Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
Have you ever been caught in a situation where you were left in disbelief, wondering how in the world you just got fired on the spot? We hope you’ve never had to go through that, but it may comfort you that we’ve all had our fair share of frustrating moments while on the clock. The unfair termination stories we found today, though, take the cake for being the absolute dumbest reasons for getting fired. Can you imagine being let go for having a cold or not answering messages at a funeral during your time off?
Well, believe it or not, these tales of absurdity are not just figments of our imagination. They are real stories shared by real people on the internet, specifically on a Reddit thread that got thousands of responses. And we know you’re just as curious to discover these absurd termination reasons. That’s why we scoured through the thread and handpicked the most unbelievable stories of people who got fired — the ones that honestly made us question the sanity of some employers.
Let’s grab a cup of coffee (or don’t, if that’s what got you fired), sit back, and enjoy these tales of absurdity. These are the stories of people who were fired for stupid reasons, as shared on Reddit.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
"During my senior year in high school, I was working at McDonald's, it was right after Christmas and we were really busy. I'd been there 4 hours, had 2 to go, and was supposed to get a 30-minute break, since we'd slowed down I asked if I could have a break. The shift manager said no one was getting breaks. I said "thanks a lot", she told the assistant manager (pretty sure they were sleeping together) that I told her to f off. He fired me on the spot. Wouldn't even let me give my side of the story. A week later I was working at Jack in the Box. Was a shift manager in 6 months, did that through a couple of years of college, dropped out (never wanted to go anyway), and moved up to assistant manager and then a couple of years later, general manager. I remembered how badly I was treated at McDonald's and made sure I treated my employees well. Had the 3rd lowest turnover rate in a 95-restaurant region, had the second-highest average hourly pay... and was #2 in profit improvement. Take care of your people and they'll do the same for you."
RELATED:
#2
"A customer called in and had a medical emergency (probably a heart attack, but I'm not sure) while I was on the phone with her. I used the phone in the empty cubicle next to me to call 911 and stayed on both lines to be sure that EMS got to her. I was fired because A) I took too long on calls already and this was exceptionally long, B) I made an unauthorized outgoing call, and C) I gave the customer's personal information (name and address) out to the 911 operator."
#3
"Didn’t reply to a text for 20 minutes. During my time off. At my grandad’s funeral."
#4
"I was driving cars for a shady dealer. (under the table while I was laid off from my real job) Got a call that my uncle had attempted suicide and was in a psychiatric ward in a local hospital and wouldn't talk to anybody else but me. Told boss I had to roll. He said something like; "Your job comes before family. If you leave, don't come back." I left. The next morning he called and asked me why I wasn't at work. I hung up on him."
#5
"My wife got fired once for giving a high-level donor (she worked for an art gallery) a bottle of water at a big dinner and art auction. Her boss had insisted that there be no water at the event, but when the donor asked for water, my wife went and found some damn water. Boss found out and fired her the next day for insubordination."
#6
"My first job ever was as a dishwasher. I was so proud. I was 18. Of course, my parents didn't believe me so my mom called them and asked them if it was true. They fired me that night because they felt I was unreliable. I have yet to let my folks live that one down..."
#7
"I was fired for playing solitaire on my 15 min break when I was working as a receptionist. The doctor who owned the clinic was dumb enough to put that as the reason in my termination letter. I collected unemployment after he tried to appeal it. They explained in great detail how stupid of a reason this was for termination."
#8
"I had pneumonia and I couldn't even talk (lost voice) so I asked my mom to call my boss to tell her I was severely sick and couldn't come to work. She called me the next day saying I shouldn't rely on my 'mommy' to call in for me when I'm sick and that I was fired for blowing a shift... I was a hostess at a restaurant and was in grade 10 lol..."
#9
"I clocked in one minute late at Red Lobster. It was Easter and I had to fight my way through an army of pastel hat-wearing Karens to even get in the door... The manager told me they would, "Let me finish my shift", but that's it. I just walked out and considered myself fired. I may or may not have liberated a lobster from the tank on the way out and yelled, "He's coming with me!" when I left. ( I am now banned from ever working for Darden again)."
#10
"A friend of mine was let go from his supermarket job for only showing up on Wednesdays and Fridays... He only worked on Wednesdays and Fridays."
