April April!

Why jokes in the office can cost you your job

Created: 04/01/2022Updated: 04/01/2022 09:09

time for fun?

April Fools' jokes can have more consequences at work than some would think.

© Jens Kalaene/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa-tmn

Laughing together strengthens the team spirit.

Missed jokes, however, can also backfire – and employees can even end up in court.

Some pranksters have marked

in red on their calendars – this year it falls on a Friday.

But

should think carefully about who they are joking with and, above all, about whom.

"There is no right to be allowed to make April Fools' jokes, or a legal exception rule for April 1st," says Tjark Menssen, head of the legal department of the German Trade Union Confederation.

Sentences like "I was promoted!", "The boss loves the intern!" or "The company is broke!" can trigger a strong reaction.

But they don't always have the desired effect as April Fool's jokes*.

At work: April, April?

Bad jokes are risky

"Fun at work is necessary to strengthen the social fabric in the workforce," says Menssen.

"But you should only joke around with someone you get along with otherwise." You should also be sure that the person knows how to joke.

Otherwise, the action can backfire.

In the worst case, a

can even cost the employee their job.

An example: "If someone confuses themselves so much with work colleagues that no one wants to work with them anymore, this can be a reason for termination," says Menssen.

At work: knowing and respecting boundaries

"Employees should avoid jokes that contain insults or harm third parties," says Alexander Bredereck, a specialist lawyer for labor law in Berlin.

Jokes with a discriminatory character should definitely be avoided.

"The person concerned may then have claims for damages and compensation for pain and suffering from the employer," says Bredereck, referring to the General Equal Treatment Act.

Tjark Menssen also strongly advises against giving notice of termination as a joke.

"The same applies to other jokes with cost consequences for the employer." For example, the A

Notice of termination: "From 2 p.m. there is no work." If employers incur costs for such jokes, they can contact the +

polluter assert claims for damages.

Employees should also refrain from pretending to be someone else – for example, as a boss to customers.

This goes in the direction of identity theft and can also lead to a warning or termination without notice.

Executive may intentionally misinterpret April Fool's joke

As an expert in termination law, Alexander Bredereck gets several cases of April Fools' jokes and jokes that went wrong and subsequently led to a warning or, in the worst case, even to termination.

"Part of it is because the joke actually did harm to someone because they behaved differently based on false information," he says.

"But sometimes supervisors misunderstand jokes on purpose, because they already had someone on the table and want to use the joke as a reason for termination," says Bredereck.

In any case, employees make themselves vulnerable when they crack jokes or play pranks on others.

"Anyone who is attached to their job should be careful," advises Bredereck.

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Respond quickly to trouble at work

According to Bredereck, anyone who notices that their own joke went down badly, was misunderstood or hurt someone should apologize immediately – to everyone involved.

If the manager is not present when the apology is made, workers should proactively seek them out.

An

can have a positive effect on a possible decision before the labor court - for example, when a dismissal is being negotiated.

There are cases where a sentence has been reduced because a person immediately apologized for their behavior.

But that has to happen quickly - before a supervisor has formulated his intention to terminate, says the employment law expert.