Employee fired for drinking a beer in front of the boss

A worker was fired less than a week into his new job for cracking open a cold one right in front of the boss.

In a post on Hong Kong Discussion Forum, a netizen shared the account of how a co-worker lost his job over a beer.  The newcomer, who the netizen described as hard working and willing to learn, returned from lunch with an unopened can of beer in his hand.

The boss saw him and reminded him not to consume alcohol during office hours.  The colleague was a little drunk; he talked back and said "I am thirsty!  Why can't I drink it?"

Other co-workers tried to calm him down by asking him to stop the nonsense and drink some water if he was thirsty, but without success.  The employee cracked open the can and drank it with the boss watching.

As expected, the boss dismissed him immediately.

The staff member insisted he had done nothing wrong when he was collecting his final pay check from HR.  He argued that there are no written regulations on banning alcohol from the workplace and said that he will complain to the labour department for unfair dismissal.

He might have a point, but like every working class member in Hong Kong, he should have known by now that "You always agree with your boss".

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