#11
"My old boss angrily slid an A4 piece of paper in my direction so I slid it back. He accused me of being aggressive towards him, I was out of the door 5 minutes later."
#12
"Years ago I got fired from a certain 'smart' pet store because I had 2 uncles, an aunt & my grandpa pass away within a 3 month time period and I asked for time off to go to their funerals. The reason they gave me was I was taking too much time off & they didn't believe me even though I offered to bring paperwork showing they had really passed. Jokes in them though, they had to pay for my unemployment even after trying to fight it."
#13
"I got fired from my first ever job as a CIT (counselor in training) at the summer day camp I went to every year as a kid. I was given the 6/7 year olds. One of them asked me if I had a girlfriend (in a girls are gross, why would you do that sort of way) and I said yes. He asked me if I ever kiss her and I said yes (in a fun, horror movie voice manner). He was like, “ewwww! Gross!”. We all had a laugh. I thought it was a fun exchange. Well, I guess the kid went home and told his mom that night and she freaked out. Demanded I be fired for teaching her child about sex and giving details of my sex life to her child. I was 13. All I said was that I kissed a girl. The camp fired me right there. I had no idea what I said was out of line."
#14
"I was fired for accidentally showing up for a shift I was not scheduled for and then leaving when I found out I was not scheduled for a said shift."
UncleJon_TheMadScientist 1 year ago
Slight twist on that one, work schedule comes out on Wednesday, it showed I was off Thursday and Friday. I was fired on Saturday when I arrived for my scheduled shift, because I didn't show up or call in Friday for work. They had made changes to the schedule Friday morning ans didn't even try to call or contact me. They said it was my responsibility to know about any schedule changes....
#15
"I got a middle-level position at the company where they boasted at how family-orientated they are. They are the kind of company that has a small arcade and putt-putt and ping-pong table and encouraged people to relax and play them... After a month of being there, I decided to play with some co-workers in ping pong since I'm pretty decent at it. The owner and his son end up walking through the doors and see me playing and challenging me. I play the son and absolutely demolish him. He got extremely upset and walked away after throwing the paddle at me. Later that week I was fired for not fitting the culture. Cool."
#16
"This is a good time to remember that wage theft is the largest source of theft in the US. If you steal 100$ from your boss it is a criminal case, if they steal 100 from you it is a civil case."
#17
"Knew a guy who changed his windows theme to make it easier on his eyes... Fired for insubordination."
#18
"I once worked for a small private school. A new supervisor was hired, and she called an after-hours meeting the Wednesday night right before Thanksgiving. One teacher didn't attend and she was fired. When the new supervisor was finally let go, I heard from the owner that they had 4 lawsuits from employees being wrongfully fired."
#19
"I got fired from a McDonald's for asking too many customers how their day was going. Not because it slowed anything down, mind you, I only did when it was slow, they put in complaints to corporate that I was being 'invasive'. The first time I thought my manager was making a joke."
#20
"Got fired from a public library for taking TWO carts to collect books from the outside Dropbox instead of ONE. The past few times I emptied the dropbox on a Monday it required two trips, So I brought two carts instead. It turns out the matter of how many carts were used in emptying the dropbox was a matter of a library board vote and I was in violation of a town ordinance. Mind you, I wasn’t fired. I was placed on paid administrative leave pending a library board inquiry at which I was welcome to call witnesses. I couldn’t keep a straight face, so I resigned."
#21
"Worked at a cinema selling tickets and I sold most of the tickets among the team every night (which gives me nothing in return) the manager couldn’t believe how efficient I was and was certain I'm doing something fishy so he let me go. This was in Australia btw."
#22
"Counted my drawer at the beginning of my shift. It was $10 short so I told my manager. He proceeded to tell me he counted it himself and that he was never wrong. I was fired for stealing $10. The next day I received a call from the store manager who said that she had reviewed the tape and found that he left out a roll of dimes ($10) from the drawer. I was offered my job back but declined…"
#23
"Boss didn't know how to use a measuring tape. Fired me for cutting the lumber to the wrong size (His measurements)."
