Founder sacks new senior employee for abusing colleague: 'Hired on Monday, fired on Friday'

The founder’s decision to prioritise workplace culture over seniority or qualifications has earned him praise across social media platforms.

A Goa-based startup founder’s decision to terminate a newly hired senior employee within just four days of onboarding has sparked widespread discussion online. Jatin Saini, the founder in question, shared a detailed account of the incident on LinkedIn, stating that the dismissal followed a disturbing display of unprofessional and demeaning behaviour by the new recruit.

“I hired someone on Monday and fired them on Friday. Not my proudest moment. Not the easiest conversation either,” Saini wrote in a now-viral post.

According to the founder, the decision was made after he overheard the new senior employee verbally abusing a colleague. In his post, Saini quoted the words used by the recruit: “Did you leave your brain at home? If this is the best you can do, you should look for a new job. Bring your brain tomorrow or don’t bother coming.”

Saini stated that he immediately confronted the employee about the incident. However, the individual reportedly defended the remarks, saying: “That’s how you build strong teams.”

The exchange prompted Saini to act. “I knew we had made a huge hiring mistake,” he wrote. “Because we want to build personal brands without breaking people.”

The founder’s decision to prioritise workplace culture over seniority or qualifications has earned him praise across social media platforms, particularly among startup professionals and human resource leaders.

One user commented, “I learned something new from you. I accept that I am very short-tempered and easily get angry. I won't take any excuse to justify myself, but a wrong thing is wrong. I will improve myself for sure. I will remember this post whenever I face such a situation with my team. You have shown me something new."

Another said, “It's a good thing you found this and rectified it early. The perks of running a lean setup!”

A third added, “Bravo for choosing culture over credentials. More leaders need to see this.”

Others echoed similar sentiments, emphasising the need for emotional intelligence and decency in leadership roles. “That’s why your personality matters more than just skills. Glad you didn’t tolerate that kind of behaviour,” a fourth user remarked.