I worked for a company that makes products.
Staff can buy a limited number of those products from a web site.
The web site is USELESS, really really slow and some of the products are out of stock.
People waste time going (trying) to the site to see if something's in stock or been added/changed.

I hate wasting time, so I made a scraper (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_scraping), it told me and anybody else in the company who was interested, what changes there had been and it was fast.

I got fired for it.

They said I used it for personal benefit, it was unsanctioned, using company resources and copied copy write material.

So they fired me with no notice period.

I've got options, it was just embarrassing and kind of OTT... I was just saving people time.
And since I got no notice, it's cut off my income.

I'm thinking about suing them for "Unfair Dismissal"... but they're legal team had to OK it... I know him and he's good.

Go sell your arse in St Kilda

Fly- I would go and get some advice pretty quickly,
I am pretty sure you have 2 weeks from date of termination to initiate a claim for unfair dismissal. Dont leave it until day 13 to act!

It sounds like they were just looking for a reason- and I would imagine the onus is on the employer to prove you had intended to do what ever it was you are supposed to have done for all the wrong reasons (self profit) instead of saving the company time by increasing efficiency (while unintentionally bending rules you were not aware of?)

It could be that the companies I.T. bloke that runs the website had a panic when he saw his domain being threatened by someone who knows what they are doing- so he trumped up the charges to make it look like he was more important and indespensable than he really is.

Stephen.

Thanks for the $4.50 in change, after the dispute over the quality of service

sn said...

Fly- I would go and get some advice pretty quickly,
I am pretty sure you have 2 weeks from date of termination to initiate a claim for unfair dismissal. Dont leave it until day 13 to act!

It sounds like they were just looking for a reason- and I would imagine the onus is on the employer to prove you had intended to do what ever it was you are supposed to have done for all the wrong reasons (self profit) instead of saving the company time by increasing efficiency (while unintentionally bending rules you were not aware of?)

It could be that the companies I.T. bloke that runs the website had a panic when he saw his domain being threatened by someone who knows what they are doing- so he trumped up the charges to make it look like he was more important and indespensable than he really is.

Stephen.

I think I pissed somebody off, by getting a sought after product very soon after it became available... somebody else who used my site also got one... and then it went out of stock.
The person who got pissed must have missed out.

I explained it was like caching, and it didn't offer additional functionality... but they said it did because it read hidden field values, and notified people of changes.

My site was completely open to anybody who wanted access.

First time I've ever been hauled up in front of HR .

So how do I start a claim?

log man said...

poor relative said...

Go sell your arse in St Kilda

I tried that and made $5.50

WOW! You mean you got 55 customers?

FlySurfer said...

sn said...

Fly- I would go and get some advice pretty quickly,
I am pretty sure you have 2 weeks from date of termination to initiate a claim for unfair dismissal. Dont leave it until day 13 to act!

It sounds like they were just looking for a reason- and I would imagine the onus is on the employer to prove you had intended to do what ever it was you are supposed to have done for all the wrong reasons (self profit) instead of saving the company time by increasing efficiency (while unintentionally bending rules you were not aware of?)

It could be that the companies I.T. bloke that runs the website had a panic when he saw his domain being threatened by someone who knows what they are doing- so he trumped up the charges to make it look like he was more important and indespensable than he really is.

Stephen.

I think I pissed somebody off, by getting a sought after product very soon after it became available... somebody else who used my site also got one... and then it went out of stock.
The person who got pissed must have missed out.

I explained it was like caching, and it didn't offer additional functionality... but they said it did because it read hidden field values, and notified people of changes.

My site was completely open to anybody who wanted access.

First time I've ever been hauled up in front of HR .

So how do I start a claim?

Ring up tomorrow an join the FSU....... A cock sucker union but a union. Theyle give you good advice

FlySurfer said...
First time I've ever been hauled up in front of HR .

So how do I start a claim?

If you have a previously clean slate- I would have thought it even harder to sack you without notice!
usually its verbal warning, written warning, then window seat!

P.M. coming your way.