#24
"I got fired from Burger King because a coworker let me use his vape on my break. When I was off break, I tried giving it back but kept getting ignored. I figured I’d give it back after we close but he left early. I went back the next day (my day off) to return it and got fired for stealing."
#25
"I worked at a bar that was notorious for firing people. It is well known that no one lasted for more than a month, and it was a big deal if you made it longer than that. I made it to month three when I was fired for not putting ketchup on a customer’s table. They were eating shepherd's pie and salad respectively and didn’t even ask for ketchup."
#26
"When I was getting hired they told me I work Monday-Friday only. Great. A couple of months go by, work no weekends. Plan a family vacation for the upcoming weekend. Leaving for vacation right after work. At 4:30 they tell me I have to work the weekend. I say I can’t I have a vacation. They say it’s mandatory. Go home, and decide to go on vacation anyway. Call on Saturday. Come in to work on Monday, fired. Spent the day fishing."
#27
"I once got fired from a construction crew for banging my hammer in a funky rhythm. bang bang bang bang BANG bang bang. I tried to explain to the guy that this helps with accuracy and is therefore far more efficient, but he would have none of it, said if I wanted to talk back, I could talk back at my couch."
#28
"I got fired from a job waiting tables for having a panic attack while working. I have PTSD and they can and will literally happen at any time of course one happened at the worst time when I was the only server working. When I was hired I explained this and was told: “oh yeah you will always work a shift with another server so if it happens there will be someone to cover you”. Total lies. Unfortunately, it was in Oregon and you can be fired for any reason there."
#29
"I accepted the job and notified them I would need X date off for my sister’s wedding (2 months after the start date). Came back from my sister’s wedding and sh*t hit the fan while I was gone. Not my responsibility, but my name was on some of the changes in the document. Canned that day for “not being there when they needed me”."
#30
"I wasn’t allowed to wear a coat in 20-degree (F) weather and made it known that that was stupid."
#31
"Guy preparing to retire, who had been training me to take over his job for the past 7 months, felt I was ready to take over completely. Boss was afraid to lose 30+ years of experience and fired me to keep the old guy for a little longer. From what I understand there was a pretty big fight. Old guy was a wonderful reference for me with the new job I obtained, with a 20k+ pay raise, and begrudgingly agreed to stay on for another year."
#32
"It was my second job after high school, I was 18 and going on 19. I was a parts delivery driver for a local auto parts store. All the drivers had to report to a dispatcher she would tell us where to go and what to do, basically my supervisor. She had at least 10-12 years on me so I was basically fresh meat in the store. After 4 months or so she started getting more 'comfortable' with me. She would rub my shoulders/try to give me back rubs would buy me lunch would text me on weekends inviting me for drinks. This one weekend she was being a little too persistent in texting me so I politely told her that i was not interested. Well, come Monday morning I got fired because apparently, I had not been doing my job properly."
#33
"I got hurt at work doing my job so when I had to miss some work for a couple of emergency surgeries (minor, but…) I was told I missed to much work. Perhaps if you didn’t get me injured multiple times by actually changing the process that was causing said injury that wouldn’t have been the case…"
Marilyn Russell 1 year ago
They can’t do that. The workplace injuries should have been reported and you are entitled to compensation.
#34
"I got fired from Sonic when I told them I was no longer going to be available for last-minute call-ins because I'd gotten a second job. My boss was not happy, because I lived the closest. So he stormed off and started screaming, "Guess this is Professional_March54's last day! I hope your happy!". I tried to clarify that I'd still be available for set shifts, I just wouldn't be ON Call anymore. He screamed at me to shut up. I hadn't clocked in yet, and I could sense a tantrum so I asked if I should even bother clocking in. He threw a burger at me and told me to get out. So I did. They had a Drive-Thru line wrapped around the building, and I was the only non-family employee on until 3."
#36
"I was fired—uh, “politely let go”—because my manager decided I was lying about having surgery without ever actually talking to me.
