Accountability & Responsibility

I once wrote on this blog many moons ago about people being accountable and responsible for their actions. Today the news that Sharon Shoesmith has managed to gain god knows how much money for being unfairly dismissed has gob smacked me.

There is of course the typical mix up of why she gained the compensation. She went to court for unfair dismissal, if my boss did that to me in public irrelevant of my actions previously I may well do the same. Go to court for unfair dismissal.

There are two different things at stake the woman's ability or should that be inability  to be accountable for the actions of her process,procedure and staff and the fact that being dismissed at a press conference by Ed Balls was actually a contraindication to Employment Law.

That is like me saying your fired in front of the rest of the office. I can't do it.

So no matter what I think of the woman's inability to be accountable in her previous £130k job a year if she was unfairly dismissed it is her right like it is mine or anyone else's to fight her corner. 

Personally if I was the judge I would have awarded her £1.00 and let her win her case in unfair dismissal but no what have we done? 

We have rewarded failure with a vast amount of money. She won't have to worry about working now unlike the rest of us.

Poor Poor Baby P let down by Parents, Social Welfare and from what I understand Doctors as well. Our Society of accountable professionals appeared to have let this child down from beginning to end. 


I don't blame Sharon Shoesmith totally however I am always totally stunned at how little those in a position of authority actually know about how things on the ground actually work. 


I really do think all managers should do a week a year as ground staff under their own rules just to get a feel of it. 


No special rules or announcements just a bog standard member of staff following their own rules.


Then the senior Management might get a grip.