I would tend to agree with Japie... Put your efforts into your next job... Sounds like you are more than half clued up, and you skills would probably be more useful and more valuable to someone else...

As a rule of thumb, 10 out of 10 people who leave a job and/or get redundancy end up with a better job and more pay within 2-3 months... In 2 out of 5 instances, people are lucky enough to get a 3-6 month pay out, and get a better job within that period anyway!!

In your case, they have probably taken the "serious breach" route, and fire on the spot, and get away without paying the entitlements.

No serious harm in initiating unfair dismissal, but if they can prove a breach of copyright... I'd say you are screwed... The fact that you have copied info and dropped it onto another site... on the surface you look a fraction screwed...

As I said, get yourself another job... In 6 months time you might even reflect on the fact that they did you a favour... Sounded like you didn't like the joint anyway!

If you are really good programmer just play forex with me
In a year or so you should be able to buy your old company and fire the person that fired you.

Macroscien said...

If you are really good programmer just play forex with me
In a year or so you should be able to buy your old company and fire the person that fired you.

I've been doing it for a while, and I'm not making much... too stressful to; I lost big a couple months ago... I'm a little ahead now.
Which platform are you on? I'm on NinjaTrader 7

I'm thinking of setting up a new company offering SW to manage OH&S, FM, and maybe CO2 for Mining Co's.

FlySurfer said...

Which platform are you on? I'm on NinjaTrader 7

FXCM and Forex.com
I have got my own system, that could double every week,
but as you know
to play there should be at least two -controlling them self that you stick to the rules.
You lost because you override your own rules ( as everybody else do )

enough already!

Hey Flysurfer, this is a fun situation.

I have the pleasure of hiring and firing at times, often entertaining.
You have to admit they have a bit of a point - inside knowledge, positioning yourself for competing (possibly), using company equipment for undeclared work, that sort of cr*p. Large companies have agreements for these things. Official usage of company equipment only for so-so, etc. Scraping is always controversial, at best, too.

Firing on the spot without a minimum 2-week package? This is rare. I as an employer, would make sure the entire legal dep't is involved and gave me written advice - too dicey for my own taste.

Looking into possibly claiming costs nothing, I think.
However if the other side decides to be vindictive, things could drag and get quite emotional.

Anyhow, all the best, let us know how it pans out.
Carry one of those helmet webcams if you meet them to negotiate

pierrec45 said...

Hey Flysurfer, this is a fun situation.

I have the pleasure of hiring and firing at times, often entertaining.
You have to admit they have a bit of a point - inside knowledge, positioning yourself for competing (possibly), using company equipment for undeclared work, that sort of cr*p. Large companies have agreements for these things. Official usage of company equipment only for so-so, etc. Scraping is always controversial, at best, too.

Firing on the spot without a minimum 2-week package? This is rare. I as an employer, would make sure the entire legal dep't is involved and gave me written advice - too dicey for my own taste.

Looking into possibly claiming costs nothing, I think.

I'm with Pierre.

You can be fired for making your company better without permission. In general companies want to control your actions rather than encourage innovation.

Lawyers don't look at outcomes they look at actions.

Don't go after them. It sounds like you can make a lot more as a coder per hour than you'll ever get back in a dispute. It also ruins your life and focuses you on hating people in your past rather than liking people in your future.

On the plus side, you still have your site url? CAn you point it at all products, old company and competitors, add a margin and then carry on?

As somebody who hires, the story doesn't put me off hiring you per se but you need to communicate it right. Concentrate on the value of the solution that you built and not the fact that you built it without anyone else being aware.

Also, stay a million miles away from the fact that your company may have pissed off a valuable client by appearing to have something in stock but not being able to sell it... because your website got it out of the warehouse door faster (I think this is what you're saying)

The right way (and I don't always believe this) would have been

1 Build proof of concept of your new site
2 Show it to someone senior to you
3 Get them to agree that it is beneficial (or take to their bosses with you)
4 Build the rest of it
5 Rely on the fact that the guys you showed it to would get fired rather than you because you have an email trail that shows they knew about it.