I let her know two weeks in advance and reminded her five different times three different ways, but the schedule never changed to reflect the time off I needed. I took my three days off, and she had another manager call me to ask me where I was on the second day. The manager who called me was horrified to learn that, yes, I had surgery, yes, I was hopped up on pain medication, and, yes, main manager knew about this. Main manager was also mad that I had “poor performance” the week following, which is something I had noted when I told her about the surgery. I needed a week of low-impact work as I recovered. One week, I noticed I wasn’t on the schedule at all and was talking to the manager who’d called me about it. I jokingly wondered if it was because of my surgery. She basically told me, she couldn’t legally say yes, but I wasn’t wrong. Main manager notified me a couple days later. Part of me is mad, but part of me is relieved I’m not in such a toxic place anymore."
#37
"Kinda fired I guess. Got a job offer and they wanted me to start asap but told them I want to give my job at least a week's notice. Turned in a 1 week's notice. Later in the day went to our scheduled breaks 5 minutes late because I was busy doing something at work that I couldn't just put down. So I came back 5 minutes late. the manager came up to me acting really mad and said I was fired for abusing breaks. I just laughed handed him my badge and started walking to my car. he tried stopping me saying HR needed to see me fill out paperwork. laughed even more and got in my car and left. Took the week off to relax before starting my new job."
#38
"The schedule was hanging off the wall and it was magnetised. Everyone's names were little magnets. Someone knocked it off the wall and "thought they put the magnets back in the right places". Naturally I didn't show up for my shift. I was fired the next day even after what came to light what happened because "I should know what my shifts were". Meh."
#39
"I got fired for forgetting my belt. My first job: I used to work at a restaurant that was ~2 hours by bus away. We had just gotten a new store manager that was a harda*s. One day I showed up without a belt. He asked me to go back home and put one on then come back. I said that would take 4 hours, so he fired me."
Jessica Wood 1 year ago
I wasn't fired but I did once get in trouble for wearing brown shoes instead of black. I was working behind a counter so nobody could even see my shoes.
#40
"I got suspended because I called my supervisor Edward jokingly because his name is Eddie. Well turns out Eddie is his full name and he's very sensitive about it."
#41
"Supposedly, I "argued with the owner's wife about working weekends". I specifically told them I can work weekends, but cannot work anytime with less than a day's notice. I'm not at your beck and call for $8 an hour, screw me right?"
#42
"I was given my work schedule for the week, but it was changed after I received it, and I didn’t show up on a day I had originally been off. The manager called and said “you’ve done this too many times. You’re fired.” I’d never so much as be late for work. I learned later that they found a way to get rid of every single person under 18."
UncleJon_TheMadScientist 1 year ago
Same thing happened to me, when I went back for last paycheck and yo turn in my work shirt the boss yelled at me because I didn't "press" (iron) the shirt (which was permanent pressed polyester) Got out to the parking lot and told my buddy what happened, he grabbed the shirt dropped it on the ground and ran over it with his van and said now it's oressed.... Later when I gave it to the same boss he said "that's more like it...
#43
"My boss assigned me 5 more articles to write each week all from categories that I do not typically delve into. I asked him whether or not this would come with slightly higher pay and was let go for even asking. Those 5 articles would have taken an extra 10 hours a week to complete."
#44
"At the small software company, I was interviewed by the president and the VP, who happened to be his girlfriend. He thought she was working too hard. She didn't want to give up any authority. I was hired as Office Manager. She didn't communicate with me AT ALL about what I was supposed to do. Two weeks later he called me into his office (she was there) and said I wasn't doing anything useful and walked me out of the building."
#45
"I got fired from my first job because the girl training me overfilled a washing machine and blamed it on me when it broke. The owner took the wet clothes and threw them at me then fired me without asking me what happened."
#46
"I was in a PR job that I was completely under-qualified for. It was supposed to be an entry-level/admin role but she had me managing accounts, campaigns, etc. I explained to my boss multiple times I did not have the experience. I felt completely out of my depth and every time I got something wrong she went nuts at me. I finally had enough and told her I needed more help. She said she couldn’t help me and then fired me."
#47
"I got fried as a dog groomer when I was a teenager because I instinctively moved my hand out of the way, so the dog wouldn't bite me, instead of simply allowing the dog to bite me. Owners are supposed to notify groomers of aggressive dogs so safety steps can be taken, but this owner did not. I learned a decade or so later that my being fired was highly illegal and I could have sued them."
