shut. I think that if you value your job, you should not say anything, friend or not. I know it sounds cruel but the choice is yours, do you valur your job or do you value your friend more.

A co-worker should never be told by another co-worker that they are going to be fired because that is harsh, if a person is going to be fired, they need to hear it from the boss. The boss needs to be man enough of woman enough to tell the employee that they are going to be fired instead of telling another co-worker to fire someone. I was told that I was fired by a co-worker, and yes I was fired at one time, and I did not believe her when she told me, so I stormed into my boss's office and asked why she fired me, and she said that I was not to walk into her office ever, but I asked, "So, you couldn't have told me it yourself? You had to get an employee to do it? What kind of boss does that?" She was mad at me, but heck, I was just as angry at her for not having the gutts to do her own firing. She had actually fired my whole shift because we knew about her bad business practices. She was the boss from Hell. It was a great day when the place I used to work in got shut down. If you are not comfortable telling the co-worker, tell your boss how you feel, and tell the boss that it is their job to tell the employee that they are fired because there is nothing in your job discription that says that you have to be the one to fire someone. It always hurts to lose a good co-worker, but you have to be strong, and watch your back, or else you could be in the same situation.

If it were me, I wouldn't mention it. I just wouldn't know how to bring it up without making the person feel worse.

As I stated to someone else today in another discussion , some things are best left unsaid you should not tell her it not your place nor your duty to do so, let the process take its place your friend will know tomorrow anyway according to your discussion.

Wow interesting dilemma you have there. I have never been in this type of situation but like you I'm torn with even the thought of it; I can't imagine actually being faced with the real choice. On the one hand you could tell your coworker and deliver the awful news and hope that she doesn't place part of the blame on you or expect her to answer all of her questions. On the other hand you could not tell her and either a. she finds out you knew ahead of time and she never forgives you for telling her or b. she never finds out you knew and she is bummed and upset but the two of you continue to be friends. I personally don't know what I would do, I would want to tell her but not tell her at the same time. I think ultimately I might tell her, just because I would feel like a bad friend knowing and not telling her what I knew. At least that way you could give her a heads up to start the new job hunt, ya know? Good luck with whatever you choose!

It's a difficult decision to make. I've been in awkward situation very recently of having been given the responsibility toconvey the same to my colleagues. If you are in any way comprimising your position in the company by gving her advance information , then I would not suggest you do it. You could always be her friend and help her in other ways. If you have the liberty to give her the information with it affecting your position then you should.

I think we should uphold our professionalism and work ethics when come to these kind of situation. Let the relevant parties such as the Human Resource Department or the person immediate superior to inform your friend officially before we talk to him/her. There are some decisions which are beyond our control or responsibilities such as who is making the decision to terminate/sack, why he/she is being terminated and others. We should be doing our tasks with high level of professionalism.

I am not on the position to divulge any personal information to anybody. Except it is my responsibility to do so. I will not take advantage because it may resulted into something I will regret later on. I will just let the person who is rightfully to do that.

If she's a close friend, I would tell her. I know that if I were in her position, I would be furious with any friend who knew and didn't tell me; it would be a friendship-breaker.

You're torn between your job and your friend. If you're giving much importance to your work, it would be ethical to just keep quiet. But if you value friendship more, then tell her. It really depends how much you value the person so much. If she can assure you that she wont tell the company that youve already told her about the situation, go ahead.

Well, if your friend is going to make an important decision based on whether or not she is going to be terminated, then tell her. Otherwise, just wait for the information to be delivered to your friend officially. I'm sure she won't blame you if you explain that it was slightly awkward to mention it at the time (and it is). Also, I think it's important to take the company's trust seriously as well. By telling you not to tell anyone, the company is placing its trust in you, just as you would place your trust in a friend. That being said, that's a difficult decision to make. I hope you come up with something that works in the end.

No I wouldn't. Firstly, I am not the boss. The employee has to hear it from the boss so that all of her questions would be answered. Happy mylotting!

I was in your position before. My best friend in work had a problem with company and someday I was told that she would be fired. and asked not to tell her. I knew the reason my friend stayed with the company was because she still didn't get a new job. On the other hand, I wasn't so sure she was really gonna be fired, she was the only marketing staff in our branch, so I just kept silence...and yes one day she really was fired and all i did was there whenever she needed me as friend outside the work...she got a much much better job only a couple months later.

No... Even if my friend will be terminated I wont tell him specially if my position doesnt require me to tell my friend or anyone else if they're going to be fired or not... The company trusted you to do your work and you are obliged to follow not only what the management told you to do but also to follow the contract that you signed when you accepted the job. That person will be terminated and let's hope they have sufficient reason why they are terminating him/her besides what they changed their mind of terminating your friend and you already told your friend that he/she will be terminated? that will be another problem...

No I wouldnt ,but the reasoning behind that is that if at the eleventh hour the firm changed their mind then it would be awful..and funnier things have happened.I am sure if there is some bad news to be imparted then it much better to let the parties concerned get on and sort it out themselves,no good can ever come of interfering at all.

Well if she is my good friend , I will tell her so that she will be prepared for it emotionally and or just be prepared for it. But I would be sure I will not be in trouble if I do tel my friend, because I might be also terminated if the management has strict rules regarding this. But I would really tell my good friend if this happens.

Iwould not tell him.MeybeI am a selfishened person who only think themselevs.But if you told him ,you would be fired.When you could not protect yourself ,how can you protect others.

I would not tell anyone at all. I think this is a private and confidential thing,no one would be happy when his or her termination was been known by someone else besides the management. If I were you,I would just do whatever I was told,and the management would tell him or her about the termination. I think this is the best way.

I think the management should tell the concerned person that his services is no longer needed before others should know about it.But, anyway, the truth hurts, I will tell my friend about that decision so she can be prepared to handle the news when it is delivered to him/her boss.