#48
"I took a job with a movie theater in high school, and only accepted the job because they promised me a set schedule. I and another coworker worked it out where one of us was always on shift. About a month after I started, they handed me a new schedule starting at 2 pm. I was in class until 3. Told them no. Got fired for my lack of commitment to the theater."
#49
"I used to work for an escape rm and this lady was too dumb to figure out the puzzles so she complained in a review that I made her feel dumb, my boss who actually made the puzzles difficult fired me. If it weren't so sad I'd laugh."
funkybluegirl 1 year ago
That's lame of the boss. He never considered how to respond to customer complaints of this nature.
#50
"I worked at this hotel doing afternoon/evening shifts and two overnight shifts a week. They listed the following reasons for letting me go: Claimed I was leaving the property without clocking out because I wasn't on camera the entire time. The date they said specifically was an evening that I spent cleaning up the meeting space because it was slow. I was also not the only front desk person on shift. When working overnight I would sit on a chair to do the audit from midnight to 3 am. Sitting on a chair at the front desk was not allowed, even at midnight/early morning. Also when working overnight I had to fold linens so I would listen to the radio/music through a Bluetooth headset while folding and cleaning up the back. That was also not allowed even at midnight/early morning. They honestly probably just didn't like me but after they fired me I went and got a new job at the hotel next door and started making a lot more money and was able to do all the things I was let go for."
#51
"The company I used to work for fired people all the time for having nicotine in their system from random drug tests. They didn't allow smokers to work there. But by God, they gave you free beer at the family outing events. It was an awful company."
#52
"I was a new hire. It was Christmas time, so the office was hosting a Christmas sweater competition. I was appointed judge because I was new and thus impartial. I received explicit consent from each employee in front of the supervisor before proceeding to the judge. At least one female coworker accused me of looking at her chest while I was judging her sweatshirt... I kid you not... Fired..."
funkybluegirl 1 year ago
How are you supposed to judge ugly sweaters, if you can't look at them? **EDITED to add - the post did not mention ugly sweaters, but my point still stands.
#53
"I got fired from a bar I had worked at for 4 years by the owner who almost never showed up but had never had a problem with me before and no customer complaints. The reason? I was told I acted like I was in charge and I was telling people what to do. I was the security manager. I'm guessing it was the $4 more an hour I was making than anyone else."
#54
"I used to work in a convenience store. A customer liked my service and tipped me with a joint. I went up on the roof to smoke it and unfortunately, a cop saw me. The manager laughed at the situation but had to let me go."
#55
"Someone was stealing from the register. I got blamed. Turned out to be the owner's brother (who blamed it on me). I was let go just before Thanksgiving. I never got my job back, but the owner did apologize months later."
#56
"I brought my own boxcutter to work at a temp job I had worked for 2 days already because they refused to replace the blades in their box cutters, and got fired because it looked like a knife."
#57
"I got fired from my first job at a sandwich shop. Co-worker was washing the meat slicer, genius somehow got the cord submerged in rinsing water. Obviously the slicer died the next day. Co-worker blamed me for it and the owner fired me the day after. Didn't even allow me the opportunity to explain me. I found out months later the genius co-worker and owner were screwing each other. Long story short the sandwich shop went bankrupt and those two fell out. I work in aviation now so safe to say I got the last laugh."
#58
"Got fired for not showing up for a shift that I was never assigned. I checked the schedule the day they put them out, but nothing for me. Three days later, a person calls taking at me for not showing up for my shift that they decided to add me to on a whim. Fired me over the phone. What a bunch of cr*p. They also told me to dress with lower-cut clothes earlier the previous week. Wtf."
FakeOptimist 1 year ago
Aahhh. Waitressing.... My sister worked as one for years, and accepted things like low-cut clothing and not being allowed to wear rings...
#59
"I got fired for following the rules. In undergrad I was a tutor for the local school district, the main perk of the job was that if I needed a day off for a test or to study I could take it as long as I told my supervisor. Well I told my supervisor, followed all the rules and she's like you can't call off you're fired. Turns out when anyone else needed a day off they just didn't show and supervisors had no way of knowing since we just walked into the schools and signed our own hours so it looked like I was the only one that ever asked off."
#60
"I was accused of stealing merchandise when they had no evidence & I didn't do it anyway. They must have gone on a hunch. The guy who fired me tried to talk to me in town a few weeks after & I told him to f off."
#61
"A former employee decided "retirement wasn't for her" and even though she didn't do what I did for the company, they gave her my job because I'd been there less than a year and she was "family." Yeah. Okay."
#62
"My sister had a coworker who couldn’t get anyone to cover their shift so they wrote my sister’s name in without her permission, and she never gets notified of the change. Neither she nor the coworker shows up for the shift. Management figures out what the coworker did. Both my sister and the coworker get fired."
#63
"Didn't wear a tie that I was never given. I was supposed to have a black tie as part of my security uniform. They never gave me a tie and told me not to worry about it. I worked nights anyway. Then some exec did a walk-through and saw I wasn't wearing a tie and told them to get rid of me."
#64
"I was basically told to train myself, my trainer didn't touch base on anything relevant to what I was hired for, was given a quiz to see where I was at, the questions weren't even questions, I was supposed to interpret them and answer them. It made no sense. I was let go the next day because I wasn't learning what they needed me to learn."
Bec 1 year ago
Not fired, but I was pretty embarrassed when I couldn't pass the certification test at the light manufacturing warehouse I was hired to work at in college with a bunch of other college kids. The trainers mostly hung out and visited with their friends and I am extremely shy and wasn't picking up on things I needed to know. I had to wait two weeks and passed it on that try. It was a great job for college kids but those trainers were a bunch of jackasses
#65
"I wasn't fired but I was suspended for doing extra work to help people out because I didn't ask my manager beforehand. And no, the other work I had to do still got done when it was supposed to."
#66
"I struggled to put together a balloon bouquet when I'd never been trained. First ever job, so meh."
#67
"Got soft-fired for having a vacation over Christmas/New Year's that was approved by an old boss, business went under new ownership, and the new guy didn’t like it. Was already a hefty dollar amount invested in the vacation so, no backing out."
#68
"Romantic relationship with a patient. Stupid because it was 100% consensual and never occurred at work nor affected my job performance, but one of the other vet techs complained."
Sonnovab Kegeles 1 year ago
Ummmmm, romantic relationship with a patient, at a veterinary office? Perhaps jail would have been the correct punishment, since patents at a vet are the ANIMAL not the owner.
#69
"I said “that’s stupid” to something my boss said. Was then told to clock out immediately and was fired first thing the next morning. So that was pretty stupid."
#70
"I worked at Harvey’s in Australia. A new Part-Timer we had just hired thought it would be funny to Plank on different counters, white goods, and shelving. They then posted it to Facebook/Insta and he was friends with management who saw and fired him the next day."
What do you think ?
Fat Harry 1 year ago
Virtually all of these are illegal in the UK and, I expect, the EU too. Only in the US can you be fired for no reason at all and it be perfectly legal.
Uncommon Boston 1 year ago
(US) I have been fired illegally many times. Big companies would have better lawyers, winning is unlikely. People do win, but it is difficult. I learn to suck it up and go on. They all hurt, some still do. It is MUCH worse now.
Load More Replies...
Camilla Koutsos 1 year ago
The labour laws in these countries are abysmal. Where I come from you can't just fire people. There's a process.
Uncommon Boston 1 year ago
We have good laws and a process -- it simply doesn't work.
Load More Replies...
Sarah Lewis 1 year ago
One of my heavy line techs constantly asking me out, and me constantly saying no...got fired for fraternizing.
Fat Harry 1 year ago
Virtually all of these are illegal in the UK and, I expect, the EU too. Only in the US can you be fired for no reason at all and it be perfectly legal.
Uncommon Boston 1 year ago
(US) I have been fired illegally many times. Big companies would have better lawyers, winning is unlikely. People do win, but it is difficult. I learn to suck it up and go on. They all hurt, some still do. It is MUCH worse now.
Load More Replies... Camilla Koutsos 1 year ago
The labour laws in these countries are abysmal. Where I come from you can't just fire people. There's a process.
Uncommon Boston 1 year ago
We have good laws and a process -- it simply doesn't work.
Load More Replies... Sarah Lewis 1 year ago
One of my heavy line techs constantly asking me out, and me constantly saying no...got fired for fraternizing.
Related on Bored Panda
